The Big Spin Back and Our Hoopie Award Honorable Mentions

While most sites do their big “Year End Wrap Up” at, like, the end of the year, we’ve always spun things up a little differently. Some might say it’s because we were too focused on kicking off our New Year 30/30 Challenge. And then there were, of course, the 2013 Hoopie Awards to consider, another great reason for us to sit back and wait until all of the community driven democratic nominating was taken care of before taking our official look back at the year that was. And now the time has come for Hooping.org’s Big Spin Back on 2012! So join us as we time travel a little while, as well as acknowledge some serious awesomeness that didn’t make the Hoopie Awards ballot this year. Here’s some great stuff that’s just too gosh darn good to slip by unhonored.

While 2012 will be remembered for many things by many people, when it comes to the online world within and beyond our immediate hoopersphere it will clearly be remembered as the year of Katie Sunshine. Why? It’s not just that she made a totally nuclear impact over the course of the year on YouTube, it’s that she blew away anything anyone has done before. It all started ten months ago when a hoop dance video of hers that was two years old got hijacked, an unfortunate new trend of 2012. Once her internet fame launched, however, she single handedly racked up 7 of the Top 10 most watched hooping videos on YouTube in 2012 – starting at #2 and taking over almost all of the rest of the countdown. Her later video from Winfest, posted only three months ago, broke 1.5 million views last week. Her Goldfish soundtracked video even inspired Goldfish to pay tribute to her in an animated video of their own. On one of our posts about her this year, however, a couple people got all disrespectful, saying she only got where she was by wearing skimpy outfits. Listen, hoop dancers have been wearing skimpy outfits since hoop dance began, like in this 2004 Flashback. Meanwhile, in her big Winfest vid, she’s fully clothed so get over it. Katie’s been interviewed all over the place this year (including Hooping.org) and what we learned from our time with her is that this hooping elementary school teacher from Arkansas is a total freakin sweetheart. So kudos to Katie for an incredible year with our applause.

When it came to Hooping.org in 2012 nothing was bigger than Hooping Idol 2, an event that proved our explosive first season was only the beginning. Bringing in six of our Top Ten Stories of 2012 as based on reader response, Hannah Flett spun her way from the sidelines into hooper stardom! You can read our interview with Hannah here.

So what were the rest of the Top 20 stories of 2012 on Hooping.org? You’re about to find that out and a whole lot more!

1: Hooping Idol 2: Circus Week (1,000+ Points).
2: Hooping Idol 2: The Grand Finale (880 Points).
3: Hooping Idol 2: Disco Week (787 Points).
4: Hooping Idol 2: Meet The Finalists (693 Points).
5: Hooping Idol 2: Slow Jams Week (593 Points).
6: Burning Man Hula Hoop Cam Goes Super Viral by Philo Hagen (522 Points).
7. Hoopie Awards 2012: Rock The Vote (515 Points).
8: Jen Moore Loses 143 Pounds Hooping by Philo Hagen (507 Points).
9: Hula Hooping Makes Us Smarter by Philo Hagen (490 Points).
10: Hooping Idol 2: Performance Week (460 Points).
11: From The Mouths of Hooping Babes by Lara Eastburn (434 Points).
12: Curvy Hoopers Video Challenge 2012 by Lara Eastburn (422 Points).
13: Hooping Goes Green With Recycled Plastic Hoops by Sherry Guice (417 Points).
14: Hooping Naked by Lara Eastburn (391 Points).
15: Chanel Hula Hoop Bag Dazzles Paris Fashion Week by Philo Hagen (385 Points).
16: My Hoop Is Not A Toy by Tiffani Michele (373 Points).
17: Rhythmic Gymnastics Hoop Up the 2012 Olympics by Hoopsie Daisy (360 Points).
18: Hooping With Boobs by Lara Eastburn (359 Points).
19: Charge Your Phone By Hula Hooping by Philo Hagen (351 Points).
20: I Got Hooping in My Blood by Shea Brock (350 Points).

