- Mobile phone throwing
-
Mobile phone throwing is an international sport that started in Finland in the year 2000. It is a sport in which participants throw mobile phones and are judged on distance or technique.
There are usually four categories in the sport:[1]
- Original (also called "Traditional"): an over-the-shoulder throw with the farthest distance winning (best of three)
- Freestyle: contestants get points for aesthetics and creative choreography
- Team original: up to three competitors have one throw each with their scores added together
- Junior: for children aged twelve or younger
The phones used vary not just between events but between competitors, with any phone that weighs over 220 grams being acceptable.[2] At some events, the choice is down to personal preference from those provided by the event organisers, while others provide only one model of phone.
Lawrence University has hosted a Rotary Phone Throw in 2005, 2006, and 2007. This competition has similar rules to the mobile phone throw, yet uses rotary phones.[3]
Contents
World and national championships
The Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships have been held annually since 2000 in Savonlinna, Finland. The first national competition was held in Trondheim, Norway, in June 2004, with several other countries across Europe also staging their own events. The first winter championships were held in Stoos, Switzerland, in February 2005. Commonly, the prize for first place in a national event is entry to the world championships, and the grand prize for winning the world championship is a new mobile phone. Many events are supported by mobile phone recycling organisations and promote the recycling of the phones.[2]
In the UK, the championships are held every August and organised by 8th Day UK Ltd. The first event, in 2005, was held at Richmond Golf Driving Range, and the 2006 event at Tooting Bec Athletics Track in London. ActionAid Recycling partnered the event to raise awareness for mobile phone recycling and raised money from donated phones for the first two years, but due to the involvement of a casino (Golden Palace) in the 2007 event and the associations this would have in relation to charity, are no longer involved.[4]
In 2007, the UK event was held at Old Hamptonians Rugby Club on 12 August, with throws recorded from 3.70 m to 95.83 m, a new unofficial world record. The men's winner was Chris Hughff, and the ladies' winner was Jan Singleton, both successfully defending their 2006 titles. There were also throws recorded by a penguin and a gorilla[citation needed], prompting a new category - fancy dress – to be incorporated for 2008.[citation needed] The 2008 competition was held at the same location, with Jan Singleton defending her title and Jeremy Gallop claiming the men's title. Madeleine James set a new benchmark for the Under 3 Category of 1.57 m.
The 2007 world championships were in Savonlinna as usual. The winner of the men's freestyle event, Taco Cohen of the Netherlands, won for a novel performance that incorporated juggling and acrobatics.[5][6][7]
Two thousand nine saw the UK event move to Battersea Park Athletics stadium, with Jeremy Gallop (89.10 m) defending his title and Julia Geene (33.40 m) winning the ladies' event. Peter Yates set a new Vets record of 75.20 m, and Oliver James set an Under 2 record of 2.05 m. The fancy dress event was won by Morph, who threw 54.73 m. The event was run alongside the Sumo Suit Athletics World Championships.
In 2010, the event was again held together with the Sumo Suit Athletics World Championships in Battersea Park Athletics track. Both Jeremy Gallop and Julia Geens successfully defended their titles, with throws of 88.51 m and 32.00 m respectively. In the men's event, there was a 1st prize of an Xbox 360 sponsored by BuyMobilePhones.net in an effort to raise awareness about mobile recycling.
The World event for 2010 was to be held on the 21st of August 2010 but for unknown reasons (as yet), was canceled.
Other tournaments
Spain
The Spanish championships are held in Tarragona, Catalonia, during the celebrations of Carnival in February or March. The 2009 tournament was held on Sunday, the 22nd of February in the Francoli Park, Tarragona.
United States
On August 1, 2008, the United States held its first national championship in South Hadley, Massachusetts, at Buttery Brook Park, sponsored by Family Wireless.[8] The United States event has also dedicated itself to recycling cellular phones.
There was a second cell phone throwing contest held in the United States on July 5, 2009, at Szot Park in Chicopee, Massachusetts. It was sponsored by Family Wireless.[8] The results for the American event held in July 2010 are yet to be published.
Liechtenstein
The first National Championships for Liechtenstein were held on the 29th of May 2010 in the town Ruggell.[9] They were completed in accordance with the Finnish rules with the same four categories.
Johannes Heeb won in the men's category with a throw of 74.2 m, and the women's category was won by Stephanie Parusel, throwing 48.5 m.[10] Manuel Hug won the juniors with a throw of 55.9 m, while the team category was won by Team "Schulzentrum Unterland" with 196 m. The current Swiss national record holder, Dino Roguljic, made a "celebrity" appearance and managed to throw 66.2 m.
