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2016 West Coast YoYo Championship Results & Video

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1A-PRO-WINNERS

Full results are in for the 2016 West Coast YoYo Championship…congrats to Anthony Rojas on taking home top honors in both 1A and 5A divisions! Check out full results, scoring breakdowns, and video of the winners below.

1A Division

1st Place – Anthony Rojas (CLYW)

2nd Place – Evan Nagao (YoYoFactory)

3rd Place – Michael Nakamura (Something)

1A-FINAL-RESULTS

2A Division

1st Place – Yoshi Mikamoto

2A-FINAL-RESULTS

3A Division

1st Place – Ian Bellman

3A-FINAL-RESULTS

4A Division

1st Place – Michael Nakamura (Something)

4A-FINAL-RESULTS

5A Division

1st Place – Anthony Rojas (CLYW)

5A-FINAL-RESULTS

1A Amateur Division

1st Place – Timothy Lacanienta

1A-AMATEUR-WINNERS

1A-AMATEUR-RESULTS

 

What Are YoYo Contests Like?

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Ben Conde brings us another great video to help introduce people to the world of modern yoyoing with a look at what yoyo contests look like….to non-yoyo players. Filmed at the 2016 Bay Area Classic.

Featuring Tessa Piccillo, Gentry Stein, Paul Dang, Joseph Harris, Christian Padron, Yoshi Mikamoto, Shingo Terada, Bryan Jardin, Anthony Rojas, and Kevin Nicholas. 

Perfect Elements Presents: Friends + Worlds

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Perfect Elements, the film production name of Russian super awesome guy Igor Galiev just dropped an epic video featuring nearly 8 minutes of brilliant yoyo tricks from the best players in the world. All you are doing for the next hour is watching this over and over. I’m not even kidding here. Shot at 60fps, so make sure you watch it full screen at full size!

Featuring Ben Conde, Riccardo Fraolini, Yoshi Mikamoto, Justin Weber, James Reed, Charles Haycock, Jensen Kimmitt, Harold Owens III, Petr Kavka, Vashek Kroutil, Kentaro Kimura, Paul Kerbel, Takeshi Matsuura, and more.

2014 US National YoYo Contest – Full Results

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IMG_0274

Results are in for the 2014 US National YoYo Contest, and Zach Gormley is the new US National YoYo Champion!

Videos of all freestyles are online now…subscribe to YoYoNews on YouTube to check them out!

1A Freestyle

1st – Zach Gormley – 88.95

2nd – Gentry Stein – 84.33

3rd – Anthony Rojas – 83.28


4th – Andrew Maider – 79.58
5th – Harold Owens III – 79.43
6th – Evan Nagao – 76.98
7th – Michael Kurti – 76.76
8th – Michael Stecz – 67.92
9th – Paolo Bueno – 67.15
10th – Sebastian Brock – 66.77
11th – Tylor McCallumore – 65.84
12th – Nate Dailey – 63.85
13th – Tessa Piccillo – 62.81
14th – Patrick Canny – 62.67
15th – Daniel Joranlien – 62.11
16th – Eric Tranton – 58.61
17th – Odon Alberto Jr. – 57.50
18th – Michael Nakamura – 55.71

2A Freestyle

1st Place – Joseph Harris – 84.8


2nd Place – Connor Scholten – 73.6
3rd Place – Benjamin McPhee – 69.4
4th Place – Yoshi Mikamoto – 69.4
5th Place – Alexander Kido – 58.8
6th Place – Adam Bottiglia – 46.4
7th Place – Josh Yee – 32.8

1st – Alex Hattori – 87.243A Freestyle


2nd – Patrick Borgerding – 80.27
3rd – Eliot Ogawa – 72.06
4th – Colin Beckford – 53.46
5th – Ian Smith – 52.96
6th – Stuart White – 35.24
7th – Elijah Tan – 26.73

4A Freestyle

1st – Zac Rubino – 90.67


2nd – Michael Nakamura – 89.03
3rd – Ian Johnson – 64.03
4th – Connor Scholten – 62.25
5th – Nate Dailey – 59.87
6th – Philip White – 59.32
7th – Stuart White – 46.79
8th – Noah Bachofen – 45.12
9th – Josh Yee – 26.71
10th – Nehemiah Peterson – 17.96
11th – Stephanie Haight – 9.88

5A Freestyle

1st – Tyler Severance – 87.45

2nd – Jake Elliott – 82.66
3rd – Bryan Jardin – 78.75
4th – Chase Baxter – 52.60
5th – Miguel Correa – 50.86
6th – Patrick Canny – 47.23
7th – Ryan Gee – 43.09
8th – Will Hahn – 37.08
9th – Michael Marshall – 34.09
10th – Josh Yee – 33.63
11th – Blaine Shelton – 25.48
12th – Justin Perez – 23.56
13th – Philip White – 21.42

2014 US National YoYo Contest – 2A Competitor List

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The 2014 US National YoYo Contest is tomorrow in Chico, California and the best players in the US will gather to compete for the title of National Champion. The lineup this year is absolutely stellar! Here’s the full list of competitors for the 2A Division.

YoYoNews will be covering the event live…follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for live updates and results!

2A Finals Seeds

  1. Connor SCHOLTEN
  2. Yoshi MIKAMOTO
  3. Joseph HARRIS

2A Prelims – Competitor Order

  1. Adam BOTTIGLIA
  2. Josh YEE
  3. Alexander KIDO
  4. Ben MCPHEE

2014 West Coast YoYo Championship – VIDEO

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2014 West Coast YoYo Championship

Duncan Toys has posted video of the winners of this past weekend’s West Coast YoYo Championship, held at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, CA. Check ’em out! The first place winners in each division will be seeded to Finals at the US National YoYo Contest, to be held next month in Chico, CA.

