By Anne Causey / Daily Progress correspondent
It’s getting near the end of a long and drawn-out summer, and perhaps you are looking for something new and very different to learn.
How about juggling?
Every Wednesday at 6 p.m., go to the McIntire Room on the third floor of the Jefferson Madison Regional Library on Market Street to watch or learn from members of the AirRaid Juggling Club.
“If you have tricks you want to practice, you can do that, or pass tricks along to other people,” said Tom Hamill, an AirRaid Juggling Club member.
At the meetings, members also practice club passing – exchanging objects with other people, something a juggler can’t do when practicing solo.
Hamill, who lives in Bealton but regularly attends the Charlottesville meetings, said anyone is welcome to come. The numbers vary, but there are often between eight and 15 people who show up for a meeting.
Hamill started juggling when he was in college in the 1980s, and has been doing it for 22 years. He joined the local club more than a year ago, as it’s the closest one to his home. There are three juggling clubs in the Washington and Baltimore area. Typically there are clubs in the major metropolitan areas.
There is no cost involved and people can just walk in “off the street.”
“People walk in and we spend time teaching them. Sometimes you never see them again. Others, they return,” Hamill said.
They use a variety of props, Hamill said, including juggling balls, which are like bean-bag balls but rounder, as well as juggling clubs and rings. People often refer to juggling clubs as bowling pins because of their shape, but they were specifically designed for juggling. In the meetings, members are able to practice throwing clubs to partners across from them.
Other members might practice balancing balls or throwing other objects including diabloes, which are essentially Chinese yo-yos, Hamill explained. Still others may use a devil stick or cigar boxes, which W.C. Fields was known for juggling. Some might do hat juggling while others might use shaker cups.
“People come up with different ways to manipulate a whole range of objects,” Hamill said. “For example, somebody might do tennis balls and the can. The main reason the club exists is to take people who have some interest and to exchange tricks and learn new ones.”
Hamill said the AirRaid Juggling Club also goes out and finds people who have never been exposed to juggling. They like to teach others how to do it.
“Most people [in it] like the challenge,” Hamill said. “It’s a personal challenge to accomplish the tricks.”
The club has been asked to do demonstrations for other groups. Recently, they attended an elementary school carnival to show the children and parents how to juggle. They also took part in the Free Union July 4 parade.
“This helps us let people know we exist,” Hamill said.
While the club doesn’t have a Web site, there are other sites about juggling online.
As far as the name goes, Mark Neisser, also a member, said the name came from a former president, Pat Hunter, who now lives in Atlanta. He started the organization about 10 years ago.
Neisser points out that juggling is an inexpensive family activity, and anyone is welcome to get involved.
Both members rejected the notion that there are those of us who wouldn’t be able to learn or don’t have the coordination to juggle.
“It’s absolutely for everyone,” Neisser said. “I teach juggling and it’s been my experience that people who say they can’t do it learn the fastest.”
Neisser said one thing members need is a bigger space because the club is growing.
