News

By Posted on Posted in Announcement

Cloud Native Inc. Presents the World Yo-Yo Contest 2023 was successfully held in-person for the first time in four years. The event took place August 17th – August 20th, 2023 at the Osaka Conference Center in Tennoji Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture. This year’s event was organized by the Japan Yo-Yo Federation, led by Director Hironori Mii and Akihiro Uemura, with oversight from the International Yo-Yo Federation, represented by Steve Brown.

More than 3300 people attended the event in Osaka, Japan over 4 days, with 367 contest registrations of competitors representing 27 countries and regions. The level of play rose significantly from the last in-person event, the 2019 World YoYo Contest held in Cleveland, Ohio.

WYYC2023 Champions

1A Division – Mir Kim (South Korea)

2A Division – Hajime Sakauchi (Japan)

3A Division – Hajime Miura (Japan)

4A Division – Gun Ju Eom (South Korea)

5A Division – Sora Ishikawa (Japan)

Art & Performance Grand Prix Award – Daniel Tamariz (Spain)

Women’s Freestyle – Miri Kim (South Korea)

Over-40 Freestyle Open Class – Takenori Iguchi (Japan)

Over-40 Freestyle Master Class – Masakazu Yamasaki (Japan)

Official Ambassador

Japanese comedy duo “SMILE” was in attendance and served as official ambassadors for the event, making publicity appearances leading up to the contest to promote it as well as competing in the contest.

Contest Sponsors

The event was sponsored by Cloud Native Inc., C3yoyodesign, and many more companies and organizations. A complete list of sponsors may be found here: https://wyyc2023.com/sponsor/

Next WYYC

The next World Yo-Yo Contest was announced to take place in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, from July 31st to August 3rd, 2024. https://wyyc2024.com/

Event Stats

  • Total Attendees: 3300+
  • Total Contestant Registrations: 367
  • Number of countries & regions represented: 27

YouTube Views

  • Day 1: 4,832
  • Day 2: 12,576
  • Day 3: 16,571
  • Day 4: 32,552

NicoNico Live Views

  • Day 3: 21,128
  • Day 4: 25,743

Contest Videos

Videos from the contest are available here: https://wyyc2023.com/contest-videos/

Photo Report

Coming soon…

By Posted on Posted in Uncategorized

A small controversy occurred during the event, involving National Yo-Yo Master Takahiko Hasegawa reporting on social media that he was “banned” from the event. The IYYF feels this requires some explaining, although it’s impossible for us to provide all context that led to the controversy. IYYF director Steve Brown, being a neutral party on-site, spent several weeks attempting to fully understand the situation and reports his understanding of it below:

“Due to disagreements between Mr. Hasegawa and the Japan Yo-Yo Federation stemming from Mr. Hasegawa’s participation on the organizing committee for the World Yo-Yo Contest 2015 in Tokyo, Mr. Hasegawa has not attended any JYYF-organized events since 2015. He has not been formally banned from attending or sponsoring such events, and until 2021 the JYYF reports that it continued to send sponsorship proposals to Mr. Hasegawa in order to give him the option of supporting and participating in these events. According to the JYYF, Mr. Hasegawa declined to answer these proposals and declined to attend the events as either a sponsor, contestant or spectator. In conversation with Mr. Hasegawa, the language barrier made it unclear whether he acknowledged receiving these invitations from the JYYF, as he spoke differently about it during different parts of the conversation.

As a result of this discord, there were private, internal conversations among JYYF board members expressing concern that Mr. Hasegawa would attend the 2023 World Yo-Yo Contest and attempt to use this event to actively protest the JYYF or disrupt the event. These conversations were private and internal and no official consensus or course of action was reached as a result of them.

Mr. Hasegawa found out about the concerns raised in these conversations by an event staff member who is very close to Mr. Hasegawa, causing Mr. Hasegawa considerable distress. He misinterpreted these concerns as official word or action, and took to social media to express his frustration and anger at being “banned” from the event. There are official processes, both within the JYYF and IYYF, for formally banning someone from attending any events organized by these bodies, but none of these official actions were ever taken by either organization. Mr. Hasegawa made no attempt to directly contact members of the IYYF or JYYF for clarification before making his public declarations, and members of both organizations were otherwise occupied running the event and did not have time to resolve this dispute during the event itself.

