In their latest newsletter, the Deutscher Juggersport-Verband DJSV (working title; German Sports Jugger Association) "launch group" has published more detailed information on the association's goals and the different models to become a member, both as a real person as as a club.
Note that all this is a draft and a suggestion for the founding meeting done by the group, which still has to take place in the nearer future.
Download the PDF via Dropbox with more details plus an organizational chart.
Since the German Jugger rules will soon undergo a revision and rule changes voting, I would like to offer some basic thoughts on the sport and its rules.
Sorry in German, due to lack of time for translation. Many projects currently at hand.
Anläßlich einer wohl anstehenden neuen Abstimmung über und der Überarbeitung des Juggerregelwerks habe ich meinen Kommentar zum Juggerregelwerk um eine Sektion ergänzt. Grund sind die immer wieder auftretenden Diskussionen um Regelveränderungen zu kleinen, oft in der Praxis reichlich irrelevanten Fragen (Beispiel Spielfeldbegrenzungen: ob ein Fuß 20 cm weiter vorne, nämlich auf der breiten Kreidelinie, oder nur dahinter stehen darf, ist für die Schnelligkeit der allermeisten Teams wohl eher gleichgültig).
Hier ist der Abschnitt:
Item. Vom Geist des Jugger
Weniger Normen bedingen eine höhere sportliche Herausforderung.
Jugger leitet sich von einem Endzeit-Film ab. Läufer müssen sich auf die unterschiedlichsten Schädel, alle Spieler auf die verschiedensten Feldlinien – hier präzise mit der Markiermaschine gezogen, dort verwackelt mit Mehl oder Flatterband – jedesmal neu Einstellen: Der mangelnde Standard ist hier kein Mangel, sondern eine willkommene Herausforderung an Flexbilität und sportliches vermögen der Spieler.
Dies kann der Schlüssel zur Lesart der Regeln sein, um den einzigartigen und offenen, gleichwohl sportlich fordernden Charakter des Jugger zu erhalten.
Mehr Eigenverantwortung bedingt höhere Fitness.
Selten führt eine stärkere Kontrolle zu einer höheren Bereitwilligkeit, fair zu spielen, und selten führt sie zu einer bessern Stimmung – und die Stimmung ist im Jugger keine Worthülse, sondern ein wichtiges Charakteristikum dieses Sports. Wo anderswo Mannschaften für ein Turnierspiel zusammentreffen und danach heim fahren, ohne mit einander gesprochen zu haben, wird im Jugger nach einem Turniertag gefeiert, man
sitzt zusammen und tauscht sich aus. Man lebt das Ideal des Sports an sich. Zudem ist ein Juggerspiel schwer zu überschauen (siehe 5. Die Schiedsrichter).
Der Schlüssel liegt also darin, eine Balance zwischen Kontrolle (Pompfencheck, Schiedsrichterzahl und -eingreifen) und Freiheit (eben: persönlicher Verantwortung) zu finden. Persönliche Verantwortung und Fairness läßt sich eben nicht durch Repression erzwingen, stattdessen verführt letztere zum Abladen der Verantwortung auf Dritte (»Der Schiedsrichter ist schuld / hat es nicht gesehen«), zur Suche nach Lücken und Regelfuchsereien, was wiederum zu mehr Regeln und höherer Repression führt.
Ich denke, wir brauchen keinen Rüstungswettlauf im Jugger. Locker bleiben!
Verständigkeit bietet eine Lösung für Randfragen.
Im Forum werden gerne Grenzgebiete und oft Eventualitäten diskutiert: Es könnte doch eine die Kette so führen, es könnte doch einer seine Langpompfe so bauen, es wäre doch möglich, sich durch die Fußspitze auf der Linie einen Vorteil beim Anlaufen zu verschaffen.
Anstelle zu versuchen, jede nur mögliche Regeldehnung abzudecken, bietet sich hier doch eine ganz einfache Lösung an.
Wir haben den Anspruch an uns, vernünftige und verständige Menschen zu sein. Wir spielen kein Zuckerpüppchenfußball, bei dem sei es der dramatischste Fall oder das lauteste Aufheulen nach einem Streicheln mit der Fußspitze am Knie einen Vorteil erjammert, sei es ein gerade wegsehender Schiedrichter dem feigen Spieler eine Gelegenheit zur Körperverletzung verschafft.
W i r s i n d J u g g e r.
Deswegen können sich zwei Teams beim Auftauchen von Grenzfragen im Spiel zusammensetzen und sich verdammt noch eins einigen. Ist eine grenzwertige Spielweise für das eine Team gar nicht hinnehmbar, dann verzichtet das andere Team darauf. Fertig.
In diesem Sinne! Bleibt locker. Habt Spaß. Gewinnt euer Spiel.
It took a bit more time than estimated – about two years –, but Ruben has just published his fourth book on Jugger "JUGGER – Das Praxisbuch. Grundlagen, Training, Teambuilding", now focusing on training methods and strategy.
As in Judo and Karate handbooks, step-by-step "motion" pictures show basic steps for fighting with the different German type spars. Football-like plans explain strategic moves. The book has got an impressive, full-color layout and print, hardcover, and is set in A4 landscape format (about 29x21cm).
While the plans for an English translation are unknown, the Swedish one is on the way and should be published by september.
Team Murcia Selection has become German Champion at the XVI. Deutsche Meisterschaft in Berlin.
After Rigor II had beaten the former long-year German Champion Rigor I, the Spanish won the finals of the world's biggest championship in Jugger after a fast, tight and excellent game against Rigor II.
Yes, even teams from other countries can win a country's Championship in Jugger!