1A Division

1st Place – Anthony Rojas

2nd Place – Michael Nakamura

3rd Place – Paolo Bueno

2A Division

1st Place – Yoshi Mikamoto

2nd Place – Patrick Mitchell

3rd Place – Tyler Hsieh

3A Division

1st Place – Alex Hattori

2nd Place – Elliot Ogawa

3rd Place – Patrick Borgerding

4A Division

1st Place – Ian Johnson

2nd Place – Michael Nakamura

3rd Place – Zac Rubino

5A Division

1st Place – Bryan Jardin

2nd Place – Tyler Severance

 3rd Place – Ryan Gee

2014 West Coast YoYo Championship Results – Anthony Rojas Wins!

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2014 West Coast YoYo Championship

Results are in for the Duncan Toys 2014 West Coast YoYo Championship at Downtown Disney, and Anthony Rojas wins the 1A Division! Yoshi Mikamoto beat out National Champion Patrick Mitchell for the 2A division win, and reigning National Champion Alex Hattori took home top honors in 3A, sending him back to Nationals to defend his title. National Champion Ian Johnson took the 4A (Offstring) Division by a HUGE margin, and 4x Philippines National Champion Bryan Jardin just narrowly beat out former World Champion Tyler Severance to take home top honors in the 5A (Counterweight) Division! The level of talent at this event was absolutely tremendous!

The Duncan Toys 2014 West Coast YoYo Championship at Downtown Disney serves as the National YoYo League seeding even for the South West Region, so the first place winners in all divisions will be seeded directly to finals at the 2014 US National YoYo Contest, to be held next month in Chico, California. Congrats to all the winners!

1A Division

Place Name (First Last) Locale Tech Eval 1 Eval 2 Eval 3 Eval 4 Deducts Final Score
1 Anthony ROJAS Riverside, CA 65.00 8.00 7.00 8.33 4.00 1.00 91.33
2 Michael NAKAMURA Los Angeles, CA 55.28 6.00 6.67 6.00 3.17 0.00 77.12
3 Paolo BUENO Carlsbad, CA 52.02 7.33 7.00 6.67 3.17 0.00 76.19
4 Paul KERBEL Naucalpan, MEX 49.00 7.50 6.33 8.00 3.83 0.00 74.67
5 Evan NAGAO Honolulu, HI 49.53 6.67 5.33 8.00 2.83 1.00 71.36
6 Clint ARMSTRONG Sedona, AZ 48.45 6.33 6.00 6.00 3.00 0.00 69.79
7 Ty GOLDMAN Long Beach, CA 48.21 5.67 6.33 5.67 2.83 0.00 68.71
8 Keiran COOPER Oxnard, CA 41.38 4.83 5.67 6.33 2.83 1.00 60.05
9 Wilson VAN GUNDY Piedmont, CA 41.93 4.67 6.00 4.67 2.50 0.00 59.76
10 Tyler SEVERANCE Chandler, AZ 41.90 5.83 4.67 6.67 2.67 3.00 58.73
11 Matthew LOEUN Riverside, CA 42.16 5.00 4.33 5.33 2.33 1.00 58.16
12 Sebastian BROCK Alachua, FL 35.47 6.67 6.17 6.33 2.83 0.00 57.47
13 James REED Long Beach, CA 39.50 5.00 4.33 5.33 2.33 2.00 54.50
14 Isaac SAMS Buckhannon, WV 34.81 5.00 5.67 6.33 2.83 1.00 53.65
15 Sergio LICONA Ticoman La Purisima, MEX 30.45 3.67 3.67 4.67 2.17 1.00 43.62
16 Ryan GEE La Palma, CA 28.02 3.33 5.67 4.33 1.83 0.00 43.18
17 Paul DANG Springfield, OR 31.58 4.33 4.00 5.00 2.17 5.00 42.08
18 Samad PATEL Moreno Valley, CA 21.09 3.33 2.67 3.67 1.83 0.00 32.59
19 Jake RIMMER Whittier, CA 18.70 3.33 2.67 3.67 1.50 1.00 28.87
20 Matthew WEYMER Camarillo, CA 15.71 2.33 3.33 2.67 1.50 1.00 24.54

2A Division

Place Name (First Last) Locale Tech Eval 1 Eval 2 Eval 3 Eval 4 Deducts Final Score
1 Yoshi MIKAMOTO Lomita, CA 62.49 6.67 8.33 7.33 4.00 0.00 88.82
2 Patrick MITCHELL Chandler, AZ 58.44 6.67 6.00 7.33 3.83 2.00 80.27
3 Tyler HSIEH Rancho Cucamonga, CA 48.69 6.33 7.33 6.67 3.50 0.00 72.52
4 Ben MCPHEE Chandler, AZ 26.55 5.33 5.33 5.00 2.83 5.00 40.05
5 Cedric EUSANTOS Los Angeles, CA 22.17 3.00 2.33 3.33 1.67 5.00 27.51

3A Division

Place Name (First Last) Locale Tech Eval 1 Eval 2 Eval 3 Eval 4 Deducts Final Score
1 Alex HATTORI Torrance, CA 65.00 6.00 8.00 7.00 3.67 0.00 89.67
2 Elliot OGAWA San Marcos, CA 47.80 4.33 4.33 5.33 2.50 0.00 64.30
3 Patrick BORGERDING Redondo Beach, CA 40.88 5.67 4.67 7.33 3.00 0.00 61.54
4 Zachary LYTLE Pittsburg, CA 18.31 4.00 3.33 4.00 1.67 1.00 30.31
5 Newman BECKER Hamlin, TX 12.77 2.67 2.00 2.67 1.33 3.00 18.43

4A Division

Place Name (First Last) Locale Tech Eval 1 Eval 2 Eval 3 Eval 4 Deducts Final Score
1 Ian JOHNSON Los Angeles, CA 65.00 6.33 7.67 7.33 3.83 0.00 90.17
2 Michael NAKAMURA Los Angeles, CA 52.40 5.33 6.00 6.33 3.17 4.00 69.23
3 Zac RUBINO Chico, CA 47.45 5.33 5.67 6.00 3.17 3.00 64.61
4 Joey JESSEN Gilbert, AZ 16.62 1.67 2.33 2.33 0.67 4.00 19.62

