Skippy Sez 2000 Awards

Men's Player of the Year:
He keeps improving year to year but the focus has always been on his partner David Lewis. Now is the time that he gets his full due. Arthur Coddington has spent endless hours fine tuning his game to a championship level. His wins in the FPA Coed division (with Lewis and Tom Leitner) and in Mixed with Lisa Hunrichs-Silvey have brought him into the limelight. Close on his heels were Dan Yarnell and Tom Leitner.

Women's Player of the Year:
The best women's player on the planet right now has to be Green Lake local Lisa Hunrichs-Silvey. Her wins in the FPA Mixed (with Arthur Coddington) and Women's with Mary Jorgenson vault her to the top spot. She is simply fabulous to watch. Her precise timing and impeccable touch compliment her limber frame as she clicks off move after move after move.

Most Turbo:
The Italian jammers get the nod here. For their non stop passion for the sport and contagious enthusiasm as well as there gracious demeanor. Alessandro Damiano, Andrea Pitone, Lorenzo Apriani, Fernando Botrugno, Clay Collerà, Marco Ruperto and a number of other Roman locals that are quickly changing the jamming landscape.

Routine of the Year:
Dave Lewis, Arthur Coddington and Tom Leitner hooked up for the first time and showed why they are the quintessential pros taking the top spot at the FPA Co-op in Seattle. It's hard to believe that they've never played together as co-op after co-op looked smooth as silk.

Crustmaster Supreme:
To go over Larry Imperiale 's partners list is like going through a veritable who's who in the history of the sport. But it's not just Laerb's partners that make him so unique. He is a walking, talking, jamming ambassador of the sport. Certainly no one has held a fascination for manipulating spinning plastic orbular objects as much as he has. From his humble start as a member of the Chico Airheads through his rise to fame playing with Joey Hudoklin, his successful partnership with Bill Wright, his incredible run of wins with Team Sideout and beyond. He has always remained competitive and driven to excel. He is a tribute to the sport of Freestyle.

Party of the Year:
Can any tournament hang with Rimini? No way. The show the Italians put on is an annual celebration of culture, disc and lovefest. No wonder so many people make the trip over the pond to just take part in this fabulous event. It's already the thing of legend and it's only going to get better. If you haven't been, you've been missing out.

Tournament of the Year:

Could this be the heyday of the historic Northwest Freestyle movement? In the old days the Olympic Windjammers had some remarkable talent. People like Jeff Jorgenson, Kai Buhn and Don Fogle, Mike Connaway, Greg Burris and Dan Swanson were the kingpins in days of yore. Today there is a host of people vying for the top spot as Green Lake's finest. For a long historic run, the Seattle area is unrivaled. Celebrating it's status of a Freestyle Mecca, the Green Lake locals keep putting on FPA World Championships that keep getting better and better with each passing tourney.

Move of the Year:
The final seconds are ticking off of the clock in the Pairs Finals of the FPA Worlds at historic Green Lake Park in Seattle. It's time to end this gig and clear out of there. What do you do? Catch it behind your back and give a peace sign to the judges so you look cool walking off? Try to do your basic gitis and turn to the crowd and say "I've got that going for me". Not if you're Matt Gauthier. If you're Matt, you set the disc for a spinning scarecrow, realize it's a bad set so you switch to a spinning flying Vacation and BOOM!!! you lay down the hammer. That's how you end a routine.

Rookie of the Year.
Nicki Nicholson. Nicki was the protege to Steve Scannell and now it may be the other way around. In such short order to have the range of sophisticated moves and performance confidence is ridiculous. Look for her to break out in the coming years a a top female jammer.

Most Fired Up:
Give it up for Jeff and Cindy Kruger. When they walk up to a jam sight they're already sweating. They already have their nails on and their discs are slicked. They stretch in their sleep so they're ready to go at a moment's notice.