Freestyle
Freestyle phone throwing is an event held in which contestants enter a mat that is around 1" thick to soften the impact in case a phone is dropped. Players begin performing a series of tricks that include various flips, spins, high throws, etc. If one drops one's mobile phone, he is automatically out, and judges take his score from that point. One minute is given for a total "run time", and after the minute is up, if one has not dropped one's phone, he gets a score from 1 to 100. Phone classes include standard phones, which are free, to $50 phones with either no moving device such as slide or flip open, or with the standard flip open style. Second class is the "Advanced" class, which includes phones with full keyboards, slide movement devices, side-kick flip devices, or touch screens. This class is based on the fact that if the phone is dropped, there is more of a consequence since the phones are so elaborate and/or expensive.
Belgium
The first National Championships for Belgium were held on the 21st of July 2010 at Bredene. Now, JIM Mobile Red will organize this event every year. Last year's champion had a throw of 62.70 m. The Belgian Champion of 2011 had a throw of 63.94 m. More info can be found at www.bkgsmwerpen.be or www.jimmobile.be.
Records
The current (unofficial) records (as of August 2007) are:[4]
- Men's world record - 95.83 meters (314.4 ft) Chris Hughff (Aug 2007)
- Women's world record - 53.52 meters (175.6 ft) Jan Singleton (Aug 2006)
Both of the above were set at the UK Championships.
Men's seasons best
- (Updated August 2010)
YEAR DISTANCE ATHLETE PLACE 2000 48.00 
Erno Riihela (FIN)Finland 2001 57.03 Ejani Torpo (FIN)Finland 2002 66.72 Petri Valta (FIN)Finland 2003 66.62 Samu Santala (FIN)Finland 2004 82.55 Ville Piippo (FIN)Finland 2005 94.97 Mikko Lampi (FIN)Finland 2006 92.30 
ChrisHughff (ENG)London 2007 95.83 (WR) ChrisHughff (ENG)London 2008 85.95 
Jeremy Gallop (RSA)London 2009 89.10 Jeremy Gallop (RSA)London 2010 88.51* Jeremy Gallop (RSA)London '*' 2010 results as yet not complete.
Top ten men's best throwers of all time
- (Updated June 2010)
RANK MARK ATHLETE PLACE DATE 1. 95.83 
Chris Hughff (GBR)London 2007-08-12 2. 95.59 Simon Wells (GBR)London 2007-08-12 3. 94.97 Mikko Lampi (FIN)Savonlinna 2005-08-27 4. 93.33 
Bjornbet Sondre (NOR)Savonlinna 2005-08-27 5. 92.06 Jeremy Gallop (RSA)London 2007-08-12 6. 90.00 Ville Piippo (FIN)Savonlinna 2005-08-27 7. 89.62 Huotari Tommi (FIN)Savonlinna 2007-08-25 8. 89.00 Lassi Etelätalo (FIN)Savonlinna 2006-08-26 9. 85.74 Peter Hinderson (FIN)Savonlinna 2005-08-27 10. 85.43 Mikael Nyström (FIN)Savonlinna 2005-08-27 Men's national records
- (Updated June 2010)
DISTANCE ATHLETE PLACE Year 95.83 (WR) Chris Hughff (ENG)England 2007 94.97 Miko Lampi (FIN)Finland 2005 93.33 Bjornbet Sondre (NOR)Norway 2005 92.06 Jeremy Gallop (RSA)South Africa 2007 85.00 
Timmo Lilium (EST)Estonia 2008 84.25 
Dino Roguljic (SUI)Switzerland 2005 83.69 
William Reinaud (USA)USA 2008 74.20 
Johannes Heeb (LIE)Liechtenstein 2010 73.00 
Boh Tjarks (GER)Germany 2006 70.81 
Björn Forsberg (SWE)Sweden 2008 70.64 
Niels Kuper (NED)Netherlands 2005 66.45 
Ricky De Zutter (BEL)Belgium 2006 66.00 
Paul Aherne (ZIM)Zimbabwe 2005 65.10 
Jay Coffee (NZL)New Zealand 2009 62.35 
Mike Krischonas (AUS)Australia 2006 61.58 
Särkijärvi Kyle (CAN)Canada 2007 60.10 
Neil Rogers (SCO)Scotland 2009 52.85 
Ian Preddy (MEX)Mexico 2006 52.67 
Jose Damian Téllez Sanz (ESP)Spain 2005 49.76 
Robert Danninger (AUT)Austria 2005 74.34 
Tim Metzgen (BLZ)Belize 2006 43.59 
Dadonoc Juri (RUS)Russia 2007 43.59 
Martin McCann (IRE)Ireland 2005 14.30 
Rungtip Womgsathagun (THA)Thailand 2003 Women's seasons best
- (Updated July 2010)
YEAR DISTANCE ATHLETE PLACE 2000 - - - 2001 - - - 2002 20.35 Mina Kulju (FIN)Finland 2003 - - - 2004 - - - 2005 38.74 Jan Singleton (GBR)London 2006 53.52 Jan Singleton (GBR)London 2007 52.05 Jan Singleton (GBR)London 2008 41.00 Valeria Kadorova (EST)Estonia 2009 37.05 Suvi Torikka (FIN)Savonlinna 2010 48.50* [11] Stephanie Parusel (LIE)Liechtenstein '*' 2010 results as yet not complete. Other dates incomplete as no data available. Please help.