5A Division

Place Name (First Last) Locale Tech Eval 1 Eval 2 Eval 3 Eval 4 Deducts Final Score
1 Bryan JARDIN Orlando, FL 65.00 7.33 7.00 7.00 3.67 1.00 89.00
2 Tyler SEVERANCE Chandler, AZ 62.39 6.67 6.00 7.33 3.67 0.00 86.06
3 Ryan GEE La Palma, CA 34.07 5.67 5.33 4.67 2.33 0.00 52.07
4 Alex HATTORI Torrance, CA 32.75 5.00 5.00 5.33 2.50 3.00 47.59
5 Blaine SHELTON Ramona, CA 28.12 4.67 4.67 5.33 2.50 0.00 45.29
6 Will HAHN Citrus Heights, CA 27.17 3.67 4.33 4.67 2.17 1.00 41.00
7 Michael NAKAMURA Los Angeles, CA 23.79 5.00 4.33 4.00 2.17 0.00 39.29
8 Joey JESSEN Gilbert, AZ 5.65 1.33 1.00 1.33 0.67 5.00 4.98

1A Amateur Division

Place Name (First Last) Locale Tech Eval 1 Eval 2 Eval 3 Eval 4 Deducts Final Score
1 Daniel KIM Vallejo, CA 61.75 4.00 5.67 4.33 2.50 0.00 78.25
2 Ross HARRISON Redondo Beach, CA 48.19 4.00 5.33 4.67 2.33 0.00 64.53
3 Hayden BRICKMAN Burlingame, CA 50.67 4.00 4.00 3.67 2.17 0.00 64.51
4 Jonathan EDWARDS La Mirada, CA 46.61 4.33 5.00 4.67 2.50 0.00 63.11
5 Anacleto HERNANDEZ Zacatecas, MEX 38.75 2.67 3.67 3.67 1.83 0.00 50.58
6 Nicholas ARREDONDO Los Angeles, CA 34.56 2.67 3.67 3.33 1.83 1.00 45.06
7 Lance LYNN El Cajon, CA 19.55 1.33 2.00 2.00 1.33 0.00 26.22
8 Bryan RAMIREZ Lynwood, CA 15.74 2.00 2.33 2.33 1.17 0.00 23.57
9 Angel Ernesto FERNANDEZ Mexico City, MEX 16.27 2.33 2.67 2.67 1.33 3.00 22.27
10 Elijah ORTENCIO Whittier, CA 16.01 1.33 1.67 2.00 1.00 1.00 21.01
11 Kristelle CHATAGNEAU Cypress, CA 10.41 2.67 2.00 1.33 1.17 0.00 17.58
12 Matthew BRECHEEN Laguna Niguel, CA 11.26 1.67 1.33 1.33 1.00 1.00 15.59

1A Division Prelims

Place Name (First Last) Locale Tech Eval 1 Eval 2 Eval 3 Eval 4 Deducts Final Score
1 Paul KERBEL Naucalpan, MEX 61.92 5.33 6.33 6.67 3.33 0.00 83.59
2 Sebastian BROCK Alachua, FL 54.38 5.00 7.00 6.00 3.00 0.00 75.38
3 Paolo BUENO Carlsbad, CA 52.33 4.33 5.67 5.33 2.67 0.00 70.33
4 Tyler SEVERANCE Chandler, AZ 47.61 5.00 5.33 6.33 2.67 0.00 66.94
5 Keiran COOPER Oxnard, CA 46.06 4.67 6.67 4.67 2.67 0.00 64.72
6 Clint ARMSTRONG Sedona, AZ 45.34 4.67 6.33 5.33 2.67 0.00 64.34
7 Ty GOLDMAN Long Beach, CA 44.22 4.33 5.67 4.00 2.33 0.00 60.55
8 Evan NAGAO Honolulu, HI 41.10 4.67 4.33 6.00 2.67 0.00 58.77
9 Matthew LOEUN Riverside, CA 43.92 4.00 4.67 3.67 1.83 0.00 58.09
10 Michael NAKAMURA Los Angeles, CA 39.89 5.33 4.67 4.00 2.00 0.00 55.89
11 Paul DANG Springfield, OR 35.02 3.33 5.67 5.00 2.17 0.00 51.18
12 Wilson VAN GUNDY Piedmont, CA 36.88 3.33 4.00 4.33 2.17 1.00 49.72
13 Sergio LICONA Ticoman La Purisima, MEX 33.79 4.33 4.00 4.33 2.00 0.00 48.45
14 James REED Long Beach, CA 33.87 4.00 4.00 4.00 2.00 0.00 47.87
15 Isaac SAMS Buckhannon, WV 29.79 3.67 3.67 6.33 1.83 1.00 44.29
16 Samad PATEL Moreno Valley, CA 34.13 3.67 3.33 3.67 1.67 4.00 42.46
17 Jake RIMMER Whittier, CA 31.14 3.33 3.67 3.00 1.33 1.00 41.47
18 Matthew WEYMER Camarillo, CA 27.99 3.00 5.00 3.67 1.67 0.00 41.32
19 Ryan GEE La Palma, CA 26.29 3.67 3.67 5.33 2.00 0.00 40.96
20 Ryan LAGROU La Mirada, CA 29.97 3.33 3.00 2.67 1.33 0.00 40.30
21 Chase EDWARDS La Mirada, CA 30.05 1.67 3.67 3.33 1.33 0.00 40.05
22 Dale TUBAT Temecula, CA 26.57 3.00 3.33 4.67 1.83 0.00 39.40
23 Cody RISLUND Payson, AZ 26.72 2.67 3.33 4.00 1.67 0.00 38.39
24 Aaron BENDICH Berkeley, CA 27.81 2.00 2.67 3.00 1.50 3.00 33.98
25 Orlando ABRAJAN Mexico City, MEX 24.56 3.00 2.67 4.00 1.67 3.00 32.89
26 Will HAHN Citrus Heights, CA 21.65 3.00 3.00 3.00 1.33 0.00 31.98
27 Newman BECKER Hamlin, TX 21.55 2.67 2.67 2.67 1.50 0.00 31.05
28 Daniel LACANIENTA Laguna Hills, CA 23.09 2.00 2.67 3.00 1.17 3.00 28.92
29 McCando KAO West Covina, CA 20.77 1.67 2.33 2.33 1.17 0.00 28.27
30 Jonathan ROA Los Angeles, CA 18.32 2.33 3.33 3.00 1.17 0.00 28.15
31 Joey JESSEN Gilbert, AZ 20.38 1.67 2.00 2.33 1.00 0.00 27.38
32 Cory HENDON Tempe, AZ 19.26 2.33 3.33 3.67 1.50 3.00 27.09
33 Blaine SHELTON Ramona, CA 18.72 2.33 2.33 3.00 1.33 1.00 26.72
34 James PRATT Somis, CA 17.56 2.33 2.67 2.67 1.17 1.00 25.39
35 Jonathan WILLIAMS El Segundo, CA 19.89 2.00 2.67 2.33 1.33 3.00 25.22
36 Alec CECENA San Marcos, CA 16.23 2.00 2.00 2.33 1.00 1.00 22.57
37 Christian NOLASCO Rancho Cordova, CA 12.37 3.00 2.67 3.00 1.33 0.00 22.37
38 Steven MARTINEZ Payson, AZ 11.45 3.00 2.00 3.33 1.17 4.00 16.95
39 Jeremy GERMITA Lancaster, CA 8.11 0.33 1.00 1.33 0.67 1.00 10.44
40 Christian CANCINO Los Angeles, CA 5.85 1.67 0.67 1.67 0.50 6.00 4.35
41 Lucas MADISON Irvine, CA 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Interview – Anthony Rojas

