Hooping.org

The Amazing Hoop Race, Hooping.org’s new revolutionary contest sending teams of two on a virtual hula hoop race around the world, spun it’s way to France this week for a frightfully fun Halloween in Paris. But before we tell you all about it, for those just tuning in here’s what you’ve missed so far. First we met our 14 amazing teams, the race was explained and then they raced to the airport to get people hooping before flying to Porto Alegre, Brazil, for their Samba Hoop Dance Challenge challenge. There were three teams eliminated and the rest were off to Johannesburg, South Africa where they ran into their first detour. While some teams cooked up Isidudu or Pampoenkoekies, others hooped with wild animals before everyone competed in a South African Hoop Bliss Challenge inspired by Kwaito. Three more teams were eliminated and the rest were off to Paris.

In Paris, our teams encountered their first roadblock. A Roadblock is a task that only one team member may perform. After being asked the question “Who is ready to descend?”, each team chose a member for the Roadblock challenge and those that were selected soon learned they were going to be hooping somewhere few people ever even see. They were going underground and into the Catacombs below the city, quite possibly one of the scariest places on earth. Each hooper doing the Roadblock met with Fred Charvet from the Boulogne Hoopers Vanguard who is also an avid urban explorer. A few friends of his came to film and teams were also given hand held cameras before they descended into the ancient, man-made subterranean passageways beneath Paris that hold the remains of more than 6 million people.

When they returned to the land of the living they finally met our judges for this leg of the race. First there was Anossens of Hoopera.com. No stranger to online video challenges having made quite a name for herself during Hooping.org’s Hooping Idol competition last Spring, Anossens informed our teams they would be performing Halloween night at a popular gothic nightclub. The owner of the club had one request though, to see a Gothic Hoop Demo Music Video from each team before he’d allow them on stage. Their challenge for this week – to make that video, which couldn’t be more timely considering goth is the future!

Enter our second judge who flew into Paris just for this. She’s not only a hooper, she’s no stranger to the gothic music video world as violin player for The Crüxshadows, one of the most popular Dark-wave bands in the world. Formed in the early 1990′s, their 15 years of success among the gothic, ebm, new wave, & dark electronic genres has earned them a near legendary underground status throughout the world. With well over a thousand performance shows worldwide and three #1 Billboard Hot Dance Singles to their credit, we couldn’t be more honored to have JoHanna Moresco keeping a close eye on things. Did you know The Crüxshadows just released “Valkyrie” – their amazing brand new EP? Score yours on iTunes. The team that comes in first this week is going score themselves an autographed copy of Valkyrie!

Our teams were to choose a gothic soundtrack and film their music videos on the streets of Paris. Their videos are being scored by our judges in four areas this week, 1) Hooping and Partner Integration, 2) Gothic Persona, 3) Parisian Flavor, and 4) Overall Presentation. How did they do on our challenge in France for All Hallow’s Eve? Let’s find out!

TEAM LONDON: Jazz and Jen chose to make their video with vintage gothic flavor.

TRAVEL POINTS: 20
VISTA POINTS: To be awarded by our judges.
AUDIENCE POINTS: To be determined by you.
PIT STOP POINTS: 9

TEAM ORANGE COUNTY: Claire and Erin bring their gothic vision to Paris. Soundtrack: “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” by Nouvelle Vague (on iTunes).

TRAVEL POINTS: 20
VISTA POINTS: To be awarded by our judges.
AUDIENCE POINTS: To be determined by you.
PIT STOP POINTS: 5

TEAM SEATTLE: Michelle and Taylor cast a spell in Paris. Soundtrack: “Dissolve” by Switchblade Symphony on iTunes.

TRAVEL POINTS: 20
VISTA POINTS: To be awarded by our judges.
AUDIENCE POINTS: To be determined by you.
PIT STOP POINTS: 4

TEAM TEXAS: Geri and Mona go gothic.

TRAVEL POINTS: 20
VISTA POINTS: To be awarded by our judges.
AUDIENCE POINTS: To be determined by you.
PIT STOP POINTS: 10

TEAM WISCONSIN: Danielle and Savannah find themselves in a gothic dream. Soundtrack: “Tourniquet” by Rasputina (on iTunes).

TRAVEL POINTS: 20
VISTA POINTS: To be awarded by our judges.
AUDIENCE POINTS: To be determined by you.
PIT STOP POINTS: 7

TEAM AUSTRALIA: Clare and Stacey burn up Paris. Soundtrack: “Sweet Dreams (are Made of This)” by Marilyn Manson (on iTunes).

TRAVEL POINTS: 20
VISTA POINTS: To be awarded by our judges.
AUDIENCE POINTS: To be determined by you.
PIT STOP POINTS: 6

TEAM BRISTOL: Cecile and Hannah hoop at the Cimetiere Pere Lachaise. Soundtrack: “Vision” by The Shroud (on iTunes).

TRAVEL POINTS: 20
VISTA POINTS: To be awarded by our judges.
AUDIENCE POINTS: To be determined by you.
PIT STOP POINTS: 8

TEAM GEORGIA: Jessi and Mary Ellen were enjoying their time Paris, once Mary Ellen made it back from the Catacombs. Then Mary Ellen learned of a dire situation that has taken her and Team Georgia out of the remainder of the race. Jessi heard a song on “DJ for an hour” last night and was so touched by it, she decided to hoop in her Halloween costume to send a message out. While not an Amazing Hoop Race submission, it’s a touching closing from a heart felt team. Jessi says, “It’s been fun as heck and we look forward to future contests.”

And there you have it! Now it’s time for you to participate in The Amazing Hoop Race by casting a vote for the team that you would like to see continue on in the Amazing Hoop Race. You can only vote once and for one team only:

VOTING HAS BEEN CLOSED

Thank you for your participation. Voting will close at 3am PST on Tuesday, November 1st. Audience Points will then be awarded and combined with the Vista Points and scores from our judges in Paris. Those numbers will be added to the scores above, giving each team their total for this leg of the race. Team Georgia and two other teams will not be continuing in the race, so tune in tomorrow for the results and stay tuned for more as our hoopers continue their Amazing Hoop Race around the world.

Related posts:

1. Amazing Hoop Race South Africa: Results and More
2. The Amazing Hoop Race Brazil
3. Amazing Hoop Race Brazil: The Results
4. The Amazing Hoop Race: South Africa
5. The Amazing Hoop Race Casting Begins