The National YoYo League has expanded the qualifiers available for players to be able to compete in the US National YoYo Contest. NYYL-sanctioned State contests will now qualify players to the event, and just a few minutes ago it was announced that former National Champions and finalists would qualify to compete in Prelims!

Here’s the full breakdown of who can compete at the US National YoYo Contest:

Qualifying to Nationals

All competitors in the Championship Divisions must qualify to compete at the National Yo-Yo Contest by placing well in a NYYL Regional Contest or NYYL State Contest during the preceding competition season, or as a finalist for the US National Contest in the previous three years.

Nationals Qualifying Standards for 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A divisions through a National Yo-Yo League Regional Contest:

Competitors must be a US Citizen or full-time resident.

Any competitor who places within the top 5 of a division, qualifies to compete in the semi-finals at the US National Contest in that division.

In addition, the top 5 competitors in each division, who reside within the region*, qualify in the division they competed in (regardless of their overall placement).

The 1st place competitor who resides in each Region qualifies directly to the finals.

*Resident of Region: Anyone who has resided in the particular region for more than 50% of the year.

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Qualifying via previous USA National Yo-Yo Contest:

2014 National Yo-Yo Contest: 1st Place, 2nd Place, 3rd Place
2013 National Yo-Yo Contest: 1st Place, 2nd Place
2012 National Yo-Yo Contest: 1st Place

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Qualifying via NYYL State Sanctioned Contest:

For 1A

A minimum of 10 competitors in the division is required to qualify toward Nationals.

Up to 29 competitors:

1st place qualifies to semi-finals

30-59 competitors:

1st and 2nd place qualifies to semi-finals

60 competitors or more:

1st, 2nd and 3rd place qualify to semi-finals

For 2A through 5A

A minimum of 5 competitors in the division in required to qualify toward Nationals.

Up to 9 competitors

1st place qualifies to semi-finals

10 to 29 competitors:

1st and 2nd place qualify to semi-finals

30 competitors or more:

1st, 2nd and 3rd place qualify to semi-finals

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Qualifying via NYYL Regional Sanctioned Contest:

Qualification for the 1A Championship Finals

Qualification for the 1A Championship Finals

The 9 regional contest winners automatically qualify for the 1A Championship Finals.

The top 6 contestants in the Semi-Final round (one-minute freestyles) also advance to the 1A Championship Finals. In addition to the 6 Semi-Final qualifiers, any contestant with a score within 1.00 point of the 6th qualifier will also advance to the 1A Championship Finals.

If there are less than 9 regional contest winners competing, additional contestants may be chosen from the Semi-Final Round up to a maximum of 15 finalists. Note that extra contestants will be added only if their scores are within 5.00 points of the 6th qualifier.

The Semi-Final qualifiers will be sorted from lowest to highest semi-final score to determine their performance order which will precede the regional qualifiers. The regional qualifiers will be randomly sorted to determine their performance order.

In the event that the total number of registered competitors is less than the maximum number of finalists, the Contest Director, in consultation with the Head Judge, may choose to forego the Semi-Finals and advance all competitors to the Finals.

Qualification for the 2A-5A Championship Finals

The 9 regional contest winners automatically qualify for the 2A-5A Championship Finals.

The top 5 contestants in the Semi-Final round (one-minute freestyles) also advance to the Championship Finals. In addition to the 5 Semi-Final qualifiers, any contestant with a score within 1.00 point of the 5th qualifier will also advance to the Championship Finals.

If there are less than 4 regional contest winners competing, additional contestants may be chosen from the Semi-Final Round up to a maximum of 10 finalists. Note that extra contestants will be added only if their scores are within 5.00 points of the 5th qualifier.

The Semi-Final qualifiers will be sorted from lowest to highest semi-final score to determine their performance order which will precede the regional qualifiers. The regional qualifiers will be randomly sorted to determine their performance order.

In the event that the total number of registered competitors is less than the maximum number of finalists, the Contest Director, in consultation with the Head Judge, may choose to forego the Semi-Finals and advance all competitors to the Finals.