I discovered "footbag" in the fall of 1985 when I transferred to UC Berkeley in California. Brent Welch and Bill Langbehn brought me under their wings and turned me on to a whole new world of freestyle and net. I had been circle kicking before that since about 1981. I also met my partner in Women's Doubles Net, Jody Welch in Berkeley in 1985. My first tournament was the Flood Bags tournament at Sonoma State University in California in February 1986 (Thanks, Chris Ott!). My first Worlds was in 1987. I've been to the World Footbag Championships 23 times: 1987, 1988, 1990-2004 (15 in a row), 2007, 2010-2012, 2017, 2019. In 2005, I was nominated and inducted into the Footbag Hall of Fame. I have several Worlds Titles in footbag, 12 Women's Doubles Net (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017), 10 of those with Jody Welch; 2 in Mixed Doubles Net, 1 Singles Net, 1 Women's Team Freestyle, 1 Golf, and several DDOP.
I have helped to organize many tournaments including Worlds in 1994, 1995, 2001, and 2002. Most recently I was the Net Director at the 2012 Worlds. I am also one of the founders of IFPA. I have served as Executive Director and Treasurer, currently I'm the Secretary. If you have any questions about IFPA or want to donate money, please send me email.Thanks to all of you who love footbag.
| Julie Symons has been involved in competitive footbag since 1986. She has been involved in the organizational side of footbag since 1993, when she was on staff for Western Regionals for the first time. In 1994, Julie incorporated the Bay Area Footbag Foundation (BAFF) in the State of California and acquired non-profit/exempt status from the state. From 1994-2001, Julie served as secretary and treasurer of BAFF, where she was responsible for all tax return filings and keeping the books. She was the site director and accountant for the 1994 and 1995 World Footbag Championships held in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2001, she led the way in taking BAFF to the next level by acquiring United States Federal 501(c)(3) status (We are a not-for-profit, public charity corporation). BAFF was then renamed IFPA at this time. From 2001 to 2004, Julie was the treasurer of IFPA. She kept the books, filed taxed returns and created annual statements. She also managed the T-shirt distribution. From 2004-2011, she was the Executive Director. In 2012, she was the Treasurer, and now since the beginning of 2013 she is the Secretary. She's also on the Worlds Organizing Committee, the Sanctioning Committee, and helps with Worlds each year. On the side, Julie was also the co-director of Worlds in 2001 and 2002. She helped out with Western Regionals for many years. And she has racked up a few World Titles along the way. Outside of footbag, Julie worked for 25 years as a software engineer at Hewlett-Packard, but now teaches math. Julie is the mother of 2 kids. |