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• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Forget everything you know about juggling -- the carnival knives, the blazing torches and, most of all, the clowns riding unicycles.
• This week, some of the best jugglers in the world will descend on Sioux Falls for what some call the Olympics of juggling.
• "There's a big difference between the clown at your 9-year-old nephew's birthday party and what these guys are doing," said Bob Maier, local coordinator for the World Juggling Federation International Championship. "What these guys are doing is Olympic-rate competition. They work out five to eight hours a day and have raised juggling to a level of skill heretofore believed virtually impossible."
• The championship kicks off Tuesday at the Sioux Falls Arena with preliminary competitions. More than 40 events are scheduled throughout the six-day competition. At the end, champions will be named in the junior division, advanced division and Major League Combat.
• The junior and advanced divisions are judged on several different events that incorporate endurance, agility and precision. Competitors are scored based on their performance, similar to gymnastics, said World Juggling Federation founder and president Jason Garfield, who will be giving a 45-minute performance on Friday at O'Gorman High School to raise money for the renovation of Sioux Falls' State Theatre.
• "What we do is focus more on the technical side of juggling, a technically and physically demanding sport that almost no one has seen unless you've seen one of our shows before," he said.
• Major League Combat is a fast-paced event in which two teams of five juggle three clubs simultaneously as they try to destroy the other team' pattern. That can literally mean whacking the clubs from an opponent's hands.
• ESPN3 is televising the finals live on Sunday. The preliminary events are free to watch, while admission to the finals on Sunday is $15.
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