The World Yo-Yo Contest is the culminating yo-yo competition of the worldwide competitive circuit and is considered the most prestigious yo-yo competition in the world. The winner of this competition in any of the six championship divisions is deemed the World Yo-Yo Champion; the World Yo-Yo Contest is the only event to award such a title. The contest attracts competitors from all over the world and an increasingly large number of spectators. The annual competition is currently run by the International Yo-Yo Federation (IYYF) and the national organization of each year's host nation. As of 2015, 33 countries[1] have sent competitors to the World Yo-Yo Contest from their respective national yo-yo contests. The World Yo-Yo Contest is also known as YoYoCon.
History
The first World Yo-Yo Contest was held in London, England, in 1932. The winner was Harvey Lowe.[2] However, the contest was not held annually until 1992,[3] when Dale Oliver started one in Montreal, Canada during that year's annual International Jugglers' Association's (IJA) convention. The contest was held during this convention until 1999, when it was held in Hawaii. The 2000 contest was held at Universal Studios in Orlando, but in 2001, the event moved to the Rosen Plaza Hotel, where it was held annually until 2013 by Gregory Cohen, owner and operator of YoYoGuy and Infinite Illusions. After the 2013 contest, an international coalition (the IYYF) was formed to organize a new, rotating contest which will be held in a different venue/country every year.
Location
Following the creation of the IYYF in 2013, The World Yo-Yo Contest now cycles between America, Europe, and Asia. This cycling is scheduled through 2018. The bidding process involves the IYYF and the interested National Organization. After finals of the 2016 WYYC on day 4, Steve Brown announced a bid for the 2018 WYYC in Shanghai, China.
2014 Europe (Prague, Czech Republic)
2015 Asia (Tokyo, Japan)
2016 United States of America (Cleveland, Ohio)
2017 Europe (Reykjavik, Iceland)
2018 Asia (Shanghai, China)
2019 United States of America (Cleveland, Ohio)
2023 Asia (Tokyo, Japan)
Online World Yo-Yo Contest
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 World Yo-Yo Contest was slated to be held in Budapest, Hungary. The pandemic, however, caused organizers to cancel the 2020 competition. In 2021 and 2022, to mitigate the possibility of attendees getting sick, the Online World Yo-Yo Contest was created, giving prospective World Yo-Yo Contest competitors the opportunity to compete in an online setting.[4] The results of the 2021 online competition are given below.
There was also an artistic performance division (AP), in which two awards were given. The Entertainment Award went to YOYOBOYS (Robert Kučera & Zdenek Hybl) and the Artistic Award went to Naoto Okada.[5]
The winners of the Online World Yo-Yo Contest do not gain the title of World Yo-Yo Champion, however. The title they receive is that of Online World Yo-Yo Champion (in their respective divisions).[citation needed]
Current champions
As mentioned above, the World Yo-Yo Contest did not take place in 2020, 2021, or 2022. In 2021 and 2022, the Online World Yo-Yo Contest was held in its place, the champions thereof receiving the title of Online World Yo-Yo Champion (as opposed to World Yo-Yo Champion). Thus, the current World Yo-Yo Champions are those who won in 2023, when the competition was held in Osaka, Japan. The results of said competition are given below.
Hiroyuki Suzuki of Japan winning his fourth World Title in 2012. He also won in 2004, 2005, and 2006.
The World Yo-Yo Contest has historically been dominated by the Japanese-taking home 85 World Titles in the past 22 years.[6] The United States has also had a lesser dominance, taking home 27 World Titles.
Shinji Saito remains the most decorated yo-yoer of all-time with 13 World Titles. Hajime Miura is second with 8 World Titles to his name.
In 2003, Brazil's Rafael Matsunaga became the first player outside Japan or the United States to win a World Title, doing so in 5A (Counterweight). In 2004, Hiroyuki Suzuki won his first World Title. Both Daisuke Shimada and Shinji Saito won their third World Title in as many years. Hiroyuki Suzuki became the first player to ever win back-to-back titles in the 1A division in 2005. Shinji Saito continued his dominance, winning his fourth World Title in the 2A division. Kentaro Kimura won the 3A division with what is considered the greatest 3A routine of all time in 2009. In 2010, Canada's Jensen Kimmitt became the first player outside Japan or the United States to win a World Title in 1A. Without Shinji Saito entering the 2A division, Yashushi Furakawa won the World Title. Singapore's Marcus Koh became the second player outside of the United States or Japan to win in the 1A division when he won in 2011. Shinji Saito also returned from a year competition hiatus to win the 2A division for a record eighth time. In 2012, Switzerland's inmot!on became the first team outside Japan or the United States to win the Artistic Performance (AP) division. It was also the first ever World Title won by European competitors. In 2013, Hungary's Janos Karancz became the first European to win the 1A division at the 2013 World Yo-Yo Contest. 2013 was also the first, and only, year to feature a top-3 in 1A with no players from Japan or the United States. In 2014, Rei Iwakura completed a flawless routine in the 4A division en route to his third World Title. Mir Kim won the 1A division in both Online World Yo-Yo Contests and won again in the 2023 World Yo-Yo Contest, and also had the highest scoring 1a freestyle ever in 2023.