The XVI. German Championships, which took place the last week-end at former Tempelhof airport Berlin, is second only in size to the same tournament -- also organized by the Jugger e. V. -- last year, in worlds Jugger history. This time, we counted 60 teams, three of which came from Ireland and two from Spain. All in all, over 500 players fought for the German Pokal.
On a side note, team Falco jugger had beaten Murcia Selection at the same tournament, thus beating the coming-to-be German Champion. Quite a nice feeling for the Falco I players, who reportedly only didn't climb to the quarter finals due to the report of two faulty results of two other games with a one Jugg counting error each, of their group. But their group was one of the strongest with four teams at around the same top level, so it doesn't really matter if misfortune during a game or during reporting results would have made the difference.
Two professional photographers were on the field and shot an estimated number of 10.000 pictures. You can find a selection at the Jugger e. V. website.
36 teams joined us at the 12th German Jugger Championships in Berlin. Even Ireland came to the tournament, Team Setanta.
Being the biggest Jugger event ever held in history, the teams were divided into eight groups with games on five separate pitches. The main pitch was equipped with galleries for numerous spectators, with Jugger League flags flapping in the wind. Weather on Saturday was perfect, sunny, but not too hot, whereas there was some moderate rain on Sunday (the Irish brought their weather with them, thanks) - no reason to stop playing.
The Irish Qwik during the Special Irish Weather Game Setanta vs. Falco jugger. Photo: Susanne Serwe
When Grünanlagen Guerilla, Berlin, former Champion, challenged Rigor Mortis, also from Berlin, in the 300 stone finals, emotions rose high. A very energetic game was met by enthusiastic spectators with choruses and screams, a stunning atmosphere indeed. Finally, Rigor Mortis beat GAG and won the German Championships trophy back.
Some excellent pictures are shown at flickr. And here is a first glimpse at one of the other games held at the main pitch. More to come!
Cranium Hunters Lüneburg versus Hannoverian Living Undeads.
This spring, we start the local Berlin Jugger League. With the Berliner Juggerpokal, a tournament for local teams, being staged for the third time, we thought it might be the right time to have a local league as well. And it will be excellent training - for players as well as for referees.
Every week-end, a pair of teams takes part in a challenge. Each challenge consists of separate games.
Each game lasts until a team scores 7 points (no stone count limit).
The team winning 3 games has won the challenge.
The results uncover the further pairings.
The Falcones44, a project of the Albert-Schweitzer-School Neukölln (9th grade), will only participate in the Berliner Juggerpokal.
We also changed the rule for staying down for Berlin.
When hit, a player gets down on at least one knee, takes one hand from his Pompfe and starts counting with the hand behind his back. As soon as he has finished counting (5/8 stones) and lifts the knee from the ground, he is allowed to strike - since he first has to grab his pomfey, there is no need for the artificial "get-up-don't-hit-time" we had before.
The first German Open of "League Jugger" were held in Berlin at the 13th/14th of September. The weather was excellent, about thirty teams came and fought for the dog skull.
The biggest surprise happened in the finals. Rigor Mortis, unchallenged for years except by the old Hamburg team, was beaten in a stunning game against Grünanlagen Guerilla. A Golden Jugg finished the game after a 10:10 skulls draw at 300 stones. Grünanlagen Guerilla never won a tournament game against Rigor before, along with all other Jugger teams except Hamburg ... now, with a new chain from the former team KSJ, they rocked the house.
Along with the Irish, the Australians seemed to have a really great time - also they were quite intrigued by some national traditions: "The captain of the Irish team displayed a great rapidity of verbal output as well as great pride in his undergarments which he insisted on displaying down the field (a display which was returned with pride by one of the German qwiks later in the day)."
Also great was the game Australia vs. Ireland, played by a combination of Oz and Èire rules. The Oz Redbacks played with great enthusiasm and loved to beat up a German national team by playing by their own rules: The skull in the center circle, stakes, doubles and hits to the elbows and knees do not count as hits - a very fast game with long sequences of pomfey fighting, very different to German style Jugger, and very fascinating! As Adam put it: "the experience of more than 100 Juggers yelling that chant is somthing that will be with all of us for a very long time."
Die Lüneburger möchten alle aktiven Jugger herzlich zur aktiven Teilnahme am neuen Jugger-Blog einladen, das kürzlich online gegangen ist. Dank einer redakteurbasierten Nutzerverwaltung (wie auch hier im internationalen Blog) können einmal angemeldete dort eigenständig Neuigkeiten schreiben.
Es findet sich dort schon ein Einblick in die geplante Trainingswoche im August.
Damit sind es nun drei in der Runde: Neben dem Jugger-Blog dieses hier für internationale Themen und mit der Jugger-Kategorie von Uhus finest-assorted Weblog Droppings das "älteste" seiner Art, das aufgrund der verwendeten lokalrechnerbasierten Software (Thingamablog) ein Einbenutzerblog ist.
Friends of jugger may look forward to 2008: This summer, at the 13th and 14th of September, all four active Jugger countries will be present at the Jugger Tournament 2008 in Berlin.
Denmark and Ireland want to come, and even Australia has put a team together and will travel all the way to challenge the German Juggers on the field! There might even join us someone from overseas, but that is not clear yet ...
Any other country putting a team together is of course very welcome to join us, too, just contact us, ideally via the international forum or Mail or PM to Ein Uhu for the international co-ordination or also Lester for Berlin-specific questions.
This will be the first truly world-wide Jugger tournament in history, so get prepared
As always, we (Berlin) will be able to provide accomodation for the tournament, but we also invite all Juggers to join our camp, which will be at the tournament grounds - this year had been excellent, with a nice barbecue evening and night-time "pompfing" ...