Get out of my boat Greg! lol ;D
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Ditto
Here’s my entry, old folks! You guys are killing it btw! I can’t wait to see more entries as they come in!
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It is with great pleasure that I wish to welcome two late additions to the contest’s sponsorship list.
As soon as the contest was announced, I got a PM from the forum’s own kyo (mod legend, manufacturer, and yoyo luminary Kyle Weems) mentioning that he’d love to help out. For those who don’t know kyo, he’s a gem of the community-- injecting doses of reality into forum babbling from time to time, but ALWAYS supplying the legit information we all need. kyo has turned his sights to providing the yoyo community with a platform to create custom designs and turn them into reality: http://kyostoys.com . As you can guess, that platform will be made available to one lucky winner!
The second addition is Axis Yoyos (Axis – YoYoExpert) a new company which has burst onto the scene, building upon the success of the indie Pulsefire model by refining the design into an absolutely amazing bi-metal that is a must-own. I couldn’t be happier knowing that I will be putting an Axis yoyo into the hands of a lucky winner. 
The main poster has been updated; if you have previously downloaded it into your “clip bin” during the editing process, but you haven’t exported your video yet… please download the latest version of the graphic from page 1 of this thread. If you have already submitted your video, you are under no obligation to re-publish it. Your existing entry stands.
Thanks Kyo’s Toys and Axis YoYos for your contributions to this contest!
That’s some hefty amount of swag ;D
Great entry!
So far we’re trending that most of the entries are being posted publicly, too. I love it! I hope to see more as they come through. Of course, the procrastinators among us won’t be hitting that point until November 9, 11:58pm, but that’s OK. 
Who wants another prize announcement? With my usual disclaimer: I reserve the right to update these to a reasonable and limited degree.
First, an update: I misunderstood what 2sickyoyos had contributed. It’s not a Bishop t-shirt… but rather… something else… Bishopy… :o Stay tuned for the end of that story!
Consequently, I have significantly increased the value of that random draw. It will now contain the original YYF Tactic (a very cool undersized organic from the YYF FundaMETAL series) but also a custom 3D-printed yoyo from Kyo’s Toys!
Let’s reveal the 3rd-place prize packs. I wouldn’t say that the 1st-3rd prizes are the “main” game in town (I tried to keep a very diverse set of ways to win!), but let’s face it… this is a battle. People are going to have their eyes on the prize. Coming in 3rd will net you an amazing pack of Duncan products PLUS the well-respected “Imp” from Yoyofficer! That’s two metal yoyos, a versatile and fun plastic, and a Duncan pouch for the 3rd-place winners! Here are the specifics:
Pack 1:
Duncan Torque (Duncan Torque – YoYoExpert)
Duncan Flipside (Duncan – YoYoExpert)
Duncan yoyo Pouch (Duncan – YoYoExpert)
plus
Yoyofficer Imp (YoYoExpert - Yo-Yo Store - Buy & Shop Modern Yo-Yos!)
Pack 2:
Duncan Strix (Duncan – YoYoExpert)
Duncan Flipside (Duncan – YoYoExpert)
Duncan yoyo Pouch (Duncan – YoYoExpert)
plus
Yoyofficer Imp (YoYoExpert - Yo-Yo Store - Buy & Shop Modern Yo-Yos!)
Since I don’t keep (most) of the prizes on-hand I don’t have a shot of them for specific colourways. If I get that information I’ll pass it along!
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Now how did you know… :):
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if those are just the prizes for 3rd place I can’t wait to see what first place is because that is an awesome prize pack!
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Maybe we should peek at what’s in the 2nd place packs, then? What have we here…
Pack 1
C3yoyodesign Accelerator (C3yoyodesign – YoYoExpert)
YoyoFactory Equilateral (http://shop.yoyoexpert.com/product/757/YYF-Equilateral---Champions-Collection)
Yoyofficer Musket (YoYoExpert - Yo-Yo Store - Buy & Shop Modern Yo-Yos!)
MonkeyfingeR Design Accessories (Monkey Snot, Buff, Gorrillius Lubricus) (MonkeyfingeR – YoYoExpert)
Pack 2
C3yoyodesign Accelerator
YoyoFactory Primo
Yoyofficer Imp (YoYoExpert - Yo-Yo Store - Buy & Shop Modern Yo-Yos!)