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Anthony Rojas

When it comes to modern yoyoing that is equally creative and competitive, Anthony Rojas’ tricks are basically everything that you could possibly want and more. Anthony has proven himself countless times in winning several contests, and will undoubtedly remain a relevant name in yoyoing through his creative style and memorable freestyles. I decided to catch up with Anthony on his recent contests, creative process, and more!

Anthony, you’re one of the most creative and talented players I know of that’s around today, how did you start yoyoing?

I had a yoyo or two as a kid in the 90s, but it was only a toy to me then. I got into Astrojax some years later, and through that I started discovering modern yoyoing. I consider August 2005 the beginning of my serious yoyo “career” when I got yoyos like the YoyoJam Dark Magic and Free Agent. I also started going to the Sunshine Kite Company in Redondo Beach, CA because of their yoyo classes/ hangouts. Lots of great players learned at that shop. It’s actually really crazy thinking how I’m in Europe right now because of yoyoing, along with other players that also came from the kite shop.

That is crazy, who were some of the other players that frequented the shop?

Yoshi Mikamoto from YYJ taught at the shop. There was also Grant Johnson, Patrick Borgerding, Alex Hattori, Alex Kim (RecRev), Dylan Benharris, and others too.

What was your approach to learning tricks early on?

Learning tricks early on, I didn’t necessarily have an approach. I just learned what I could from people in person, or watched tutorials and videos. I never dwelled on tutorial watching too long though, I liked making up my own tricks and learned things along the way. I think it’s good to have a solid foundation as a beginner, but I never had a plan or a goal at that time. I just did what felt right.



I also agree with that being a good approach. Being known best for your really creative tricks, when would you say that you started to become good enough at making tricks to be recognized within the community?

I definitely started to get more attention outside my area when I won South West Regionals in 2009. Not long after, I got 5th at Worlds. Looking back my style has changed a little over time, but I’ve always tried to be both a creative and competitive player. Right now it’s a little difficult, I wish I had more time to focus on both realms. After this year’s worlds I almost feel a little behind. So many good players right now!

I totally agree! I’ve only been yoyoing for a few years but I’m even amazed at the amount of talent that’s came out since I’ve started. So, you just kind of decided to start competing eventually?

I started competing pretty quickly. January of 06 was I went to my first contest and did sports ladder and 4a in X division. I don’t think I thought about it much at first, but I believe it’s good for beginners who are serious about competing to get some stage time. Even if you think you won’t do well, just worry about doing the best you can and gain experience. Learn the system, learn how you can improve. Even now, if I execute my freestyle flawlessly and still lose, I can’t complain much. I did the best I could and will learn from that experience.

Did you have any aprehension at first about combining creative and competitive yoyoing on stage?

I never had any apprehension when it came to doing certain creative moves in the past, but recently it’s more difficult. You have to find the right balance of creativity while still keeping in mind points and the judging system, at least when you’re trying to win. In the future, I’d like to show less point driven freestyles that are just nice looking creative routines, whether it be filmed or on stage.

Definitely, your tricks are so good that I think they look good just about anywhere. What’s your process like in making up tricks?

My process isn’t really set in stone, but it’s usually a lot of experimenting and trial and error. It depends on the trick, but I’ll usually just have an idea or mount, and keep exploring possibilities until I like the outcome. Sometimes you have to scrap ideas that simply don’t work, or keep working on them for months before something comes out of it. There’s not really a secret formula for good tricks or concepts I guess, just don’t limit your exploration.

Yeah, I feel that like that’s definitely true. I just started getting serious with making tricks a little while ago, and it really did take me about a month to figure out where to go from the first few moves of a trick I made up. What are some of your favorite elements or mounts to use? I know you like a lot of arm/body tricks.

Some of my favorite tricks are made of simplified elements in general. Or things that have a nice movement to them. I do like arm and body stuff, but that’s really just me trying to be different when I can. It’s funny because I think maybe there’s kids watching freestyles who haven’t met a lot of other yoyoers, and probably think those are the kind of tricks I always do in my free time. Or that such and such person always yoyos super fast or something. I think some yoyoer’s styles are the same on and off stage, but it’s not like I normally do weird, kneeling, horizontal, body tunnels when I’m just chilling haha. I think the same goes for a lot of others.

