Jason Garfield

Jason Garfield (born August 9, 1974) is a juggler and entertainer from Norfolk, Connecticut. He is the founder and president of the World Juggling Federation (WJF).

Garfield despises the concept of "artistic juggling," promoting the idea that juggling should also be regarded as a form of sport. He disagrees strongly with the belief that juggling is something only performed by clowns and other circus acts. Garfield's stage performances can often be seen as a mixture of stand-up comedy and demanding juggling routines. He has said "I hate most jugglers.", and is openly critical of jugglers he sees as relying on unchallenging routines to entertain, occasionally performing parodies of specific acts, the most famous of which has come to be known as the Chris Bliss Diss, a parody of a performance by Chris Bliss. Jason is regarded as one of the most controversial members of the juggling community.

Garfield was ridiculed on ESPN Classic's show Cheap Seats where he was depicted as a psychotic egomaniac who talked to the props he used while performing and proceeded to blame them for mistakes made during the act, all the while being heckled by the audience, who continually referred to him as a "slaphead." The episode focused on whether certain activities were sports or hobbies, and included juggling and ultimate frisbee.

During 2004, Garfield coached Vova and Olga Galchenko, widely considered to be the best juggling passing duo ever.

Jason has received the following juggling awards:

• Juniors Championship Winner at the International Jugglers' Association (IJA) Summer Festival in 1988.
• Numbers Championship Winner (Individual Balls and Rings) at the IJA Summer Festival in 1990.
• Individuals Winner at the IJA Summer Festival in 1998.
• Numbers Competition Winner (Solo Balls, Clubs and Rings) at the IJA Summer Festival in 2000.
• Numbers Competition Winner (Solo Rings) at the IJA Summer Festival in 2001.
• Individuals Winner at the IJA Summer Festival in 2002.