Regardless of the inability or unwillingness of Mr. Hasegawa and the JYYF to work together, no official ban has been issued to date. Mr. Hasegawa was not banned from the World Yo-Yo Contest 2023 and is also not banned from any future IYYF events at this time.

Post-event, I met with members of the JYYF Board as well as Mr. Hasegawa (separately) to attempt to understand the full nature of the relationship between the JYYF and Mr. Hasegawa, and the information above is accurate to the best of my knowledge. The IYYF has neither the resources nor responsibility to mediate disagreements between member organizations and private individuals, but due to this disagreement taking place during an event the IYYF was overseeing, my involvement to at least understand this dispute seemed necessary.

I hope that all parties involved can find an amicable resolution in the future, or at the very least not disrupt future contests with public disagreements.”

By Posted on Posted in Announcement

For over 15 months now, Russia has brutally attacked the sovereign country of Ukraine, taking innocent lives, and acting with impunity. While the IYYF seeks to be inclusive of all players worldwide, and knows that we cannot hold individuals responsible for the actions of their government, it is also unfair to allow the actions of an individual to glorify a state that is actively engaged in a war of aggression.

For the World Yo-Yo Contest 2023, any yo-yo players competing from Russia or Belarus will compete under a “blank flag” and will not be allowed to display or represent any logos, symbols, or icons of their country of origin on their person during the event.

We hope for an end to this Russian aggression soon, and the IYYF continues to stand with Ukraine and other affected countries.

15ヶ月以上前から、ロシアはウクライナを攻撃し、罪のない人々の命を奪い続けています。

IYYFは世界中のすべてのプレーヤーを受け入れることを目指しており、政府の行動に対して一市民・個人に責任を問うことができないことは重々承知しています。
しかし、個人の参加・努力が、侵略戦争に積極的に参加している国を称賛するため使用されてしまうことも避けねばなりません。

ワールドヨーヨーコンテスト2023では、ロシアまたはベラルーシから出場するヨーヨー選手は「無旗」での出場とし、大会期間中は出身国のロゴやシンボル、アイコンなどを身につけたり、表現したりすることを許可しません。

IYYFは、ウクライナをはじめとする、戦争・紛争による影響を受けている国々に寄り添って参ります。

(2023.6.27 日本語訳 追加)

By Posted on Posted in Announcement

Hey everyone!

We’re really excited about hosting the upcoming 2023 World Yo-Yo Contest, our first in-person World Yo-Yo Contest since 2019, and can’t wait to see you all there. We have been a bit behind in getting the website updated, and some rule changes and clarifications that should have been communicated earlier were announced with just two months to go before the event. We underestimated the impact of these changes, but we’ve heard your feedback. We will be moving forward with a modified version of these new rules that holds to the spirit of the 2019 rules with a few clarifications that should not affect the music you are using for 2023. The disqualification standards will not change from the 2019 rules. This updated language we have added to the Freestyle Music page is meant to clarify the intent of the same rules from 2019.

We apologize for the poor communication on our part. We’d also like to clarify a couple of things.

In the 2023 rule section titled “Please use proper copyrighted music (now: Please use Legally Obtained High Quality Music)”, some players understood this as they must own the copyright to the music they are using. This is incorrect. Our intention was to encourage players to submit high-quality, “official” copies of their freestyle music instead of low-quality YouTube to MP3 rips that have given us many, many audio issues to resolve over the years. We are not asking you to purchase the copyright for your song, merely to spend the dollar or two to purchase and download an official, high-fidelity copy of the song. We’ll be rewording this to clarify.

The “No Beeping/Blanking/Silencing” rule was an attempt to solve a problem that has plagued yoyo contests for decades without a resolution. Many players have insisted on using music that contains profanity or questionable content, without properly editing the song to make it “contest safe”. The result is too much time spent checking music, players being disqualified at the last minute, inappropriate music causing problems during the event, and an overall unsustainable amount of effort being spent on this issue. We will be working on an equitable solution to this problem, and there will be a rule change regarding this for 2024 Worlds. We’ll announce the change no later than the end of 2023 and we are open to ideas on how to solve this issue fairly for all.

