National Yo-Yo Contest

Festival Location: Chico, CA, USA

Festival State: Californian Festivals

Festival Type(s): Bizarre Sports Events, Bizarre Festivals

By: © Nelson Taylor 2009

Shoot the Moon, Split the Atom, Time Warp, Singapore Sling and Velvet Rolls. These are the names of just several of the 1000s of incredible yo-yo tricks you can see at the National Yo-Yo Contest held every October in Chico, otherwise known as the "Cooperstown of Yo-Yos."

Since 1988, Bob Malowney, the Director of the National Yo-Yo Museum has hosted the event that has grown to 200 entrants both young and old from around the country. "What used to be a toy is now a sport," Malowney says. On three stages, contestants vying for a national championship slot compete in one of three categories: IA, which consists of only one-handed tricks; IIA, which consists of only two-handed tricks; and X, which consists of only extreme or experimental tricks. For those not interested in serious competition, there's the Recreational class.

While Malowney admits that the top players are usually between the ages of twelve and sixteen, he says he's got some amazing seventy-plus men and women who show up every year. "But they're not in it to win," he says. "There's just no way to compete against a fifteen-year-old. I mean, the kids have time to practice. The old guys have mortgages." There is no fee to either compete or watch this annual event. Also free to the public are a vendor and collectors' fair plus yo-yo demonstrations. "But the big draw for the kids," Malowney says, "is that every year one manufacturer introduces their new yo-yo at the contest."