USA National Champions

The USBA began hosting annual tournaments in 1982 picking up where the Smithsonian Resident Associates' Program left off after a decade of annual boomerang events that began in 1970. Fittingly, it was Australian Bob Burwell who won the event in 1982 to start things off right. Here are the annual champions since then...

1982 Bob Burwell, Australia in Washington, DC
1983 Chet Snouffer, Ohio, in Washington DC
1984 Dennis Maxwell, Australia in Delaware, OH
1985 Larry Ruhf, Massachussetts, in Sacramento, CA
1986 Barnaby Ruhe, NYC, in Atlanta, GA
1987 Chet Snouffer, Ohio, in Cuyahoga Valley, OH
1988 Chet Snouffer, Ohio
1989 Chet Snouffer, Ohio in Gunnison, CO
1990 Chet Snouffer, Ohio
1991 Chet Snouffer, Ohio
1992 Chet Snouffer, Ohio
1993 Chet Snouffer, Ohio
1994 Chet Snouffer, Ohio, in Seattle, WA
1995 John Flynn, Vermont, in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
1996 Chet Snouffer, Ohio, in Virginia Beach, VA
1997 Stevie Kavanaugh, Washington in Delaware, OH
1998 Rob Parkins, Massachussetts
1999 Gregg Snouffer, Ohio
2000 Chet Snouffer, Ohio, in Canton, OH
2001 Nobu Iizuka, Tokyo, in Delaware, OH
2002 Gregg Snouffer, Ohio
2003 Adam Ruhf, Amherst, MA
2004 Matt Goleanor, Nashville, TN
2005 Matt Goleanor, Nashville, TN
2006 Harold Steck in Atlanta, GA
2007 Daniel Bower, Seattle, WA
2008 Harold Steck, CT/Germany in Dallas, TX
2009 Daniel Bower, Seattle, WA, in Delaware, OH
2010 Daniel Bower, Seattle, WA, in Eau Claire, WI

World Team champions

1981 USA vs Australia, in Australia
USA

1984 USA vs Australia, in USA
Australia

1987 International Team Cup, in USA
USA Team Midwest

1988 Australian Bicentennial World Cup
USA

1988 International Team Cup, in Europe
USA

1989 International Team Cup, in USA
USA Team White

1991 World Championships, in Perth Australia
USA

1992 International Team Cup, in Hamburg, Germany
Team USA Blue

1994 World Championships, in Tokyo, Japan
Team USA

1996 World Championships, in Saint Louis, USA
German Young Guns

1998 World Championships, Christchurch, NZ
German Young Guns

2000 World Championships, Melbourne, Australia
German Young Guns

2002 World Championships, Kiel, Germany
Team USA

2004 World Championships, Charlesville, France
Germany B Motions

2006 World Championships, Japan
Germany B Motions

2008 World Championships, Seattle, WA, USA
Germany B-Motions, 2. USA Rad, 3. Swiss, 4. USA Confluence 5. Japan Samurai, 6. USA Black Rabbit

2010 World Championships, Roma, Italy
TEAM USA

Spectator's Guide to the Events

Trick Catch/Doubling:  10 minute general warm-up prior to start of event. Throwers do a series of trick catches, each one slightly more difficult than the one before. Watch for one-handed, behind the back, under-the-leg, hackey, and foot catches.  They start with one and then go to two boomerangs at the same time! Points are tallied for each catch and high score wins. Perfect score is 100.

Accuracy: 10 minute general warm-up prior to start of event. Throwers get 5 throws from the bullseye and try to get their 'rang to come right back without any interference of the flight. They cannot touch the boomerang once they throw it. It's like darts and you're in the target! Perfect score is 5-10's for 50 points and Atlanta's Laura Smucker set the US record of 50/50 at the 2005 Nationals.

Australian Round: 15 minute general warm-up prior to start of event. A premier event of boomerang tossing, it measures distance, accuracy and catching ability. Throwers get 2, 4, or 6 points bonus for having the 'rang travel 30, 40, or 50 meters respectively. A catch counts for 4 points near the center, and a bullseye is again worth 10 points. A score of "6-4-10" called out by the judge means a perfect throw of 20 points. World Record is 96/100 by Chet Snouffer, set in 2000.

MTA 100: 15 minute general warm-up prior to the start of the event. Throwers get 5 throws to see how long they can keep the boomerang in the air and still catch it within a 100-meter circle. Longest throw counts for each player.  Cleveland's John Gorski launched a practice throw for 17 minutes+ here at Mingo Park in 1993! The longest flight ever recorded for a hand-launched, non-radio controlled object. John caught it 40 yards from launch point!

Fast Catch: General warm-up prior to start of tournament at 10:00. In Fast Catch, throwers try to make 5 catches with the same boomerang as quickly as possible. The boomerang must fly outward a minimum of 20 meters, hence you'll see range spotters signaling a "good" throw. If the thrower drops, he must throw again until 5 catches are made. There is a one-minute cut-off and each thrower gets two rounds, the best of which counts as their official score. Adam Ruhf holds the world record in 14 seconds.

Endurance:  5 minutes of fast catching. Endurance is to fast catch what a mile race is to the 100 yard dash. You've got to pace yourself in Endurance! When the wind is up, it can be brutal.  Adam Ruhf holds this record also, with 80 catches in 5 minutes.