Championship divisions
The World Yo-Yo Contest has 6 championship divisions that award the title of 'World Yo-Yo Champion'
Division name
Other name
Explanation
1A
Single Hand String Trick
The player uses a long spinning yo-yo to perform "string tricks" that typically require manipulation of the string.
2A
Two Hands Looping Trick
The player uses two responsive yo-yos simultaneously to perform reciprocating or looping maneuvers.
3A
Two Hands String Trick
The player uses two long spinning yo-yos and performs tricks with both simultaneously.
4A
Offstring
The player uses an offstring yo-yo, often releasing the yo-yo into the air and attempting to catch it on the string.
5A
Counterweight
The player uses a yo-yo with a counterweight on the other end of the string rather than having it attached to a finger.
AP
Artistic Performance
The performer uses any type of yo-yo or other prop for an open-ended performance which emphasizes choreography and stage presence.
Championship division structure
There are a series of preliminary rounds before the final round at the World Yo-Yo Contest. In the past, anyone could enter the World Yo-Yo Contest. Competitors were allowed a one-minute routine, and a set number of players would make the finals. The preliminary rounds have been evolving over the years to accommodate the growing popularity of competitive yo-yos around the world.
In the 1A division, there are currently four rounds of competition. In 2A-5A, there is currently only the Preliminary (1 minute) and the Final (3 minute).[7]
Wild-Card (30 seconds)
Any player can enter the Wild-Card round
Preliminary (1 minute)
Top-10 at a sanctioned National Competition/Multi-National Competition seeded directly to Preliminary
Top performing competitors from Wild-Card
Semi-Final (1:30 minutes)
Top-3 at sanctioned Multi-National Competition & sanctioned National Champions seeded directly to Semi-Final
Top performing competitors from Preliminary
Final (3 minutes)
Previous Year's World Champion seeded directly to Final
Sanctioned seeding competitions
Players can earn a seed to various rounds of the preliminaries through multi-national competitions, national competitions,[8] and the previous year's World Yo-Yo Contest.
The World Yo-Yo Contest has also held other championship divisions that are now defunct either because it was replaced or had judging standardization issues.
Division name
Other name
Year
Note
TM
Team
1999–2001
MT
Mega Team
1999
X
2000–2002
Included all tricks and styles not eligible for 1A and 2A. In 2003, it was separated into 3A, 4A and 5A divisions.
CB
Combined
2006–2009
Players compete and demonstrate skill in multiple styles. Due to difficulties with judging, this division was removed. Shinji Saito was the winner all four years it was held.
Non-championship divisions
In addition to these World Divisions, the World Yo-Yo Contest also hosts additional divisions such as the 'Women's Division' and, in 2015, the 'Over 40 Freestyle'. There is also numerous yo-yo modifying and design contests, known in the field as modding. These non-championships divisions do not award the title of 'World Yo-Yo Champion'.
Division Name
Other Name
Explanation
Yo-Yo
WF
Women's Freestyle
Women freestyle for 3-minutes. They can enter both Women's and Open.
Over 40
Over 40 Freestyle
Men and Women over 40 freestyle for 3-minutes. They can enter both 'Over 40' and Open.
Diabolo
DL
Diabolo Ladder
DF
Diabolo Freestyle
Sports
SL
Sports Ladder
SF
Sports Freestyle
Spintop
SL
Spintop Ladder
SF
Spintop Freestyle
This is a World Title as certified by ITSA but not a yo-yo division title.
Mod
MD
Mod
The player produces and designs a self-made yo-yo.
Participating nations
There are 33 countries currently registered[11] with the IYYF that have the right to seed a National Champion into the semi-final round at the World Yo-Yo Contest. IYYF is also in communication with several other countries[12] (denoted by *), but, currently, these countries do not have the right to seed a National Champion to the semi-finals.
South Korea)
Japan)
Thailand)
Czech Republic)
Taiwan)
Brazil)
USA)
