It was a day to remember longtime Minnesota barefooter Paul Oman and celebrate the future of barefooting in the upper Midwest.
Paul passed away last year while training for the 2022 IWWF Masters World Barefoot Championships. The entire barefoot community misses his kind heart and generous spirit. But he would have loved to see all the new kids on the dock for his namesake tournament. And he would have been taking a ton of photos! He would have also been honored that we raised $500 for Junior Development!
Juniors and new barefooters were the name of the game at The Blue Moo in Alma Center, Wisconsin! There were many new faces and, of course, the oldies but goodies!
Our favorite goodie is Ben Hough, 82, who tore up the Super Veterans division even though deck building has been hampering his training time. Ben scored 1.82 in slalom and 60 in tricks.
One of Paul Oman’s competitors and friends, Joe Knapp, started the day with a few words about Paul and then… Joe got to work. He judged in the boat and kicked butt on the water. Joe scored an 8.05 in slalom and an 850 in tricks to win the Senior Men’s division.
And then, we all stood back to watch the young people tear it up!
CHECK OUT ALL THE SCORES HERE.
In Girls A, Mackenzy Koehn won slalom and tricks to bring home the overall title and Dad Bryan Koehn placed 4th in Mens C tricks and slalom! What a great day for the fam!
Joe Koehn scored a 2.2 in slalom and a 340 in tricks to win the Boys B Division and the Koehn household championship by outscoring his Dad and sister. I wonder how that car ride home went?
Newcomer Grant Odermann from North Dakota gave world competitor Martin Cyr a run for his money in Boys A. Grant scored 450 in tricks and a 3.73 in slalom in his first tournament ever. Marty scored a personal best 2850 in Boys A Tricks… just 150 points away from the open mens division, an 8.3 in slalom, and boosted a 10.5-meter jump.
Newcomer Lexi Berens cleaned up the Women’s B division in her first tournament with a 990 in tricks and a 4 in slalom. She also learned to score sheets and do video in the boat!
Chief Scorer Megan Adams came back strong from knee surgery to dominate the Open Women’s division. She scored 2330 in tricks, 10.1 in slalom, and a personal best 12.5-meter jump! This young woman does it all! We are so happy to see Megan back on the water!
Young Orval Cyr stood alone in the Open Men’s division, scoring a 9.1 in slalom, 2700 in tricks, and boosted a 19.2-meter jump!
In the Open Pro Division, Paul Stokes scored a 16 in slalom, followed closely by Carter Boerman with a 15.2. Carter won tricks with a 4100 and launched a 19.1-meter jump.
International Mens was all 2023 Mens World Champion Ben Groen, scoring a 17.8 in slalom, 9380 in tricks, and a 23-meter jump in a pink helmet. Ben also spent time in the boat judging and driving. We love that guy!
The men’s alphabet divisions were crowded and competitive. In Mens A, Sean Qualey won tricks with a personal best of 2120 and a slalomed a 10.3. Mike Shoenke scored a 6.87 in slalom.
In Mens B, Ken Reynolds won tricks with 1220 followed by Ryan Hayes and Kevin Rauscher. Ryan Hayes won slalom with an 8.4 followed by Ken Reynolds and Scott “Scooter” Stouffer. And Mike Schoenke won jump with 9.4 meters.
And Mens C, Roger Brummel won with 830 points, followed closely by young Trey Morse in his first tournament and Dad Dan Boerman in third. Trey Morse won slalom with 4.42, followed by Dan Boerman and Kevin Rauscher. Not bad, Trey! We can’t wait to see you compete again!
We raised $500 for the American Barefoot Club Junior Development Fund by selling Paul Oman t-shirts. If you want to support junior development, please consider purchasing a t-shirt. Contact betsybarefoots@aol.com
Massive thanks to Sean Qualey for organizing the tournament and the Heller Family for once again allowing us to use their fantastic lake! Sandy Boerman and Agnes Koehn for the food and fun.
A special thanks to Max Adams for being the MVP of all tournaments and putting up with us.
We will see you all at Midwest Regionals!
American Barefoot Club 