A New Era At Toy Fair
By M.C. Cohen

It was “cyber-optic” city for sporting goods at Toy Fair 2002. It seemed like the unofficial theme of this year’s sporting goods, displayed at Javits Jacobs Center recently, were bats that talk, flying discs with sirens, footballs that look more like UFO’s with flashing lights and the countless number of glow–in–the–dark balls. While all these toys are fun to look at, and certainly add a new dimension to playing, simple may still be better. A sporting goods star of Toy Fair was a larger adapted remake of the 1960’s classic “frisbee,” called Beamo. This 30-inch diameter, flying hoop shaped like a beautiful flat donut – is made of spandex and offers an open invitation for everyone to jump right in.

“It glides through the air,” says Victoria Akins, an 11–year–old from New York City. “It’s spectacular. The visual effects are so pretty.”

What’s truly wonderful about the Beamo is its rare combination of size (approximately 6 times larger than a regular frisbee) and softness. Because of this unique blend, it’s ideal for younger children and children with disabilities. Beamo is especially good for kids who are visually impaired, allowing for a high success rate.

A great start-up product for beginning grippers, catchers and throwers, is the “Oball”. The challenging part for most beginning catchers is gripping the ball. Because it is hollow, the tips of youngsters fingers can fit neatly into the interior of the Oball, thus turning the initially potential painful throwing experiences into a pleasurable skill.

Who wouldn’t be in the market for fancy feeling colorful balls in a variety of different types- football, volleyball, and junior size balls. Two standout companies that produce great balls are CoopSport and Saturniani. Coop’s products are waterproof and made of the same material as wetsuits. Saturniani ball’s, while just as colorful, have a raised rubber feel that allows you to make the great grab seem easy while at the same time providing the grip necessary to throw a steady pass.

As usual, “Americas Favorite Pastime,” was highly represented at Toy Fair. Baseball bats were in abundance. Franklin made a statement this year with a line of bats for beginning hitters. With the “Oversized Foam Bat,” and the “Areo-Strike Bat” and ball set–a clear bat that actually stores 3 balls inside of its barrel – there should be big time “hits” this season. Another bat that has a wood-like appearance, but is actually plastic, and has a real good swing to it is from Classic Sports. It features the Diamond Zone plastic baseball. A different recommended product is the Yomega Quick ball – a smaller sized durable plastic ball really jumps off Yomega’s hard plastic bat.

Smaller sized items that can make a large impact on family fun include the adorable line of spider products from Monkey Business Sports. The balls are cleverly disguised as spiders complete with a spider face and rubber legs. One more neat little product is the neon colored Aeromax 2000 toy parachute. The parachute is simple to toss, fun to watch and even better to catch. Bunjeez Ballmerang’s stayed in line and came up with their own version of the beeping electronic ball that glowed in the dark and made noise.#

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