Other great stories this year scored a nomination for Hooping.org Promotional Event of the Year in our 2013 Hoopie Awards, things like Grace Jones Hula Hooping at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert in the UK and Philip Golle Hooping Up Das Supertalent in Germany, but if there’s one story that didn’t get the buzz it deserved in 2012 it was Astroboy Becoming Talentdong Pinoy’s Ultimate Champion in the Philippines. Why? Because if you don’t know who Astroboy is, aka Daniel Darwin, then you’re totally missing out.

When it came to monster viral hooping videos of 2012 there was nothing bigger than the Burning Man Hula Cam which racked up over 3.5 million views, two million more than even Katie Sunshine’s biggest hit. Rob Volkel of Hula Fantastica strapped the GoPro to a hula-hoop at Burning Man, pressed record and the end result was something that not only rocked the world wide web, it became a template to be replicated by others throughout the year. While that was the biggest hooping video story on YouTube in 2012, here’s what came in at the top of the charts on Hooping.org:

On Hooping.org this year one video was so far ahead of the others in popularity that it ended up in a class of it’s own. We’re talking, of course, about Shelli Mosteller”s Hooping Gangnam Style. Coach Nicole from Spark People gave her a challenge and Shelli threw it down big time. The rest of our Top Ten Videos of the year include (in alphabetical order).
2: Baxter: Footwork Folding Friday
3: Jennifer Anderson and the Gloucester Seniors: Hey Big Spender
4: Kendall Armstrong: Bloom
5: Khan Wong: White
6: Matthias Elliott: Hooping Isn’t Manly
7: LA Hoopers: Hoopers de Los Muertos
8: Rachel Meyer: Hula Hoop Artist
9: Steph Payne: Take a Hooping Break Today
10: Veena: Twin Hooping Gangnam Style

Some of our Top Ten this year ended up as nominated finalists in the Hoopie Awards. Others didn’t, and still others slipped by without as much fanfare as they rightfully deserved. In addition to our Top Ten and the Solo Video of the Year and Video of the Year nominees our 2013 Hoopie Awards, here are our Honorable Mentions of 2012, presented in alphabetical order, all of which are incredibly worthy of your time and attention.

1: Ali G.: Denver, Colorado, USA. A hooping demo that felt like we were watching an amazingly well photographed foreign film with Chicago as a backdrop.
2: Anna Kimura: Orlando, 2: Florida, USA. Anna’s demo video was one of the best in 2012.
3: Ayumi Mitake: Tokyo, Japan. A straight up one shot hoop dance video that we’ve watched again and again. Brilliant!
4: Dames in Orbit: Amber Merritt, Skye-Chauna Farrar and Kelly Saunders of Talkeetna, Alaska, USA, spun up something super sweet.
5: Deanne Love – Connection: Melbourne, Australia. Connection was the perfect name for this because her connection with the hoop and the music connected us all.
6: Frenchy: Wellington, New Zealand. Frenchy’s demo video this year was just so much fun and the hat hooping at the end was the cherry on the cake.
7: Gianna Twirlwind: Austin, Texas, USA. We just loved everything about this video from the graffiti ridden ruins to her awesome skills.
8: Hamburg Hooping: Janna Ellerbrock, Katja Kiencke and Daniel Sons of Hamburg, Germany, take their hoops out for a spin about town.
9: Henna Matanuska – Independence Day: Tampere, Finland. Henna went post apocalyptic in this video that left us all feeling a little radioactive.
10: Henna Matanuska – Urban Abstraction: Tampere, Finland. Henna ventured out into Finland’s winter wonderland and captured our hearts.
11: Hooping Crazy at the Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell: Amanda Crabb, Ash Marie, Christal Bloomer, Daniel Woods, Jessica Wagstrom, Lissa Angeline, Megan Zamie and two Taco Bell employees hoop it up in this fast food feast from Arlington, Texas, USA.
12: I Like Giants: Gail O’Brien, Harlequin Hoop, Revolva, Tiana Zoumer and Valentina Unity Martin spin things up at the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland. They’re from California and the UK.
13: Jessica Wagstrom – Rain Dance: Arlington, Texas, USA. Jessica threw it down in the rain and truly rocked our world.
14: JJ Hula – Hoop The Vote: Virginia, USA. JJ spun the presidential election for Obama with a hoop dance in Washington DC.
15: Karin de Wit: Breda, The Netherlands. Karin reminded us that less can be so much more in a video that still leaves us speechless.
16: Kenna Hoops: Bristol, England, UK. Kenna rocked it out in this super fun video.
17: Katie Daniels – Triunfo Hooper: Thousand Oaks, California, USA. The aerial footage in this still leaves us in awe.
18: Lila Chupa-Hoops – Hooping Idol Slow Jams Week: Paris, France. One of the major highlights of Hooping Idol 2 was something soft and sweet.
19: Melissa Boyte – Barn Hooping: Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. We fell in love with Melissa Boyte this year. She’s pretty irressistable.
20: Misty Gonzales – Love is War: Los Angeles, California, USA. Misty created three hooping characters and spun them up herself in this awesome music video.
21: Moulin Rouge: Hannah Flett and company from Exeter, England, UK dazzled us during Circus Week on Hooping Idol 2 – including unicycle hooping!
22: Neon Emu – Itsa Me Hoopio: Austin, Texas, USA. When we think back on 2012 this one still puts the biggest smile on our face.
23: Mona Shpongledhoops – Divine Moments of Truth: Portland, Oregon, USA. Psychedelic hooping amazement overload. Wow, just wow!
24: Riley Helm – Fairyland: Sarasota, Florida, USA. Transcending hooping videos into art with a soundtrack of her own creation, Fairyland remained in our memory all year long.
25: Roots of Acceptance: Michelle Hazzard and the Seattle Tech Spinners spun up a tale of acceptance in Seattle, Washington, USA.

