THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 25, 1994 TAG: 9406240095
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Larry Maddry
DATELINE: 940625 LENGTH: Long
In 1991 Koehler - then a resident of Poolsville, Md.- flew with the U.S.A Boomerang Team to the land of the rangs and the roos. He stepped into a windy stadium in Perth, Australia, with a bag of boomerangs, whipped them into the air - sometimes two at a time - and walked away with the individual world championship.
{REST} ``The trophy was a war boomerang, at least 100 years old, made by an Australian aboriginal,'' Koehler said. ``It's four feet long, made of hardwood and a museum piece,'' he explained, pointing to a wall where his collection of antique rangs were hung like rungs of a ladder.
Koehler is a graphic artist who moved back to Hampton Roads a few months ago to work for Primm & Co. He accepted the job only because he is allowed to work at his 60th Street home.
That means he and his chocolate Labrador can race out of his home computer studio at any moment - and often do - to play swim-and-fetch with a foam boomerang in the nearby ocean. Jasper, the dog, does most of the work and is always wagging his tail for one more fetch as Koehler flops with arms spread onto the sand, staring at the sky - a boomeranger's field of dreams.
A restless iconoclast, Kohler has a mind that ranges like a boomerang, orbiting for new ideas, new ground to break.
It has lead to some interesting achievements, such as:
The incredible toss a boomerang into the air one year and catch it a year later. Explanation: ``I tossed it a few seconds before midnight on New Year's Eve and had enough time to kiss my wife before it came back to me.''
The absolutely fantastic stunt of tossing a boomerang at a speed of 500 miles an hour and catching it one day later. Explanation: ``They announced aboard the 747 that we were crossing the International Date Line so I pulled a rang from my bag and let it rip.''
The mind-boggling rang toss-and-catch around the Washington Monument. Explanation: ``It's more difficult than it sounds. The first one I tossed smashed to pieces on the monument marble. It takes a toss that goes 60 meters out and travels in an orbital rather than elliptical path.''
For four years, Koehler was a member of the U.S. Boomerang Team and former holder of the world endurance record for boomerang tossing. He was the runner-up for the individual world championship in 1992. He now finds teaching kids the joys of boomeranging as rewarding as competition.
``I've done demonstrations at three schools in Virginia Beach . . . . It's a sport that can be enjoyed with team play or solo,'' he said.
For youngsters or folks who want to mess around on the beach, he recommends a boomerang called The Air Dancer, which is made of compressed foam.
``It's a soft rang that won't knock an eye out,'' he said. ``It floats, its brilliant orange color makes it easy to find and it's a great toy for the dog. And it sells for under $10.''
Everyone knows that the boomerang originated in Australia, right? Rong, mate. ``Boomerangs seemed to have originated independently in countries around the world,'' Koehler said. ``In China, in Africa, in India, in South America. The Hopi Indians in our Southwest used a nonreturning boomerang called a rabbit stick. A returning boomerang more than 21,000 years old has been found in Poland.''
A former Frisbee fanatic, Koehler was a member of the Frisbee Club at Virginia Commonwealth University and took up the sport after watching a boomerang tournament.
``I was amazed at the control the competitors could get. The contestants covered a field, tossing the twirling rangs everywhere. It was like watching yo-yos with no strings.''
Koehler intends to make Hampton Roads more aware of the aesthetic pleasure and healthy exercise boomeranging can provide.
He'll be giving a show during halftime at the Hampton Roads Hurricanes soccer league all-star game July 6. And he's organizing a U.S. Boomerang Association regional tournament to be held in Virginia Beach in September.
Koehler seldom travels without taking a bag full of boomerangs with him - colorful flyers with two or three blades made of foam, plastic, wood, you name it. And he gives one away every now and then.
Not everyone is impressed with the gift or his world championship, he concedes. A few days back, he enjoyed a meal at a local restaurant and, as a token of appreciation, explained who he was and presented the restaurateur with a boomerang.
``Does it work?'' the restaurateur asked.
``Of course,'' Koehler said, walking outside to demonstrate. He took the flexible rang in hand and tossed it across the street.
``I must not have turned the blades up high enough because it went straight across the street, into a parking lot and dropped like a rock behind a wall,'' Koehler recalled. The restaurateur turned abruptly and walked inside, without bothering to retrieve the gift.
Life's full of little defeats like that - even if you're lord of the rangs.
by CNB