World Yo-Yo Contest facts for kids
Quick facts for kids World Yo-Yo Contest by International Yo-Yo Federation (IYYF) |
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|---|---|
| Venue | Rotates annually |
| Location | Europe/Asia/USA |
| Dates | First Official in 2013 |
The World Yo-Yo Contest (WYYC) is the biggest and most important yo-yo competition in the world! It's where the best yo-yo players from all over the globe come together to show off their amazing skills. If you win in one of the main categories, you get the special title of World Yo-Yo Champion. This contest is the only event that gives out such a cool title.
Players from many different countries compete here. The event is organized every year by the International Yo-Yo Federation (IYYF) and the yo-yo group in the country hosting the contest. By 2015, players from 33 countries had joined the World Yo-Yo Contest after winning their own national yo-yo events. Sometimes, people also call the World Yo-Yo Contest "YoYoCon."
Contents
History of the World Yo-Yo Contest
The very first World Yo-Yo Contest happened a long time ago in London, England, in 1932. A player named Harvey Lowe was the first winner. But after that, the contest didn't happen every year for a while.
Yo-yo as a sport really started to grow in 1992. That year, Dale Oliver began holding the contest regularly in Montreal, Canada. It was part of the annual meeting for the International Jugglers' Association (IJA).
The contest stayed with the IJA meeting until 1999, when it was held in Hawaii. In 2000, the event moved to Universal Studios in Orlando. From 2001 until 2013, it was held every year at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando. A person named Gregory Cohen organized it during those years.
Official World Championships Begin
After the 2013 contest, a new international group called the International Yo-Yo Federation (IYYF) was created. This group decided to make the contest even bigger and move it to a different country each year. This made the contest truly official and worldwide. The 2013 event was the first official IYYF World Championship.
Where the World Yo-Yo Contest Takes Place
Since the IYYF started in 2013, the World Yo-Yo Contest now moves between America, Europe, and Asia. This plan was set up to continue for several years. Countries that want to host the contest work with the IYYF to make their bid.
Here are some of the places the contest has been held:
- 2013 World Yo-Yo Contest
- 2014: Prague, Czech Republic (Europe)
- 2015: Tokyo, Japan (Asia)
- 2016: Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America (America)
- 2017: Reykjavik, Iceland (Europe)
- 2018: Shanghai, China (Asia)
- 2019: Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America (America)
- 2023: Osaka, Japan (Asia)
- 2024: Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America (America)
- 2025: Prague, Czech Republic (Europe)
Online World Yo-Yo Contest
The 2020 World Yo-Yo Contest was planned for Budapest, Hungary. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizers had to cancel it. To keep the competition going safely, the Online World Yo-Yo Contest was created in 2021 and 2022. This allowed players to compete from home.
Here are the winners from the 2021 online competition:
| Style | Winner | 2nd Place | 3rd Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | Mir Kim ( South Korea) |
Akitoshi Tokubuchi ( Japan) |
Park Junsang ( South Korea) |
| 2A | Shu Takada ( Japan) |
Satoshi Yamanaka ( Japan) |
Wasakorn Lattilertwit ( Thailand) |
| 3A | Minato Furuta ( Japan) |
Tomoya Kurita ( Japan) |
Mizuki Takimoto ( Japan) |
| 4A | Kaoru Nakamura ( Japan) |
Tsubasa Onishi ( Japan) |
Yuki Uchida ( Japan) |
| 5A | Sora Ishikawa ( Japan) |
Yoshihiro Abe ( Japan) |
Hideo Ishida ( Japan) |
| Women's | Miri Kim ( South Korea) |
Veronika Kamenská ( Czech Republic) |
Hobbit Xiao-Wen Wang ( Taiwan) |
| Over 40 | Ricardo Marechal ( Brazil) |
Benjamin McPhee ( USA) |
Tomomi Matsuda ( Japan) |
There was also an Artistic Performance (AP) division. The Entertainment Award went to YOYOBOYS (Robert Kučera & Zdenek Hybl), and the Artistic Award went to Naoto Okada.
It's important to know that winners of the Online World Yo-Yo Contest get the title of "Online World Yo-Yo Champion," not the main "World Yo-Yo Champion" title.
Here are the winners from the 2022 Online World Yo-Yo Contest:
| Style | Winner | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | 4th Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | Mir Kim | Akitoshi Tokubuchi | Junsang Park | Ryuichi Nakamura |
| 2A | Hiraku Fujii | Hajime Sakauchi | Arata Imai | Akira Kato |
| 3A | Tomoya Kurita | Minato Furuta | Dongyoung Kim | Thawhir Iqbal |
| 4A | Kaoru Nakamura | Gunju Eom | Tomohiko Zanka | Taiyo Katsumata |
| 5A | Sora Ishikawa | Jihoo Lee | Yuki Sakamoto | Naoya Takeuchi |
| Women's | Miri Kim | Xueqing Yang | Ziyu Meng | Kira Morrow |
| Over 40 | Lorenzo Sabatini | Ricardo Marechal | Tomoya Isoshima | Tomomi Matsuda |
Current World Yo-Yo Champions
The main World Yo-Yo Contest did not happen in 2020, 2021, or 2022. Instead, the Online World Yo-Yo Contest was held, and its winners became "Online World Yo-Yo Champions."
