Nicole Robinson

As students walk past the clock in the Campus Mall on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, they probably will notice a few pins hurtling through the air. They might see jugglers balancing on a board or even juggling fire. The High and Mighty Jugglers of Eau Claire do all these things and more.

The High and Mighty Jugglers of Eau Claire were established in 1992 and meet regularly Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 6 p.m. at the clock tower. If it’s raining, a sign is posted to tell where it has been rescheduled.

“Our club is basically object manipulation,” club President Brian Hon said. He added they juggle balls, flaming torches, pins and rings, as well as use balancing boards, contact balls, devil sticks and diablos. One member sometimes brings in a unicycle.

Diablos are gyros on a string between two sticks, Hon said, and they can do tricks.

Contact balls are balls not juggled, but run over one’s hands to do tricks, he added.

Devil sticks come in a set of three; one holds two and flips the third in between them.

“Contrary to popular belief, juggling doesn’t take good eye-hand coordination,” Hon said, “It’s mostly based on muscular memory.”

He said it does require some coordination, but mostly it’s just remembering where to put your hands and when.

Meetings are held to practice juggling and to learn from others, Hon said. The group also holds small performances from time to time.

Senior Erik Twaroski, a three-year member, said they have performed at an Altoona Renaissance festival. He added they try to go to juggling conventions whenever possible.

The High and Mighty Jugglers don’t have a membership fee and encourages people to stop by when they’re juggling.

“You don’t have to be a member of the club,” Hon said. “You can just stop by and say you want to learn to juggle.”

They welcome any level of experience.

“We do teach people how to juggle,” Twaroski said.

Sophomore Nicole Helm said she started going to meetings after seeing them juggle.

“(The club is a good place) to hang out with friends, talk about things and learn a skill that looks cool,” she said.

Helm added she didn’t have much experience before joining.

Both Hon and Twaroski juggled flaming torches for the first time with the group.

“I had everyone watching me,” Hon said, “and they were all clapping and yelling.”

Students can get on the mailing list by e-mailing Hon at [email protected].