You recently took 5th Place at the 1st ever Duncan IYYC, which is definitely impressive. Did you plan on placing so high?

I was surprised I got 5th actually. I wasn’t sure how landing my freestyle perfectly would place, because it was slower paced and wasn’t as tightly based on points. I just wanted to do a cool freestyle. Unfortunately I messed up with two restarts. So getting 5th is kind of alright in a way. I was more bummed out about not making Worlds finals, although the contest itself was probably one of my favorites I’ve been to ever. IYYC was nice and I hope they can keep it going, but Worlds was a really amazing experience.



They both seemed amazing! At both events, who had your favorite freestyle in 1A?

Maybe Zach’s Worlds freestyle. I’ve seen some of his tricks over and over, but they just don’t get old. Takeshi’s freestyle was also nice, and Sebby’s music choice and execution at IYYC had this really nice feeling to it.

I love Zach’s tricks, his Worlds freestyle was one of my favorites too. What other contests are you planning on entering in the near future?

I plan to go to South West Regionals, maybe the DXL Battle, Nationals, and the Las Vegas Open. I’m actually really looking forward to all of them for different reasons. They should all be nice contests. I especially want to see how the Vegas one turns out, and want to see some of the things going on with SkillCon too. I’m not going to be able to make 44 Clash this year, but I hope I can make it to Japan for Worlds next year.

The Las Vegas Open does sound like an awesome contest, nice! Do you have any other non contest related yoyo endevours planned?

I’d like to say the clip video Grant and I have been planning will come soon, but I can’t be sure. We’ve continued to push back filming because our schedules never meet up right. At this point it will happen when it happens, I’m just sitting on tricks and making up new ones until we can do it right. No need to rush and have a bad video. I’m working on a logo for a small company right now too, so that, and hopefully other design related work in the yoyo world will happen.

Awesome! Lastly, what advice could you give to someone just starting to yoyo and looking to compete and innovate in the future?

People starting out and thinking about innovation and competition could mean a lot of different things, depending on who you are and what you want out of it. Assuming it’s someone that wants to win contests or be known for innovation or something like that, I think for both categories you should try to understand what makes others successful. Study others not only for what they do, but why it worked for them.

Competition has a lot to do with the system, the rules, so learn that first. Try to understand the specifics over time, and gain experience by entering contests even if you think you won’t do well. Try to worry about improving yourself and not worrying about how you place. Remember that not everyone has a competitive style. It also helps if you not only know the rules, but eventually learn how to judge yourself.

For innovation, there are of course no rules or directions for that. Being innovative takes knowledge of what’s been done, but you have to be the one to discover something new on your own. A lot if times, the ideas I had for things that I made up just came to me unexpectedly, or I took something known and added upon it to make something else. Competing or being the next innovator may seem like a daunting task for newcomers, but I think it’s very feasible if you stay dedicated and always remember to have fun 🙂

2013 US National YoYo Contest – 2A Analysis

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The 2013 US National YoYo Contest wrapped up this past weekend, and YoYoNews is looking back at each division and bringing you post-contest analysis.

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What in the late 90s – early 2000s was the most fiercely competitive division has now become a thin field for American players. The players at the top are WAY at the top, and the newcomers have a long way to go. The amount of time that it takes to learn 2A tricks versus every other style is remarkably off-putting to new players. While every other style of play requires you to learn a trick and then learn to hit it clean, 2A requires you to learn how to repeat tricks at high speed…the repetition is what weeds people out of this style quickly.

This year’s biggest upset was the last minute decision by defending champion Patrick Mitchell not to attend the event. What started as a showdown between National Champions Patrick Mitchell and Joseph Harris quickly turned in to a free-for-all. The point drop-off from 1st Place to 2nd Place was 21.2 points, and that should give you an idea of the level of competition this year.

Joseph Harris is a solid National Champion, two-times over, and there wasn’t anyone last Saturday who was playing at that level. Yoshi Mikamoto is a solid State/Regional player, but he’s not up to the level yet of being able to take on Joseph or Patrick Mitchell. Up-and-comer Ian Lawson showed a lot of promise and definitely earned his 3rd Place finish, and I think it’s safe to say we can expect some great things from him in the future.

Hawaiian players Ryan Lai and Alexander Kido are both great players but Ryan’s experience and old school style are no match for the new level of 2A, and Alexander still has a way to go before he can match Joseph or Patrick’s level of comfort on stage. Bringing up the bottom of the field we have John Huber who is a performer and demonstrator, not a competitor, and Josh Yee who enters as many divisions as he can without being truly competitive in any of them.

2A just didn’t deliver this year, which is a shame considering how great this style of play looks when done well. But we see some real promise in Ian Lawson and Alexander Kido, and hopefully this is the beginning of great things for both of them.

2013 US National YoYo Contest – 2A Division

1st Place – Joseph Harris

2nd Place – Yoshi Mikamoto

3rd Place – Ian Lawson

Three Minutes From The Cup | Top 2A Contenders

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Three Minutes From The Cup

This year the 2A division is looking incredibly thin, competition-wise. Without Patrick Mitchell defending his title or Grant Johnson seeking to add to his list of titles, the cup for 2A is completely up for grabs!

2A Division

Joseph Harris – 2x National Champion

Joseph Harris is the clear frontrunner and, save a complete meltdown, should walk away with his third title. He had a very strong showing at Worlds despite taking the last spot in the finals. Joseph has improved his choreography considerably and has lots of new concepts and a few solid bangers.

Yoshi Mikamoto

Yoshi is Joseph’s biggest and most serious competition; Yoshi has just missed out on the podium for the last few years and looks poised to finally take home a medal. Yoshi is the most acrobatic 2A player in the US, which is always an applause generator–add in the fact he’s beloved by so many and it is easy to see why he’s a crowd favorite. For Yoshi to take down Joseph he will need to have upped his technical tricks since he last competed, and since he sat out this year at Worlds it will be interesting to see what he brings.

