The Freestyle Football World Tour is an international contest that brings athletes from all corners of the globe to compete in head-to-head battles. This year, the competition was held in Calgary at the Grey Eagle Casino from Sept. 23-24.
In freestyle football, athletes perform tricks with a soccer ball for a panel of judges who award points based on the creativity and difficulty of the athletes’ routines. The riskier the moves, the more points are awarded. However if competitors lose control of the ball, they lose points and dance with the prospect of elimination.
Luckasz Chwieduk, who goes by his nickname Luki, is competing from Poland. However this isn’t his first time competing in the sport of freestyle football. He was crowned the European champion in 2010 and 2013, and was named Polish champion in 2014.
“I started in 2011, which was the first world tour,” said Chwieduk. “It was in Malaysia, and in every year [since], I’ve competed.”
Pawel Skola, a veteran competitor who has been a freestyle athlete for 12 years, says that his family and friends have been supportive of his decision to compete in the sport and the experience has opened up a lot of doors for him.
“My family is happy because they know that I have found my passion,” said Skola. “Thanks to freestyle (football) I can travel, meet a lot of people and also have the opportunity to improve my English.”
Andrew Henderson, a product of the United Kingdom, racked up enough points to top the other competitors and was named the winner in Calgary. The next round took place in Shanghai, China from Oct. 16-22 and the final battles will take place between Nov. 27 – Dec. 3 in Melbourne, Australia.
tryan@cjournal.ca
The editor responsible for this piece is Brendan Stasiewich, bstasiewich@cjournal.ca