Pogo Palooza-- Fun and Games in Union Square

OK, the dense crowd made it hard to see the Pogo action here...an excitable announcer welcomed new contestants..

Hard to get a good shot of the guy who was jumping next when I was there. He didn't do as well as as the guy I saw finishing right before. I could not get really close enough to get exactly the shots I wanted but here is one

 The crowd was still enthusiastic as ever. I didn't find it as exciting as they did and did not stick around for the next contestant, who may have been better...it was OK but I had more photos to take.

Wonder if Wikipedia has anything on this or if there is a website==Wikipedia warns this report may be biased but it doesn't say anything I could see as controversial, maybe just too much like an ad for the event


Pogopalooza is the annual world championship of the sport of extreme pogo. The first Pogopalooza was hosted by Dan Brown, and the event has since been produced by Xpogo LLC. Pogopalooza 1 was held in 2004 in Lincoln, Nebraska, and it has now been held seven times. The event centers around a high-paced, x-games style competition featuring 'Big Air', 'Tech', 'Best Trick', and 'High Jump' events. In addition to the run-based events, a number of disciplines of the sport are tested during Pogopalooza, including the most jumps per minute and the fewest jumps per minute - the key of which is to jump high.^[1] Competitors also perform high-flying acrobatic stunts with nicknames such as the 'one-foot soul grab' and the 'ice-pick stall',^[2] as well as back flips and other manoeuvres.^[3]
Since Pogopalooza 1, the event has been held annually, with a changing location each year. It has taken place in Chicago,^[4] Schodack, New York on U.S. Route 20,^[5] Huntington Beach, California ^[6] Knott's Berry Farm in Orange County, California,^[7] Schenley Plaza, Oakland (Pittsburgh),^[8] the Gateway District in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Action Sports Arena in Costa Mesa, CA (for two consecutive years, as an official part of the OC Fair),^[9] and finally, New York City, the chosen location for the 2013 championship, with events in Hoboken Pier A and Union Square in Manhattan.^[10]

Achievements

Pogopalooza 5, in Knott's Berry Farm in Orange County, California, in 2008, saw the world record for the high jump broken at the event; previously the record of 6 feet was held by 37-year-old Brian Spencer, but 15-year-old Daniel Mahoney broke the record jumping 7 feet 8 inches.^[7] The year afterwards, at Pogopalooza 6, held at the Pittsburgh venue,^[8] 60 competitors took part, coming from 23 states as well as from Canada and England, and around 300 people watched the event.^[11] The highest jump achieved was 8 feet 6 inches, which broke the previous world record - while the most jumps achieved in a minute was 221, or nearly 4 a second, and the fewest jumps per minute was 41.^[1] This high jump record was broken again at Pogopalooza 7 in Salt Lake City, with Dan Mahoney reaching 9 foot 6 inches.