The World Yo-Yo Contest returned in 2023 in Osaka, Japan. The 2024 World Yo-Yo Contest was held from July 31 to August 3 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Here are the results from the 2024 competition:
| Style | Winner | 2nd Place | 3rd Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | Mir Kim ( South Korea) |
Jakub Dolejš ( Czech Republic) |
Hunter Feuerstein ( USA) |
| 2A | Hajime Sakauchi ( Japan) |
Arata Imai ( Japan) |
Chun Hay Chan ( Hong Kong) |
| 3A | Minato Furuta ( Japan) |
Sora Tahira ( Japan) |
Tomoya Kurita ( Japan) |
| 4A | Ryan Connolly ( USA) |
Kaoru Nakamura ( Japan) |
Koyo Hashimoto ( Japan) |
| 5A | Jihoo Lee ( South Korea) |
Naoki Uemae ( Japan) |
Sora Ishikawa ( Japan) |
| AP |
You can find a full list of past champions here: List of Yo-yo world champions.
Yo-Yo Champions by Country (1993-2013)
Historically, yo-yo players from Japan have won the most World Titles. Between 1993 and 2013, they took home 85 championships! The United States also had many winners, with 27 World Titles during that time.
Shinji Saito is known as the most successful yo-yo player ever, with 13 World Titles. Hajime Miura is second with 8 World Titles.
Here's a look at how countries performed in the unofficial championships from 1993-2013:
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan |
80 | 75 | 67 |
| USA |
27 | 28 | 31 |
| Brazil |
1 | 1 | |
 Canada |
1 | ||
 Singapore |
1 | 2 | 2 |
 Hungary |
1 | ||
 Switzerland |
2 | ||
| Hong Kong |
1 | 1 | |
| Taiwan |
1 | 2 | 1 |
 Germany |
2 | ||
 Mexico |
1 |
Championship Divisions
The World Yo-Yo Contest has 6 main divisions where players can win the title of 'World Yo-Yo Champion'. Each division focuses on a different style of yo-yo play.
| Division Name | Other Name | What it's About |
|---|---|---|
| 1A | Single Hand String Trick | The player uses one yo-yo that spins for a long time. They perform "string tricks" by moving the string around. |
| 2A | Two Hands Looping Trick | The player uses two yo-yos at the same time. These yo-yos are "responsive," meaning they come back easily. Players do tricks where the yo-yos go up and down in loops. |
| 3A | Two Hands String Trick | The player uses two long-spinning yo-yos at the same time. They perform string tricks with both yo-yos. |
| 4A | Offstring | The player uses a special "offstring" yo-yo. This yo-yo is not tied to the string. Players often throw the yo-yo into the air and try to catch it back on the string. |
| 5A | Counterweight | The player uses a yo-yo with a small weight (called a counterweight) on the end of the string instead of attaching the string to their finger. |
| AP | Artistic Performance | This division is about showing off. Players use any type of yo-yo or other props. They focus on a choreographed performance that includes music, dance, and stage presence. |
How Championship Divisions Work
Before the final round at the World Yo-Yo Contest, there are several rounds of competition. In the past, anyone could enter. Players would do a one-minute routine, and the best ones would move to the finals. As yo-yoing became more popular, the rules for these rounds have changed.
For the 1A division, there are usually four rounds. For 2A-5A, there are usually two rounds: the Preliminary (1 minute) and the Final (3 minutes).
- Wild-Card (30 seconds): Anyone can enter this first round.
- Preliminary (1 minute): The top players from the Wild-Card round move here. Also, the top 10 players from certain national or multi-national contests get to skip the Wild-Card round and start here.
- Semi-Final (1:30 minutes): The best players from the Preliminary round move on. Also, the top 3 players from certain multi-national contests and national champions get to start directly in this round.
- Final (3 minutes): The best players from the Semi-Final round compete here. The World Champion from the previous year automatically gets a spot in the Final round.
Competitions That Help You Qualify
Players can earn a spot in the later rounds of the World Yo-Yo Contest by doing well in other big competitions. These are called "sanctioned seeding competitions."
- European Yo-Yo Championship (Kraków, Poland)
- Las Vegas Yo-Yo Championship (Las Vegas, United States)
- Asia Pacific Yo-Yo Championship (Singapore, Singapore)
- Latin American Yo-Yo Contest (Mexico City, Mexico)
- The previous year's World Yo-Yo Contest
- One of 33 national competitions approved by the IYYF
Other Divisions
Besides the main championship divisions, the World Yo-Yo Contest also has other fun divisions. These include the 'Women's Division' and the 'Over 40 Freestyle'. There are also contests for designing and modifying yo-yos, known as "modding." Winners in these divisions do not get the 'World Yo-Yo Champion' title.
| Division Name | Other Name | What it's About | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yo-Yo | ||||
| WF | Women's Freestyle | Women perform a 2-minute freestyle routine. They can also enter the main "Open" divisions if they wish. | ||
| Over 40 | Over 40 Freestyle | Men and women who are over 40 years old perform a 2-minute freestyle routine. They can also enter the main "Open" divisions. | ||
| Mod | ||||
| MD | Mod | Players create and design their own yo-yos. | ||
Countries That Participate
The IYYF has 33 countries officially registered. These countries can send their national champion directly to the semi-final round of the World Yo-Yo Contest. The IYYF is also talking with several other countries (marked with a *), but these countries don't yet have the right to send a national champion to the semi-finals.
Europe |
North America |
Asia/Oceania |
Africa
|
South America |