MonkeyfingeR Design Accessories (Buff, Gorrillius Lubricus)
Let me just say a few things about these companies here. Coz I have a lot to say about yoyo in general…
C3yoyodesign were incredibly easy to approach and very generous in their sponsorship of the contest. Let’s just say we haven’t seen the last of the C3 products yet! Right from the moment I was in touch with Walter Simpson, everything he had to say was incredibly supportive. He and C3 clearly love yoyo… it shows in everything they do, and I am honoured that they felt that supporting this contest was a good way to extend their love of yoyo.
If I can “fanboy” for a moment, my first fancy metal yoyo was the C3 Capsule, and a continual favourite of mine is the C3 Krown, a yoyo I selected on a day that I had access to all of YYE and had the budget to buy whatever I wanted. The Krown just spoke to me!
Yoyofficer is a company that I contacted through forum regular and YYO team member František Bína, who then put me in touch with the right people. I’ve messaged Bina many a time over the years, and I remember sharing my support for YYO even before this store started carrying them. Their “value for money” has been appreciated by our community from day one and they have rapidly climbed to a station right among the other major yoyo manufacturers.
I haven’t played all of their yoyos yet (YOYOFFICER – YoYoExpert), but if you haven’t played a Nifty or Rave yet… hoo boy are you missing out!
Suffice it to say, Hong from YYO was very friendly and helpful, as well as being very interested in the contest itself! The organizing phase took longer than I meant it to, and Hong was one of the people who checked in with me for updates, which meant a lot.
YoyoFactory… is it any surprise that they’d support this contest? YYF are legendary for being at the forefront of growing yoyo and supporting its community. A little story I’m somewhat embarrassed to share, but I will anyhow: last year I was organizing the contest and doing an “OK” job at it, but I wasn’t very thorough. I didn’t really know who to contact about sponsorships or how to approach it. And a huge detail I missed was a wonderful email from Ben during all of this saying “Hey Greg, saw your contest and YYF would love to support it!” I saw that email literally half a year after it was sent. I couldn’t believe I missed that opportunity, and I can’t believe I missed the email. It wasn’t even in my spam box. It was there in my inbox unread… forehead smack
Naturally, I reached out to Ben immediately this year and he said something like, “We can probably get a little something together for you!”. So far we’ve revealed the above prizes plus the Tactic and the G-Funk. And we’re not done yet. Thank you, YYF!
MonkeyfingeR Design have really busted out over the past year or so with hit after hit, including the Gelada 2, the Caesar, and the Tri-B. When I contacted Ray, he was super stoked to support the contest, but also a bit regretful that they don’t keep a stock of yoyos on hand. It all gets manufactured and then shipped out. Thing is: MonkeyfingeR also makes killer accessories. Gorrillius Lubricus (informally known as the “spouse appeaser” in my house because of how quiet it makes my bearings) and Monkey Snot are already mainstays in discerning yoyoers’ kits, and Buff is on its way up as well. Ray suggested he could send along accessory packs in lieu of yoyos, and I jumped at the chance. I love how they perfectly complement the prize packs!
Another personal note: shortly after starting yoyo, a contest came along from MFD. You had to record a video of tricks that were taught in their tutorials. You could pick from any skill level, which meant that the contest was very inclusive. I ended up winning a Lesula for my entry (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGYzSjCqAmI) and I always remembered how great it was that there was a contest that was open to beginners. That’s no small contributing factor for including a beginner’s division and other non-skill ways of winning in the Elders Battle! Thanks MFD for the years of inspiration and for this year’s support!
Anybody else notice that I got more rambly as I went on? Haha! Yes… I thought so…
Man these prize packs are amazing. Looks like my skill level won’t put me in contention for the top prizes. But I’ve got a chance at the random drawing. This contest is awesome. Hats off to you Greg for putting this thing together.
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Wow these are fantastic prize packs i would love to win one but my skills are terrible lol still only 8 months in there are some mad skills out there
The “beginner” division, though… only up to 12 months of being a player! You’ve got a shot!
As for everyone else, remember this: it is not NYYL style judging. There are points to be gained for style as well as difficulty of tricks!
–
Plus, let’s not forget the “Best Video”… you could theoretically win with Rock the Baby and a Sleeper if your videography was crazy-good enough.
Speaking of which, let’s drop another prize pack on y’all:
BEST VIDEO
I wanted this pack to come fairly close to the 1st-prize packs because it represents a chance for people to put some effort into a video without worrying about the level of their tricks… and still come out a winner!
The winner of the “Best Video” prize will win:
- One Drop Downbeat in nickel (One Drop Yo-Yos – YoYoExpert)
- 2sickyoyos Bishop (2SickYoYos – YoYoExpert)
- $50 Gift card from YYE!
