Emily Evans, nearing 14 years old, has been playing for Kendama for just two years and is now finding herself on KendamaUSA’s Tribe Team. She spends most of her time practicing Kendama, reading and playing Ice Hockey for the Anaheim Lady Ducks 14AAA team as the goalie. Emily was asked to be on Tribe after her win in the advanced bracket at the Lez Dama 2 event, summer of 2016. The previous year she also took 1st but in the beginner ladder. Her progression and persistence have gotten her far, as she continues to amaze those around her. Emily was Haley Bishoff’s second tribe pick and is now the third female to be added to KendamaUSA.
“I first met Emily at the Lez Dama 2 event after seeing her videos on Instagram and facebook. Right away, I knew who she was because of her incredibly long hair and the fact that she was wearing her large purple KendamaUSA t-shirt I’ve seen in all her videos. We hung out throughout the whole event and I soon came to realize that Emily is one of the most down to earth, kind, talented and humble young girls I’ve ever met. After she won the advanced bracket, she didn’t stop smiling for probably the rest of the day and handled the win with such a level head. She is truly something special and I am so happy to have her a part of the team.” – Haley Bishoff
We got a few minutes with Haley Bishoff this past weekend so we decided to do a Rapid Fire Q&A to help get to know Haley a little better.
Haley what was the…?
Last books you read:
- Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
- Annapurna: A Woman’s Place by Arlene Blum
Last food you ate:
- Some veggie stir fry
Last song you listened to:
- Tallest Man on Earth’s new song – Rivers
Last edit you watched:
- The new Epic Drone edit feat. B Meyer!
Last store you were in:
- Fred Meyer…I’m in there like at least 3 times a day for some reason
Last ice cream you tried:
- So Delicious cashew milk snickerdoodle. It tastes like Christmas
Last state you visited:
- Last state I was in was California for Let’s Dama 2!
Last time you picked your nose:
- Casual pick like 30 minutes ago, no shame.
Last regret:
- #noregrets #liveontheedge #yolo #lol
Last dama set up:
- I have been jamming an Orange Kaizen A LOT lately…glued spike & mashed cups, of course.
Last things you drank:
- Iced coffee with some hazelnut creamer
Last tattoo:
- A ponderosa pine tree at the bottom of my leg near my ankle. Represents home in Central Oregon
Last dream you remember:
- I had a super strange dream last night that my neighbor Chris was in my parents house and threw up everywhere…why? I don’t know.
Last movies you watched:
- Soaked in Bleach, a Netflix documentary about Kurt Cobain’s life
Last bone you broke:
- Strangely I have never broken a bone to the point of having a cast, but I have fractured a few things. Last thing was a small fracture in my left knee when I was in high school. I was sliding down a huge patch of ice on my snowboard on my butt and caught at edge, flew forward and landed right on my knee. I actually didn’t even find out it was fractured for days, oops.
Last weekend’s LVKO was a big success for Kendama USA. Our team was able to take the top three in both competitions. The entire KUSA crew advanced to the second day of the open division with Max Norcross and Christian Fraser from Sweets along with Oliver Velasquez. The newest member of the Tribe team; Gavin Harvey took the open division win. Check out the photos and the placings from the event below.
We are proud to announce our newest member of the TRIBE; Dylan Westmoreland from Murrieta, CA. Dylan started playing Kendama in the summer of 2014. His first Kendama was borrowed from a friend and once hooked he finally snagged one for himself. Tribute member TJ Kolesnik has been able to see him grow as a Kendama player since day 1. Dylan attended his first Kendama contest in Southern California which was hosted by TJ in Southern California. From there, he went on to winning video contests, traveling to cities to compete and being active in the community via YouTube / Instagram / Facebook, etc… showing all his progression.
We are happy to welcome Dylan to the team. 15 years old and killing the game. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for you and how you’ll grow with our company.
Be sure to check out his TRIBE Announcement video below, as well as a collection of photos below of jams, events and contests Dylan has attended.