Ian Lawson

Ian one of the few up and coming 2A players. I’m confident he will take home a title eventually, but this might not be his year. He failed to qualify for the finals at this years World YoYo Contest, which means his technical skill just isn’t quite there yet; but he is improving faster than any other player in the United States and we can assume he will have improved considerably even since Worlds. This should land him a spot in the top 3 for the first time.

Ryan Lai

Ryan is a classic 2A player from the THP era which means his fundamentals are on lock. He has a great repertoire of tricks, and with a thin list of competitors Ryan has an undeniable shot at the top 3; he, however, is outmatched considerably by Joseph and Yoshi and will probably be fighting Ian for the final podium spot.

2013 Bill Lebowitz Classic (Southwest Regional) Results

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The final regional competition of the 2013 United States National Yo-Yo Contest qualification process finished up on Saturday and we have the full results. The contest was a great success with an improvement in the judging and an increased attendance from the previous year. We will update the 2013 Semi-Finals for the National Contest, check here.

994514_481647448595502_687152622_n (1)

On to the results,

5A

In 5A, National Champion Tyler Severance took the seed and looks to defend his title in the next three weeks. Paolo Bueno, 1A juggernaut, who is heavily influenced by Tyler in 5A, took second and closed the gap from the last contests he has competed against Tyler. Finally, Shannon Jackson of Arizona, loved by many and a consistent name in 5A, qualified for Nationals and took the third place honors.

  1. Tyler Severance
  2. Paolo Bueno
  3. Shannon Jackson
  4. Michael Nakamura
  5. Dylan Benharris
  6. Ryan Gee
  7. Ryan Ayes
  8. Newman Becker

Bold indicates seeded to semi-finals at the 2013 National YoYo Contest. Full results:

2013 BLC 5A

4A

4A saw World Champion Michael Nakamura easily take top the spot despite a few (wind-aided) errors. Up and coming youngest Julian Grunauer took home second place with an extremely clean first half of his routine; with more and more experience, look for Julian to finish stronger with a clean second half in contests in the future. Finally, Stephanie Haight took home the third spot home and bolsters YoYoJams 4A roster and more young talent.

  1. Michael Nakamura 
  2. Julian Grunauer 
  3. Stephanie Haight
  4. Ty Goldman
  5. Yusuke Moriki 
  6. Ryan Ayers
  7. Newman Becker

Bold indicates seeded to semi-finals at the 2013 National YoYo Contest. Full results:

2013 BLC 4A

3A

3A pitted #2 and #4 from last month’s 2013 World YoYo Contest against each other and Alex Hattori won this time around with a great routine. Continuing his trend of ultra clean routines, Alex has put together 5 minutes of near flawless yo-yoing and has had a strong 2013 after a rough 2012. Look for Alex to be a huge contender going into the 2013 US National YoYo Contest. Patrick Borgerding had a relatively clean routine sans an extremely long switch out after an ugly knot. Yoshi Mikamoto edged out Newman Becker for third place. Newman has been steadily improving his 3A and looks stronger and stronger each year.

  1. Alex Hattori
  2. Patrick Borgerding
  3. Yoshi Mikamoto
  4. Newman Becker 

Bold indicates seeded to semi-finals at the 2013 National YoYo Contest. Full results:

2013 BLC 3A

2A

National Champion Patrick Mitchell won despite an exploded yo-yo and a restart–testimony to his skill and he looks poised to defend his title this year. 2A veteran Yoshi Mikamoto took second honors and nearly edged out the National Champion. Finally, Yususke Moriki took home third place–everyone’s favorite jokester and always entertaining 2A player.

  1. Patrick Mitchell
  2. Yoshi Mikamoto
  3. Yusuke Moriki
  4. John Huber
  5. Path Yath

Bold indicates seeded to semi-finals at the 2013 National YoYo Contest. Full results: 

2013 BLC 2A

1A Rookie

This year saw the addition of the rookie 1A division, a trend that many contests are now adopting, which was a good opportunity for the  next generation to get on center stage. It is always awesome to see how fast everyone is improving and growing!

  1. Ryan Lagrou
  2. Lucas Madison
  3. James Martin
  4. McCando Kao
  5. Jose Pineda
  6. Spencer Rawnsley
  7. Daniel Walling
  8. Elijah Ortencio

Full results: 

2013 BLC 1A ROOKIE

1A

Anthony Rojas. Look out. He is a clean three minutes from being the US representative at the 2014 World YoYo Contest in Prague next year. A beautiful display of control and innovation with a hint of artistry and even a bit of swagger (brush your shoulder…). Anthony is a definitely the biggest crowd favorite in the US–last year at the National Contest when Anthony switched out there was an audible sigh of sadness from the crowd. In second, 4A Champion Michael Nakamura proved he should be considered a threat on all fronts. He has improved drastically even since Worlds and will make a run at qualifying again for the finals after his finaling at Worlds. Finally, Paolo Bueno took home third with yet another extremely innovative routine with his (becoming) trademark 3D tricks. He continues to improve and will certainly be a threat for the 2014 World title after a very strong year this year.

  1. Anthony Rojas
  2. Michael Nakamura
  3. Paolo Bueno
  4. Paul Dang
  5. Wilson Van Gundy
  6. Eric Koloski
  7. Ty Goldman
  8. Keiran Cooper
  9. David Ung
  10. Clint Armstrong
  11. Yusuke Moriki
  12. Dylan Benharris
  13. Tyler Goldenberg
  14. John Huber
  15. Ryan Gee
  16. Matt Leoun
  17. Paul Yath

Bold indicates seeded to semi-finals at the 2013 National Yo-Yo Contest. Full results: 

2013 BLC 1A

 

Anthony Rojas

Michael Nakamura

Paolo Bueno

Thank you for a great event and see you next year!