All year long we scoured the web for the very best in hooping photography and readers sent in their submissions and photo nominations as well. Here are the Top Ten pics that captured the attention of our readers in 2012.

1: Philo Parades: Hooping.org’s Philo Hagen spun it up in the Hula Hoop Parade in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He lives in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Brandy Hug. (206 Points)
2: Kim Eitze: Kim Eitze spun up two hoops during a photoshoot in Austin, Texas, USA. Photo by Erica Kuschel. (124 Points)
3: Jamie Doria: Jami Doria is lost in bliss. She’s from Long Island, New York, USA. Photo by Eraj Asadi. (118 Points)
4: Droo Does Hoop: Lara Eastburn has often said her husband Droo doesn’t hoop, but we shared evidence to the contrary. He lives in Winona, Texas, USA. (107 Points)
5: Jannae Palovich: Jannae Palovich appeared from colorful light trails in one of our favorite LED shots of 2012. She lives in Portland, Oregon, USA. Photo by Cody Augustine. (102 Points)
6: Sam Carpio: Sam Carpio and her beautiful self-made body art spun up multiple hula hoops at the beach. Photo by Nicolas Eumir Lemus Gonzalez. (101 Points)
7: And The Bride Hula Hooped: Stephanie Langston hooped it up at her wedding in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. (91 Points)
8: Construction Hooping: Grant Leonard scored our favorite shot from the Dudes of Hooping Calendar as Mr. June. Photo by Sarah Leonard. (89 Points)
9: Maria Valentin: Maria Valentin had two hoops spinning around her hair bun in New York City. Photo by Barbara Gentile. (88 Points)
10: Hooping With a Broken Hand: Rebecca DeShon-Gilbert didn’t let a broken hand get in the way of her hooping in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. (87 Points)

A few of our Top Ten pics this year received your nominations in the 2013 Hoopie Awards, but along with these great photographs here are ten Honorable Mentions for Photos of the Year, presented in alphabetical order.

1: Ayla Juhree of Orting, Washington, USA.
2: Ciara Blossom and Noah Shipley of Austin, Texas, USA.
3: Daniel Musahi of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
4: Hanekekua Kekaulike of Arcata, California, USA.
5: Jiji O’Neal of Portland, Oregon, USA.
6: Kacie Beluse Knight of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
7: Lindsay Nova of Columbus, Ohio, USA.
8: Nicole Barrett of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
9: Spiral of Berkeley, California, USA (A previous winner in this category).
10: Spiral of Berkeley, California, USA (A previous winner in this category).

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