A Boomerang field looks like this

USA Boomerang Teams and the History of the Modern Sport

While the boomerang has existed for nearly 15,000 years in Australia, boomerang throwing as an organized sport began in the 1970's in Australia and the United States.  A national fellowship of throwers in Australia formed the Boomerang Association of Australia in 1970. In the United States, the boomerang movement was triggered in part by a milestone article on boomerangs in a 1968 Scientific American, and nurtured by the Smithsonian Institute which sponsored yearly educational workshops in the making and throwing of boomerangs. The United States Boomerang Association was formed in 1981. Now the sport is practiced worldwide, with International Team Cup Challenges and World Team and Individual championships held every two years.

In November of 1981, a U.S. Team of 10 boomerang throwers went to Australia to challenge the Aussies in their own native sport on their home turf. It was the first such international competition in history. To the surprise of many, the upstart Americans came away victors by sweeping the three-test series. The Australians came to the U.S. in 1984 and  evened the score, winning the Lands' End Boomerang Cup.

In 1985 a four-man World Cup team from the U.S. traveled to Paris, France with Chet Snouffer and Eric Darnell finishing one-two in the first ever individual world championships. A promotional tour of the coastal regions of France ensued, introducing thousands of French to the sport in what remains the most exciting and professional promotional tour to date.

International Team Championships began in 1987, with five U.S. Teams and two European Teams competing in the States. Team Midwest featuring Gary Broadbent, Chet and Gregg Snouffer, Chuck Smith and Jacques Sabrie won the inaugural Team Cup. In May 1988, a three man World Cup Team from the U.S. traveled down under and won the Australian Bicentennial Boomerang Cup. Chet Snouffer, Eric Darnell and Barnaby Ruhe comprised the 1988 World Cup Team. Aussie Rob Croll won the 1988 individual world championships. Later that year in August, the U.S. sent two teams to the second International Team Championships in France, Germany and Switzerland, and came away with the top two spots again.

  In June of 1989 the Third Annual International Team Cup was held in Washington DC, with the U.S. in 1st, 3rd, and 4th, and with Germany clearly announcing their arrival as an international force in second place. American Chet Snouffer regained the individual world title on the final day of competition.

In April 1991 the U.S. swept first and second at the 4th International Team Cup/World Championships in Perth, Australia. In the individual competition, the U.S. took first and second, with American John Koehler winning the world title.

In August 1992 the U.S. teams did it again in Hamburg, Germany, taking first and second place ahead of three powerful German teams, the French, and Australia. German Fridolin Frost won the World Championship for individuals.

The 1994 World Championships were held in Tokyo, Japan. The Japanese have taken to the boomerang craze with a passion and raised the pomp and circumstance to an all-time high with elaborate opening and closing ceremonies. A highlight included lighting the tournament flame with a blazing boomerang thrown across the Olympic-style torch. A possible foreshadowing of Sydney?s 2000 Olympics?  In competition,  American Chet Snouffer regained the World singles title a record third time, as the American team swept the three test series winning the world championships ahead of Germany, France, Switzerland and  Australia.

Germany stunned the US by winning the 1996 Worlds in Christchurch, NZ. Australian Rob Croll won the Individual World title for a second time.  

The 1998 Worlds in Saint Louis saw the Germans repeat ahead of USA. Fridolin Frost won his second world championship in individual competition.

The 2000 Worlds returned to the homeland and Melbourne, Australia. Here the Germans won their third consecutive world championship. While most countries have team try-outs every other year, the "Young Guns" featuring Fridolin Frost, Gerrit Lemkau, Oli Thienhaus, Gunter Moeller, and Harold Steck actually kept their core throwers together from 1996 to 2000 showing that sometimes it's best not to mess with success! Swiss phenomenon and World Record Holder in Distance throwing, Manuel Schutz wins the World Individual Championship.

In 2002 Team USA's "Dogs of Boom" regained the title for the Yanks. Gregg Snouffer began coaching a newer, younger US Team and the youngsters began to gel and become able to make another run at the Germans.  However, in 2004 in France the Germans were at it again and gained their 4th world title! Reorganized as the "B Motions" the former Young Gun members began a new chapter in Germany's already impressive resume by winning another hat trick of three world titles in a row, taking the title in 2004, 2006, and again in 2008 in Seattle! In Seattle, Fridolin Frost became the first 4-time World Individual Champion, leaving Manu Schutz of Switerland and Chet Snouffer of the USA behind with three each. 

The USA got back in the swing of things in 2010 with a great victory in Rome, Italy. With the 2012 World Cup scheduled for Brasil, one only wonders whether the USA can start to build another legacy, or whether the Germans will contribute to another "one and done" for the USA. Perhaps France, the always powerful Swiss, or the continually rising Japanese Team will win it all in Brasil 2012!

In addition to the International circuit, the U.S. also hosts its annual National Championships, and occasional U.S. Team Championships to further team play and build for future international competitions.  Three dozen regional tournaments are held each summer across the US.  Based upon boomerang sales estimates, there are now hundreds of thousands of recreational boomerang throwers across the U.S. and the numbers escalate annually. Recent coverage on ESPN, MTV Sports, Adrenaline TV, The Tonight Show, and in print media nationwide adds to the continued growth of the sport.