I need to go back to earlier posts before I started going on this “let me tell you about these guys” thing so that nobody is left out… but let me tell you about these guys:
One Drop is One Drop. That’s all you need to know. But I’ll continue anyhow. The first on board for last year’s contest and the first on board for this year’s as well. Not a moment’s hesitation, just “yes, we’d love to help again”. One Drop has always been in the business for love of yoyo, and are one of the handful of companies who can claim to be 100% Made in the USA. They employ people who love yoyo, make a wonderfully diverse range of yoyos for all styles, and have also one of the most diverse teams out there, including top-level competition players but also players who are simply as passionate about yoyo as they are.
Those who know me will know I can’t resist mentioning my continuing love for OD’s yoyos, with the Valor as a particular favourite of mine. Whoever wins this Downbeat (or the other not-yet-mentioned yoyo!) is sure to be in for a treat. Thanks, OD!
2sickyoyos is a company I have watched growing since before they were publicly announced. Despite small beginnings, they were willing right from the beginning of this Elders’ Battle series to step up and support it. I had the great fortune of meeting company owner Joey Serrano 2 NERs ago, and his excitement for his company and for yoyoing in general were genuinely infectious. He’s a great player but also a great designer: his releases to date (including the Bishop) have been amazing.
Thanks for the continued support, Joey! Super stoked to have this Bishop to award to the maker of the Best Video!
YoyoExpert: It kind of goes without saying that YYE are the biggest supporters of this contest. What you may not know is that in addition to supplying the FREE STRINGS TO EVERY ENTRANT, and in addition to the Gift Certificate prizes, the YYE team has worked tirelessly to add value to the contest at every step of the way. When I mentioned that it’s hard for me to to collect the prizes in Canada to ship out, YYE stepped up as the mailing hub. When I’m not sure about a decision I’m making, André is there to lend his years of experience. When I wasn’t sure if I’d be up to making a decent marketing/title graphic, YYE was there! “Prizes? Advice? Shipping? Whatever you need, Greg, we want to work with you” is really great support to have, and for sure the contest wouldn’t be the same without YYE. YoyoExpert, I truly appreciate everything you’ve done to make this contest a reality! Thanks!
Suddenly i wish i could get my hands on the Ageing Potion fred and george made…
Dammit I knew I should have called on the skills of some of my film making friends and made a cinematic master piece!!
It’s all in camera placement and lighting
Here’s my submission for the contest, enjoy.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcxiLk09MAU
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Alrighty, I have a spare moment in the middle of the day and I wanted to drop the rest of the prizes on y’all! I will circle back around for my blabbity-blah, which most of you probably roll your eyes at anyhow. But here we go!
People’s Choice
The video chosen by the people for the people. I will be setting up an external poll for your top-5 (in order) which will be anonymously recorded. I will compile the scores and produce the people’s choice! What does this lucky person win?
- Axis Pulsefire
- YYE Gift certificate for $25
But get this:
People’s Choice CHOOSER!
(I know, it’s a goofy name. That’s why I like it). From the pool of people who took their time to vote for the People’s Choice, we will draw three lucky winners who will each get a $25 YYE Gift certificate! We appreciate that it takes time to watch videos even though it’s also fun and rewarding… so we wanted to say “thank you” by holding this draw.
- 3X $25 Gift certificate
Judges’ Choice
Once all is said and done, there might still be a video that stood out for the judges in some way. Not necessarily a “trick winner”, and maybe a video with better overall cinematography grabbed the “Best Video” prize, but there’s still a video that the judges say “You know… I really wish we could award this person with something…”. That’s the Judges’ Choice. No scoring. No criteria. Just 5 judges putting their heads together and choosing a bonus winner.
- King Yo Star Pun
- YoyoFactory Roll Model
1st place packs
If you’ve been following, you know the drill: there are two packs, and at the time of awarding, a coin flip will determine which pack goes to which division.
Pack 1:
- C3yoyodesign Berserker SS
- YoyoFactory Proton
- MonkeyfingeR Design Accessory pack
Pack 2:
- CLYW Mystery Yoyo*
- One Drop Format:C (clear ano)
- MonkeyfingeR Design Accessory pack
- It’s not necessarily a mystery all the way up until the award date, though it may be. Not intentionally being vague or …mysterious… ; we just haven’t worked out which model it will be yet.
I think that’s everything!
Best of luck (and you know… skill and hard work…) everybody!
Great job and great location. Was that a deer?