Videos are posted for all divisions at the 2019 European YoYo Championship. Check out the winners below!
Archives for March 2019
2019 European YoYo Championship Results
We’ve got full results for the 2019 European YoYo Championship! Held this past weekend in Ostrava, Czech Republic, EYYC brings together the best players from all over Europe to compete for the title of European Champion, and to grab a coveted freestyle spot at the 2019 World YoYo Contest.
Check out full results below!
IYYF Announces New Guidelines For National Contests
The IYYF announced additional guidelines today for all National contests worldwide. Worth checking out, if you’re a competitor or organizer!
National Contest Seeding Additional Guidelines 2019
In the interest of continuing to guarantee fairness for all National Contests that are recognized by the IYYF as officially seeding to the World Yo-Yo Contest, we have some new rules that we are putting in place. These rules are effective immediately, and should pose no issues for contest organizers while also helping to maintain a clearer standard of excellence for all existing events.
1. All National Yo-Yo Contests recognized by the IYYF and seeding players to Multi-National or World events must adhere to whatever IYYF rules and guidelines are in-place at the time of the event. To accommodate events of different sizes, contest organizers may request a variance to specific rules by contacting the IYYF Board of Directors for approval.
2. National Yo-Yo Contest results may not be combined with any other event results to determine what players are seeded and eligible to compete at the World Yo-Yo Contest. Countries may combine results from multiple events for their internal titles and prizes, but only the stand-alone results from the single, recognized National Contest, run to IYYF standards, may be used to determine seeding eligibility.
3. If evidence is presented to the IYYF to indicate any issues with the accuracy of scores, either intentional or by accident, it will trigger an audit whereby an IYYF representative must oversee scoring at the event in question in order to maintain recognized seeding status. If the audit is refused, the contest will no longer be recognized as an official National event, and winners will no longer be seeded to Multi-National or World contests until the National event in question has been brought back into compliance.
We hope these new policies will help allay any fears that players might have about the validity of event results, and welcome any feedback from contest organizers to continue making sure that their events are held to IYYF standards.
Duncan Toys Presents: Janos Karancz – Grasshopper GTX
World YoYo Champion Janos Karancz reminds us all that he’s a legit wizard with this new video. Featuring his newest signature model from Duncan Toys, the Grasshopper GTX, which will be available this month at YoYoExpert.com.
Check out what Duncan has to say about the Grasshopper GTX:
We didn’t plan on revising the Grasshopper… Until János needed a new one. But why alter an already outstanding product?
World Champion János Karancz has been playing yo-yo for a long time, and throughout the years his tricks have changed with the current yo-yo meta, becoming longer, more fluid, and increasingly more complex. New types of tricks require a new type of yo-yo, and what that meant here was that his yo-yo needed an update.
Introducing the Grasshopper GTX: same look, new stainless steel placement! The new design features a stainless steel rim that’s pretty heavy compared to the aluminium body, making this yo-yo very strong and reliable, but it features the same look because it’s a simple, straightforward competition design with no gimmicks about it.
Let’s talk about the playability. As we were developing the Grasshopper GTX, János made it clear that he wanted more stability to help him perform his signature slack and rejection combos and glide through his rail and hop combos with ease.It took us multiple revisions and intensive design work to deliver this to the table. His last request? He wanted this yo-yo to be the king of horizontal tricks, and we were happy to oblige.
Brandon Vu, a yo-yo YouTuber, called the original Grasshopper X the Lamborghini of yo-yo. If the original was a Lambo, what would that make the new Grasshopper GTX?
Our team has already won a few titles using the new Grasshopper GTX: János placed 1st in 1A last year 44Clash using the GTX, competing against almost every world champion from the past ten years, so the new Grasshopper is no joke.
Duncan Toys Grasshopper GTX Specs:
Diameter: 56 mm
Width: 44.67 mm
Weight: 65 grams
Response: 19mm slim pads
Bearing: Size C Konkave™
RIP – Matt Schmidt
Yoyo player, designer, judge, and all-around great guy Matt Schmidt has left us. He was 35 years old.
Matt was a long-time member of the Midwest yoyo scene, and one of the first yoyo players to just design and make his own yoyo, the Underdog. He even re-designed it and ran a new batch pretty recently. I was really looking forward to picking one up.
