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Flying disc freestyle, also known as freestyle Frisbee in reference to the trademarked brand name, is sport and performing art characterized by creative, acrobatic, and athletic maneuvers with a flying disc. Freestyle is performed individually or more commonly in groups, both competitively and recreationally.

The Freestyle Players Association (FPA) is the governing body of freestyle “dedicated to the growth of freestyle disc play as a lifetime recreation and competitive sport.” The organization is involved in international tournaments and rankings as well as education grants and promotional activities. Every year, the FPA holds a world championship with divisions in Open Pairs, Mixed Pairs, Open Co-op, and Women’s Pairs. Competitive freestyle is usually judged on execution, difficultly, and artistic impression by a panel of players.

History

The history of freestyle is both complex and disputed. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, modern flying discs became a popular pastime in the United States, developing into to various disciplines such as disc golf, double disc court, guts, ultimate, and later freestyle. At the time, most disc players were overall players, participating in all the various disciplines. Freestyle began as a hobby among many players, such as John "Dreamer" Weyand and Victor Malafronte, trying to perform more complex trick catches and throws. Eventually, freestyle developed into its own discipline, with the first freestyle tournaments occurring in 1974.

One of the earliest distinctly freestyle disc maneuver was the tip, the act of quickly pressing fingers on the bottom of the disc to maintain or alter its position without catching the disc or letting it fall to the ground. Tipping first began in the early 70s, becoming more popular and refined by 1975.. The tip, according to some histories, eventually led to the nail delay, considered by many to be the beginning of modern freestyle.

The invention of the nail delay is disputed, but its first tournament appearance occurred in 1975 when Freddie Haft performed the delay in the first U.S. freestyle pairs event in Rochester, NY. The nail delay involves balancing the disc on the [fingernail](s) while the disc continues to spin. This technique allows freestylers to change the flight path of the disc and perform numerous balletic and technical maneuvers such as restricted pulls, holds, turnovers, and shoots.

The pinnacle of freestyle as a commercial and popular venture was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Wham-O sponsored major tournament circuits culminating in the Rose Bowl. By 1983 (or whatever year), Wham-O changed management and pulled its funding from freestyle. Subsequently, the growth of freestyle severely declined with play mostly limited to Americans introduced to the sport in its first two decades.

By the late 1990s, many freestylers thought the activity would die out. By the mid 2000s, however, the sport experienced a resurgence of growth in Europe, South America, and Japan. The cause of this resurgence is debated, but most attribute the growth of Paganello, a large, Italian ultimate tournament that sponsored a popular freestyle event, the impact of touring American players, or a popular [Nike] [commercial] featuring two leading freestylers, Dave Murphy and Dave Lewis. Today freestyle has a renewed popularity in the United States, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, and Colombia.