World Yo-Yo Contest facts for kids
Quick facts for kids World Yo-Yo Contest by International Yo-Yo Federation (IYYF) |
|
|---|---|
| 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 like the Olympics for yo-yo players! Winners in any of the six main categories get the special title of "World Yo-Yo Champion." This is the only event that gives out such a title.
Yo-yo players from all over the globe come to compete. Many fans also come to watch the amazing tricks. The International Yo-Yo Federation (IYYF) and the host country's yo-yo group run this yearly event. By 2015, 33 different countries had sent their best players to the contest. You might also hear the World Yo-Yo Contest called YoYoCon.
Contents
History of the World Yo-Yo Contest
Early Yo-Yo Championships
The very first World Yo-Yo Contest happened in London, England, in 1932. A player named Harvey Lowe was the first winner. After that, the contest wasn't held every year for a long time.
Modern yo-yo as a sport really started in 1992. That year, Dale Oliver began holding a yearly contest in Montreal, Canada. This was part of the annual International Jugglers' Association's (IJA) big meeting. From 1992 to 1998, the contest stayed in Montreal. In 1999, it moved to Hawaii, USA.
The Official World Championship Era
From 2000 to 2012, the contest was held in Orlando, USA. It was first at Universal Studios and then at the Rosen Plaza Hotel. A person named Gregory Cohen ran the event during these years.
In 2013, something big changed! An international group called the International Yo-Yo Federation (IYYF) was created. They decided to make the contest even bigger and move it to a different country each year. The 2013 World Yo-Yo Contest was the first official IYYF World Championship.
Where the Contest Happens
Since the IYYF started in 2013, the World Yo-Yo Contest moves between America, Europe, and Asia. This plan was set up until 2018. Countries that want to host the event 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, USA (America)
- 2017: Reykjavik, Iceland (Europe)
- 2018: Shanghai, China (Asia)
- 2019: Cleveland, Ohio, USA (America)
- 2023: Osaka, Japan (Asia)
- 2024: Cleveland, Ohio, USA (America)
- 2025: Prague, Czech Republic (Europe)
Online World Yo-Yo Contest
The 2020 World Yo-Yo Contest was planned for Budapest, Hungary. But then the COVID-19 happened, and the event had to be canceled. To keep the competition going safely, the Online World Yo-Yo Contest was created in 2021 and 2022. This let players 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. YOYOBOYS won the Entertainment Award, and Naoto Okada won the Artistic Award.
It's important to know that winners of the Online World Yo-Yo Contest get the title "Online World Yo-Yo Champion." They don't get the main "World Yo-Yo Champion" title.
Here are the winners from the 2022 online competition:
| 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 Yo-Yo Champions
The World Yo-Yo Contest did not happen in person in 2020, 2021, or 2022. Instead, the Online World Yo-Yo Contest was held. The winners of those online events became "Online World Yo-Yo Champions."
The main World Yo-Yo Contest returned in 2023 in Osaka, Japan. The 2024 contest was held in Cleveland, Ohio, from July 31 to August 3.
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 World Yo-Yo Champions too!
Top Countries and Players (1993-2013)
Historically, yo-yo players from Japan have won the most World Titles. They took home 85 titles in the first 22 years! Players from the United States have also done very well, winning 27 titles.
The player with the most World Titles ever is Shinji Saito, with 13 wins! Hajime Miura is second with 8 World Titles.
Here's a look at how countries performed between 1993 and 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 |
Main Yo-Yo Divisions
The World Yo-Yo Contest has 6 main divisions where players can become a '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 | Players use one yo-yo that spins for a long time. They perform "string tricks" by moving the string around. |
| 2A | Two Hands Looping Trick | Players use two yo-yos at the same time. They make the yo-yos go up and down in a loop, often in circles. |
| 3A | Two Hands String Trick | Players use two long-spinning yo-yos at once. They do tricks with both yo-yos at the same time. |
| 4A | Offstring | Players use a special yo-yo that isn't tied to the string. They throw the yo-yo into the air and try to catch it back on the string. |
| 5A | Counterweight | Players use a yo-yo with a weight on the end of the string instead of attaching it to their finger. |
| AP | Artistic Performance | This is a creative division. Players use any type of yo-yo or prop. They focus on cool moves and stage presence. |
How to Qualify for the Championship
To get to the final round of the World Yo-Yo Contest, players go through several earlier rounds. In the past, anyone could enter. They would do a one-minute routine, and the best players would move on. The rules have changed over time as more people started competing.
For the 1A division, there are usually four rounds. For 2A-5A, there are usually two rounds: Preliminary and Final.
- Wild-Card (30 seconds): Anyone can enter this first round.
- Preliminary (1 minute): Top players from national contests or the Wild-Card round move to this stage.
- Semi-Final (1:30 minutes): Top players from big multi-national contests or national champions go straight to this round. Others move up from the Preliminary round.
- Final (3 minutes): The World Champion from the year before automatically gets a spot in the final. The best players from the Semi-Final also make it here.
Special Qualification Events
Players can get a "seed" (a guaranteed spot) in different rounds by doing well at certain big competitions. These include:
- 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 World Yo-Yo Contest from the previous year
- One of 33 national contests approved by the IYYF
Old Yo-Yo Divisions
The World Yo-Yo Contest used to have other divisions that are no longer part of the championship. This happened if a division was replaced or if it was too hard to judge fairly.
| Division Name | Other Name | Years Held | Why it Changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| TM | Team | 1999–2001 | This division was for teams of players. |
| MT | Mega Team | 1999 | This was a special team division held only once. |
| X | 2000–2002 | This division included all tricks that didn't fit into 1A and 2A. In 2003, it was split into 3A, 4A, and 5A. | |
| CB | Combined | 2006–2009 | Players showed skills in many different yo-yo styles. It was removed because judging it was too difficult. Shinji Saito won this division all four times it was held. |
Other Fun Divisions
Besides the main championship divisions, the World Yo-Yo Contest also has other fun categories. These don't award the "World Yo-Yo Champion" title. Examples include the 'Women's Division' and the 'Over 40 Freestyle' (added in 2015). There are also contests for designing and changing yo-yos, called "modding."
| Division Name | Other Name | What it's About | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yo-Yo Divisions | ||||
| WF | Women's Freestyle | Women perform a 2-minute freestyle routine. They can also enter the main "Open" divisions. | ||
| Over 40 | Over 40 Freestyle | Men and women over 40 years old perform a 2-minute freestyle. They can also enter the main "Open" divisions. | ||
| Diabolo Divisions | ||||
| DL | Diabolo Ladder | A competition for diabolo players. | ||
| DF | Diabolo Freestyle | A freestyle competition for diabolo players. | ||
| Sports Divisions | ||||
| SL | Sports Ladder | A competition for various sports tricks. | ||
| SF | Sports Freestyle | A freestyle competition for various sports tricks. | ||
| Spintop Divisions | ||||
| SL | Spintop Ladder | A competition for spintop players. | ||
| SF | Spintop Freestyle | A freestyle competition for spintop players. This is a World Title for spintops, but not a yo-yo title. | ||
| Mod Division | ||||
| MD | Mod | Players create and design their own yo-yos for this competition. | ||
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 other countries (marked with a *), but they can't send a national champion to the semi-finals yet.
Europe |
North America |
Asia/Oceania |
Africa
|
South America |