Thanks to all the competitors who reached out with their concerns and engaged us in productive conversation to help us get to a quick solution. See you in Osaka!

https://wyyc2023.com/contest/freestyle-music/

By Posted on Posted in Announcement

As mentioned previously, IYYF has donated $10 of each contestant’s OWYYC2022 participation fee to Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in support of Ukraine. MSF provides important medical humanitarian assistance worldwide and we are proud to support their vital work. For more information on MSF, or to make a donation, please visit their website.
We appreciate your continued understanding and thank all players for their participation in the online contest.

Date of donation: March 8, 2023
Amount: $1460

 

 

By Posted on Posted in Announcement

Rules Added on Oct. 6, 2022

[Regarding Submitted Footage]

If we find that a submitted video appears unnatural (speed adjustment, evidence of editing, etc.), the following actions will be taken.

  • We will request that the player submit the original file without any trimming, for the purpose of evaluation by the contest organizers.
  • We will verify the file size, file information, and shooting environment.
  • We will check a live performance of the freestyle using a video call, and check the filming equipment

After conducting the above, the organizing team and judges will hold a discussion.

Even if we find no traces of video manipulation in the data, the following measures will be taken if the majority of judges involved feel uncomfortable with the video (starting from the Final of OWYYC2022).

  • We will request that the video be reshot.
  • The player must visibly place a commercially available clock with a second-hand or second counter in their filming space and reshoot the freestyle video.
  • If it is confirmed that any editing or manipulation was done intentionally, the contestant may be disqualified at the discretion of the organizing team (in this case, no payments will be refunded).

However, if you have already started filming your final freestyle and are concerned about it, please contact us as soon as possible (we will respond to each case individually by confirming sample footage in advance).

By Posted on Posted in Announcement
A note about participation in OWYYC 2022:

The ongoing war in Ukraine is of great concern to the entire organizing team of the OWYYC, and we’ve been contacted by many players asking us to take one action or another in response. We’ve discussed this at great length and have decided on a position that we feel benefits everyone.

For the foreseeable future, competitors in OWYYC will only be listed by name, not by country. We believe all yoyo players belong in our community, regardless of their place of birth or residence. As long as they behave in a sportsmanlike manner, we will not hold individual players responsible for the actions of their governments.

That said, we also believe strongly in offering assistance to those in need. For the 2022 Online World YoYo Contest, the IYYF will donate $10 from each registration fee to charities providing aid to Ukraine. We will consult with experts to determine the most effective charity to support, and will make sure all donation accounting is public for the sake of transparency.

If we restricted players based on the actions of their governments, almost no one would be left to compete. Our hope is that by creating a kind and welcoming international environment, we can help foster the next generation of policymakers worldwide who carry greater compassion and perspective than those currently in power.

We understand that our decision may not please everyone, and we welcome constructive criticism as well as ideas on how to handle this kind of conflict in the future. Please reach out to owyyc2022 AT iyyf.org with any thoughts or suggestions.

Thank you.

Deadline of Registration and Video Upload for Prelim is September 1.

By Posted on Posted in Announcement

After the excitement and great show of skill at last year’s online contest, we are happy to announce that, yes, we will be holding OWYYC2022! Since we’re still not able to have a WYYC in person yet, this is your big chance this year to put together a competitive yo-yo freestyle and go up against the rest of the global yo-yo community. It will take place starting in the summer of 2022 and go into fall. We hope you’ll look forward to an event that will satisfy not only yo-yo competitors, but spectators and fans alike.

For those just tuning in, Online World Yo-Yo Contest 2022 is an IYYF officially sanctioned online contest open to yo-yo players worldwide. This is your chance to take part, especially if you’ve never been to WYYC or entered a contest before, or don’t usually have the means to travel far to a physical contest. We hope to see entries from many new contestants from all over the globe!