Three Minutes From The Cup | OFFICIAL US National Semi-Finalist Qualifiers

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3minutesvertlarge_nationals

Here is an unofficial list of semi-finalists for the 2013 US National YoYo Contest. This list is unofficial for now but will be reviewed by the National YoYo League and should be posted soon on the official website and when it is we will update this list to reflect the official list.

We are still unclear if you must qualify to finals to be considered top 5 from the region (ex: only 3 in region players are in finals). Bold indicates the seeded player from the region. The number following the name of the region designates the number of qualifiers and total participants.

The seeded players will be the focal point for our analysis on who we believe to have a great shot at taking home the cup and, looking at this list, the US National YoYo Contest is going to be extremely competitive. It is really great  for all parties involved, competitors and spectators, to see the likes of Alec Campbell and Isaac Sams in 1A, Joesph Harris and Shane Karan in 2A, Ian Smith and Eric Tranton in 3A, Alex Lee and Ian Johnson in 4A and Chase Baxter and Shane Lubecker in 5A, get guaranteed stage time. All of those 10 names will have a well deserved shot at their three minutes for the cup.

Finally, still looking for some motivation? Check out the promo vids.

UPDATE: The official list has been posted here. We have made the corrections below to reflect the official list published by the NYYL. We will update this list following the weekend and publication of the results of the 2013 Bill Lebowitz Classic.

UPDATE #2: I received official clarification on if you must qualify for finals to be considered top 5 from your region and you do not. Therefore, we have updated PNWR and BAC to reflect that clarification with Tomas Keane, Ibrahim Rahman from PNWR and Ian Lawson from BAC.

1A:

Seeded Players:

  • Isaac Sams
  • Alec Campbell
  • Zach Gormley
  • Andrew Maider
  • Kevin Nicholas
  • Gentry Stein
  • Sebastian Brock
  • Anthony Rojas 

Mideast Regional – 8 (41)

  • Tylor McMallumore
  • Shane Lubecker
  • Eric Tran-Ton
  • Isaac Sams
  • Michael Stecz
  • Chandler Steele
  • Joseph Plummer
  • Yu Tsumura

Midwest Regional – 8 (43)

  • Eric Koloski
  • Grant Johnson
  • Tessa Piccillo
  • Alec Campbell
  • Adam Brewster
  • Shane Lubecker
  • John Narum
  • Eric Tranton

South Central Regional – 5 (26)

  • Zach Gormley
  • Patrick Canny
  • Dylan Benharris
  • Jon Best
  • Darren Kim

Northeast Regional – 5 (43)

  • Andrew Maider
  • Tylor McCallumore
  • Michael Kurti
  • Mark Mangarin
  • Eric Koloski

Mid Atlantic Regional – ?

Pacific Northwest Regional –  9 (54)

  • Zach Gormley
  • Eric Koloski
  • Kevin Nicholas
  • Grant Johnson
  • Gentry Stein
  • JT Nickel
  • Luke Finnell
  • Tomas Keane
  • Ibrahim Rahman

Bay Area Classic – 7 (100)

  • Gentry Stein
  • Anthony Rojas
  • Eric Tranton
  • Augie Fash
  • Guy Wright
  • Tessa Piccillo
  • Ian Lawson

Southeast Regional – 5 (20)

  • Sebastian Brock
  • Mark ?
  • Jon ?
  • Daniel ?
  • Charlie ?

Bill Lebowitz Classic – TBD

2A:  

Seeded Players:

  • Yu Tsumura
  • John Narum
  • Shane Karan
  • Ryan Lai
  • Joseph Harris
  • Patrick Mitchell

Mideast Regional – 5 (6)

  • Yu Tsumura
  • Adam Bottiglia
  • John Wolfe
  • Mike Durdak
  • Seth Gerstner

Midwest Regional – 3 (3)

  • John Narum
  • Josh Kanoff
  • Seth Gerstner

Southcentral Regional – 2 (2)

  • Cade Herrera
  • Cody Schneider

Northeast Regional – 5 (5)

  • Shane Karan
  • Phillip White
  • Graeme Steller
  • Ben Gates
  • John HasselbackIII

Mid Atlantic Regional –

Pacific Northwest Regional – 5 (5)

  • Yoshi Mikamoto
  • Ryan Lai
  • Ian Lawson
  • Jordan Sambueno
  • Hugh Higinbotham

Bay Area Classic – 6 (7)

  • Joseph Harris
  • Patrick Mitchell
  • Yoshi Mikamoto
  • Ian Lawson
  • Anthony Rojas
  • Haru Ray

Southeast Regional – No dedicated 2A Division Run

Bill Lebowitz Classic – TBD

3A:

Seeded Players:

  • Yu Tsumura
  • Eric Tranton
  • Darren Kim
  • Donald Hodgkinson
  • Ryan Lai
  • Ian Smith
  • Alex Hattori

Mideast Regional – 6 (9)

  • Eric Tran-Ton
  • Yu Tsumura
  • Collin Beckford
  • Ky Zizan
  • Mike Durdak
  • Chris Chunn

Midwest Regional – 5 (5)

  • Patrick Borgerding
  • Eric Tranton
  • Ian Johnson
  • Martin Christofferson
  • Josh Kanoff

South Central Regional – 3(3)

  • Patrick Borgerding
  • Darren Kim
  • Mack Finley

Northeast Regional – 4 (4)

  • Alex Hattori
  • Donald Hodgkinson
  • John Wolfe
  • Stuar White

Mid Atlantic Regional –

Pacific Northwest Regional – 8 (11)

  • Donald Hodgkinson
  • Patrick Borgerding
  • Yoshi Mikamoto
  • Ryan Lai
  • Mack Finley
  • Elijah Tan
  • Mason Devriend
  • Luke Reinert

Bay Area Classic – 5 (6)

  • Eric Tranton
  • Elliot Ogawa
  • Patrick Borgerding
  • Yoshi Mikamoto
  • Ian Smith

Southeast Regional – No dedicated 3A Division Run

Bill Lebowitz Classic – TBD

4A:

Seeded Players:

  • Alex Lee
  • Ian Johnson
  • Jimmy Peng
  • Tylor McCallumore
  • Kevin Nicholas
  • Bryan Figueroa
  • Michael Nakamura

Mideast Regional – 8 (13)

  • Ben Conde
  • Tylor McCallumore
  • Alex Lee
  • Shane Lubecker
  • Mike Durdak
  • Owen Ekblad
  • Jumario Simmons
  • Michael Stecz

Midwest Regional – 5 (9)

  • Ian Johnson
  • Ben Conde
  • Eric Tranton
  • Alex Lee
  • Noah Bachofen

South Central Regional – 5 (5)

  • Jimmy Peng
  • Zach Ostler
  • Ryan Ayers
  • Jared Popwski
  • Ty Foos

Northeast Regional – 5 (7)

  • Tylor McCallumore
  • Stuart White
  • Phillip White
  • Ethan Lassey
  • John Wolfe

Mid Atlantic Regional –

Pacific Northwest Regional – 7 (13)

  • Bryan Figueroa
  • Zac Rubino
  • Kevin Nicholas
  • Ian Lawson
  • Nick Johnson
  • Anthony Martinez
  • Mason Devriend

Bay Area Classic – 6 (8)

  • Michael Nakamura
  • Bryan Figueroa
  • Zac Rubino
  • Julian Grauner
  • Cory Hendon
  • Michael Goody

Southeast Regional – No dedicated 4A Division Run

Bill Lebowitz Classic – TBD

5A

Seeded Players:

  • Chase Baxter
  • Shane Lubecker
  • Patrick Canny
  • AJ Kirk
  • Sterling Quinn
  • Josh Yee
  • Tyler Severance

Mideast Regional – 6 (11)

  • Chase Baxter
  • Jacob Elliot
  • Darnell Hairston
  • Shane Lubecker
  • Owen Ekblad
  • Isaiah Messer

Midwest Regional – 6 (11)

  • Shane Lubecker
  • Ian Johnson
  • Adam Brewster
  • Eric Tranton
  • Chase Baxter
  • Justin Perez

South Central Regional – 7 (7)

  • Tyler Severance
  • Ryan Ayer
  • Patrick Canny
  • Darren Kim
  • Shannon Jackson
  • Colter Colvetti
  • Cody Schneider

Northeast Regional – 7 (12)

  • AJ Kirk
  • Elliot Jackson
  • Chase Baxter
  • Andrew Maider
  • Alex Morgan
  • John Wolfe
  • Ethan Bein

Mid Atlantic Regional –

Pacific Northwest Regional – 7 (10)

  • Sterling Quinn
  • Michael Kurti
  • Kyle Hedges
  • Slade Riggs
  • Jacob Jensen
  • Mac Wood
  • Luke Reinert

Bay Area Classic – 6 (10)

  • Tyler Severance
  • Josh Yee
  • Elliot Jackson
  • Oscar Ramirez
  • Kyle Hedges
  • Will Haun

Southeast Regional – No dedicated 5A Division Run

Bill Lebowitz Classic – TBD

If anyone has information regarding the Mid Atlantic Regional, please post below.

Full Results are linked here:

MER – http://www.yojake.com/Mideast/MERResults2013.html
MWR – http://www.mwryoyo.com/2013mwr/2013mwr.html
SCR – http://www.jongates.com/yoyocontest/past-events/
NER – http://a-two-z.com/ZGames/results/
MAR – ?
PNWR – http://yoyonews.com/2013/02/24/2013-pnwr-yoyo-contest-zach-gormley-wins/
BAC – http://bayareaclassic.com/results/
SER – https://www.facebook.com/events/444758475562995/?fref=ts
BLC – TBD

2013 Bay Area Classic Results – TIE FOR FIRST PLACE!!! (Video)

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2013 Bay Area Classic 1A Results

1A Freestyle

1st  – TIE!! – Gentry Stein & Luis Enrique

3rd – Paul Kerbel

2A Freestyle

1st – Joseph Harris

2nd – Patrick Mitchell

3rd – Yoshi Mikamoto

3A Freestyle

1st – Eric Tran-ton

2nd – Elliot Ogawa

3rd – Patrick Borgerding

4A Freestyle

1st – Michael Nakamura

2nd – Bryan Figueroa

3rd – Zac Rubino

5A Freestyle

1st – Tyler Severance

2nd – Josh Yee

3rd – Elliot Jackson

2013 California State YoYo Championship – Gentry Stein Wins!

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Congratulations to Gentry Stein, the 2013 California State YoYo Champion!

Full results:

1A Division (Single YoYo)

1st Place – Gentry Stein (YoYoFactory)

2nd Place – Zach Gormley (CLYW)

3rd Place – Charles Haycock (CLYW)

1A Results - 2013 California State YoYo Contest

 

2A Division (Double YoYo Looping)

1st Place – Joseph Harris (YoYoJam)

2nd Place – Shane Karan

3rd Place – Yoshi Mikamoto (YoYoJam)

2A Results - 2013 California State Yoyo Championships

 

3A Division (Double YoYo String)

1st Place – Patrick Borgerding (YoYoFactory)

2nd Place – Yoshi Mikamoto (YoYoJam)

3rd Place – Ian Smith

3A Results - 2013 California State YoYo Championships

 

4A Division (Offstring)

1st Place – Bryan Figueroa (YoYoJam)

2nd Place – Zac Rubino

3rd Place – Steven Lee

4A Results - 2013 California State YoYo Championships

 

5A Division (Counterweight)

1st Place – Tyler Severance (YoYoFactory)

2nd Place – Paolo Bueno (YoYoFactory)

3rd Place – Josh Yee

5A Results - 2013 California State YoYo Championships

 

Fixed Axle Championship

1st Place – CJ Atkinson

2nd Place – Josh Yee

3rd Place – Blake Freeman

Fixed Axle Results - 2013 California State YoYo Championship

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