Matt was kind, and funny, and creative, and always a joy to hang out with at contests. When people talk about all the things they love about the yoyo scene and community, they’re talking about people like Matt. He gave freely of himself and his time for the betterment of all, he was kind and patient with beginner players, and he was just always really fun to be around. He was loved, more than he knew, and he will be very missed.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations in Matt’s honor to NAMI Minnesota. NAMI Minnesota (National Alliance on Mental Illness) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and adults with mental illnesses and their families. For over 40 years, NAMI Minnesota has worked to promote the development of community mental health programs and services, change public attitudes about mental illnesses, improve access to services and increase opportunities for recovery. You can donate online here: NAMI Minnesota
Harrison Lee – Molasses
Harrison Lee is back with his first full-length video in a while, and while he was gone he definitely leveled up. Tremendous style and trick construction from Harrison here…watch this video like 30 times and thank us later.
Shot and cut by Jeffrey Pang.
Yoyo used is the CLYW Pickaxe.
Ann Connolly – YoYoFactory Shutter Wide Angle Review
Ann Connolly is back on YouTube with another YoYoFactory product review, this one for for the controversial-ish YoYoFactory Wide Angle Shutter that looks like a bi-metal but isn’t! It’s a fun yoyo though, and Ann is always a joy to watch so dig in!
44Clash 2018 After Movie
There is no way to overstate that 44Clash is one of the coolest yoyo contests to ever exist. No matter how cool you might think it is, it’s actually cooler than that in person.
Mark Mangarin Wins UNPRLD Exhibition
March 9th saw the first UNPRLD Exhibition freestyle competition, an event they describe as:
the goal of this exhibition is not to find winners or losers, but rather for freestyle development and criticism. with the prizes in place, we hope to see competitors try their best to perform at their highest capabilities.
It’s great to see alternate contest formats getting some play, and hopefully we’ll see plenty more of this type of contest in the future. UNPRLD had cash prizes for First and Second place, and a prize bag for Third. Check out video of all the winners, and congrats to Mark Mangarin on his win!
First Place – Mark Mangarin
Second Place – Remy Baskin
Third Place – Michael Kurti
Remy Baskin Joins SF
Big congrats to Remy Baskin on joining the SF YoYos team! PNWR was his first official outing for the company, and it was great to see him on stage being awesome with a new sponsor. Congrats to SF on a great pickup, and to Remy on a sweet new sponsor!
Ahmad Dimi Suffers Stroke (Updated March 12)
Malaysian yoyo player and friend to many, Ahmad Dimi suffered a stroke over the weekend. Dimi is a pillar of the Malaysian yoyo scene, and beloved by all who have met him.
Surgeons were able to successfully remove the blood clot in his brain, and as of today he is awake and able to recognize the people around him. Local yoyo players have been visiting him in the hospital as often as possible to keep his spirits up, and doctors are monitoring his blood pressure to make sure he’s not at risk for a second stroke or complications from the first.
The right side of his body is partially paralyzed, and it will be a long road to recovery for Dimi with medical care and physical therapy. A GoFundMe page sprung up immediately, and even though it’s met the original goal, further donations are needed and welcome to help Dimi with the costs of ongoing care and recovery.
https://www.gofundme.com/pray-for-dimi-the-father-of-yoyo-malaysia
On a personal note, Dimi is one of the kindest and most gentle people I’ve ever known, and one of my best friends in the world. He personifies everything that we love about our community, and is a constant reminder to me to try harder and be a better person. Please donate if you can, and signal boost the fundraiser to help spread the word. Thank you.
UPDATE: Tuesday, March 12,2019 @ 4:07 pm (Malaysian time)
As before, Dimi can move his left side (sometimes aggressively) but still no movement on his right. However while he cannot move his right side, the doctor said when they did tests on the side he showed reaction to it. We take this as a positive.
Dimi is still sleeping most of the time because the effect of the injury to the part of the brain. He is no longer on sleeping medication, but still needs a nasal oxygen tube and feeding tube.
His blood pressure is still high, which is why he is still in ICU. This is likely because of damage to his liver caused by gout, and the hospital is providing medication for this. Once his blood pressure is lower he can be moved to normal ward and starts active physiotherapy. He has already started passive rehab.
Dimi recognizes some of the visitors who’ve come and knows that people are here, but he hasn’t spoken yet and he can’t see because he’s not wearing his glasses. The nurses did say he says his name to them when they asked him.
CT scan post op has shown that the swelling and midshift have decreased. Another CT scan will be done later in the week.