Top ten women's best throwers of all time
- (Updated July 2010)
RANK MARK ATHLETE PLACE DATE 1. 53.52 Jan Singleton (GBR)London 2006-08-20 2. 50.83 Eija Laakso (FIN)Finland 2006-08-26 3. 48.50 Stephanie Parusel (LIE)Liechtenstein 2010-05-23 4. 43.34 Sari Säisänen (FIN)Finland 2006-08-26 5. 41.42 Marke Krok (FIN)Finland 2005-08-27 6. 41.00 Valeria Kadorova (EST)Estonia 2008-08-23 7. 38.91 Lee ? (GBR)London 2007-08-12 8. 37.18 Minna Pekonen (FIN)Savonlinna 2005-08-27 9. 37.05 Suvi Torikka (FIN)Savonlinna 2009-08-22 10. 36.65 Nicole Greuter (LIE)Liechtenstein 2010-05-29 Women's national records
- (Updated December 2010)
DISTANCE ATHLETE PLACE Year 53.52 Jan Singleton (ENG)England 2006 50.83 Eija Laakso (FIN)Finland 2006 48.50 Stephanie Parusel (LIE)Liechtenstein 2010 41.00 Valeria Kadorova (EST)Estonia 2008 36.28 Cecilie Krohn (NOR)Norway 2006 34.09 
Gabriella Szekely (HUN)Hungary 2007 31.59 Tanya van Schalkwyk (RSA)South Africa 2006 29.50 Jacqueline Roessler (GER)Germany 2010 28.21 Bec Hanson (AUS)Australia 2006 27.11 Tracey Belcourt (CAN)Canada 2009 21.17 
Aga Dymerska (POL)Poland 2006 14.99 Tilder Frolig (SWE)Sweden 2006 Record Sources: [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]
References
- ^ Savonlinna Festivals. Rules and regulations. Accessed 28 August 2006.
- ^ a b Lund, Christine. Savonlinna Festivals. Mobile Phone Throwing World ChampionshipsPDF (98.2 KiB) . Accessed 28 August 2006.
- ^ http://thor.lawrence.edu/calendar/main.php?view=event&eventid=1178826571903 Accessed 3/17/08.
- ^ a b http://www.8thdayuk.com". Accessed 28 August 2006.
- ^ "Mobile phone throwing turns artistic in Finland". Reuters. August 25, 2007. http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-6204512.html.
- ^ Michael Santo (August 27, 2007). "Juggling, Lobbing at the 8th Annual Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships". RealTechNews. http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/4764.
- ^ "Two Finns world champion mobile phone throwers". earthtimes.org. 26 August 2007. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/98230.html.
- ^ a b http://www.cellphonethrow.com
- ^ http://www.handyweitwurf.li/
- ^ http://www.vaterland.li/index.cfm?id=9034&source=lv&ressort=home
- ^ http://www.handyweitwurf.li/CFDOCS/cmsout/admin/index.cfm?GroupID=171&MandID=5&meID=2453&
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20010219100758/http://www.fennolingua.fi/mobile.htm
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20020810080239/http://www.fennolingua.fi/mobile.htm
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20021121232047/www.fennolingua.fi/tulokset_eng.htm
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20031204213704/http://www.fennolingua.fi/tulokset_eng.htm
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20051124190803/http://www.savonlinnafestivals.com/en_MMtulokset.htm
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20060903094511/http://www.savonlinnafestivals.com/en_MMtulokset.htm
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20070903201517/http://www.savonlinnafestivals.com/en_MMtulokset.htm
- ^ http://www.cellphonethrow.com/WINNERS.html
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20061013010735/www.actionaidrecycling.org.uk/newsstory_86.html
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20070916015444/www.8thdayuk.com/default.aspx?tabid=980
- ^ http://www.wgl-schwaebischhall.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=212:handy-weitwurf-am-06112010-in-uttenhofen&catid=12:berichte&Itemid=5
External links
Categories:- Individual sports
- Savonlinna
- Mobile phones
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