Here is a quick list of changes from last year! Please check if you are interested in competing:

Changes from last year:

  • Prelim and Final only (No Semi-Final)
  • Final is 2 minutes (instead of 3 minutes)
  • 4 evaluation categories for Final (same as Prelim: Execution, Control, Body Control, Music Use)
  • No live sound needed on the video
  • No edits allowed on music (Prelim & Final)
  • New music content standards (details coming soon)
  • Final music must come from IYYF library or certain web sites provided by IYYF

Here is a summary of our contest plans:

  • Name: Online World Yo-Yo Contest 2022 (“Online Worlds”)
  • Hashtag: #OWYYC2022

Timeline (tentative):

  • In June: More details are coming
  • August 21: Prelim Submission starts
  • September 1: Prelim Deadline
  • October 1: Prelim Results / Final Submission starts
  • October 10: Final Deadline (Also, Women/Over 40/AP)
  • November 12: Final Results

* The timeline is subject to change

Contest Divisions:

  • 1A Division
  • 2A Division
  • 3A Division
  • 4A Division
  • 5A Division
  • AP (Art & Performance) *Video edits allowed
  • Women’s Freestyle
  • Over 40 Freestyle

*Contestants can compete in multiple divisions.

Awards:

  • Champion will be the “Online World Contest Winner,” not “2022 World Champion”
  • Seeding to WYYC2023
    • 1A-5A Division Champions seed to the WYYC2023 Semi-Final Round
    • Top 10 finalists of 1A-5A Divisions seed to the WYYC2023 Prelim Round
  • More details to be announced soon.

Contest Format:

1A-5A Divisions:

  • Same rules as WYYC
  • Prelim: 1-minute freestyle
  • Final: 2-minute freestyle

AP:

  • Details are coming soon

Women / Over 40:

  • Same rules as WYYC2019
  • Final only: 2-minute freestyle
  • Submission deadline is the same as 1A-5A Final round
  • You must be 40 or above on August 31, 2022 in order to compete in Over 40 Freestyle

Music Rules:

  • Prelim: Music provided by IYYF only (Library will be updated soon. Some music will be removed/added.)
  • Final: Music provided by IYYF or music from the web site we provide a list of (List will be announced shortly)
  • No editing (even length adjustment) is allowed.
  • Entries with any other music will NOT be allowed.

Those are the basics. We will announce more details soon, but take this as a sign that you can start practicing and working on your freestyles! We’re so excited to see what everyone brings to the table!

We’re looking forward to your participation in the Online World Yo-Yo Contest 2022!

Official Web site will be updated soon.

By Posted on Posted in Announcement

Dear fellow national contest organizers,

Just like we have struggled with being able to run WYYC under current circumstances, we are sure everyone is having hard time to run their own national contests.

If you are running a national contest as an online contest for your country and are seeking seed spots for WYYC, please follow the guidelines below.

30 days before your online national contest (or first round video submission deadline), please submit the following:

  • Main organizer’s name:
  • Organization name:
  • Country:
  • Name of contest (English):
  • Name of contest (local language):
  • Web site URL:
  • Name of Judges (as many as you know/have already confirmed as attending):
  • Date of your Contest Results Announcement:

Within 15 days after your national contest (or result announcement), please submit the following:

  • Name of champions (in all divisions):
  • Name of the top 10 contestants (in all A divisions):
  • Video link to champions’ freestyles (in all divisions):
  • Link to official results posted on your contest web site:
  • List of judges with their email addresses:
  • Judge score spreadsheet file(s) including all judge names attached:

Please send your complete information from this contact form.

If you fail to report this information, your online national contest may not be eligible for seed spots for WYYC.

*Our ultimate goal as a sports governing body is to facilitate in-person contests. For that reason, our decision to accept seeds from online national contests is a temporary solution for our current situation. We may cancel this in future years with advance notice.

By Posted on Posted in Announcement

OWYYC official web site is now open!
https://owyyc.com

The IYYF Music Library was also updated with new 1 minute edited songs that have a start countdown.
These are the ones that should be used for the Prelim round of OWYYC.
https://iyyf.org/iyyf-music-library-1min-edited/

Detailed Rules and Music Guidelines are now available.
https://owyyc.com/rules/
For OWYYC, Music Guidelines are especially important, so please be sure you read them fully.
Filming guidelines are coming soon.