For me it just depends on the player. Some people are super exciting to watch - some of my personal favorites like Paul Kerbel and Nate Daily really put on an exciting routine that doesn’t feel like it’s all about the clicks, yet they still score very high.
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Paul Kerbel freestyles amaze.
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I’ve always wondered if competitions nowadays have restricted the types and diversity of tricks people do on the stage. More and more people are constructing tricks that score well and aren’t spending their time creating tricks that necessarily reflect their own individualized style. What are your thoughts on this?
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I can really agree to this. When I practice for a competition, I want to just make and do crazy looking tricks. But I realize if I want to win I still have to to tricks that everyone else is doing to score more points
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Yeah I just can’t get interested in watching competition based yoyo, and I have really tried!
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I seem to remember a competitor saying something like that on the “World on a String” DVD - about doing things he did not really want to do because they would get him points but not the the things he really wanted to show…
It’s like Joe Q. Public seeing you do a complex trick…if you do not do Walk the Dog for him you will get no yoyo skills credit points from him.
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No, their are others who agree, not me though
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I think competition is in our DNA. For men at least. I would prefer it no other way, it makes our boys sharper and stronger, makes our men strive to be better than themselves, and at the end brings out the best performance for the next series to aspire to achieve and excel through. 'Merica!
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The thing is, I dont think yoyo is really a good competition medium. It isnt like a sport where there is a clear cut winner or loser. Yoyo routines are all much different from one another and are individual representations of an art. It seems to me that turning yoyo into a competition with scoring hampers the types of routines that yoyoers have been trying to make since the beginning. Someone mentioned skate competitions earlier in the thread, and this is a very apt comparison. There are many skaters out there who hate skate comps and say that they are ruining skateboarding. Just like with yoyo, non-competition skate vids are much better and more interesting than the competition ones.
It is too bad that there really isnt a better way for amateur and pro yoyoers to get on stage and showcase their skill without making it a competition. Without a competition, electing who does or doesnt make it to the big stage would basically come down to in-crowd favorites, and the scene would eventually crumble. Sprinkling some promo events between competitions would be cool, but im not sure the yoyo scene is big enough to spend the money promoting such things. At the very least people can post their videos online like they currently do. Yoyo vids like this definitely capture the soul of yoyo more than a competition vid.
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Their is a way, it’s called a talent show XD
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I understand what you’re saying, competition and probably the way they are scored can hamper creativity, and it’s very hard to be 100% objective and accurate when judging. I was just saying that competition is in is naturally.
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This! Get out of my head, you!
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It’s easy to knock competition routines, but at the end of the day, that’s where the most skilled players are, with the best tricks.
Yes, there are a few exceptions like Jensen and Charles who are world class yoyoers that don’t compete. But they are definitely the minority. Most players that actively oppose the competition scene actually aren’t ones that have put in the work to get to the top level yet.
What I would say is, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. I don’t want to come off as obnoxious, but if one actually puts in the time to get really good, they might feel differently about the competition scene.
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One could level the same complaint towards Olympic gymnastics or figure skating. Routines have compulsory elements, sure, but there is still room for creativity within the scoring systems. And you still have elite competitors inventing new things (which usually get named after them).
I think if you want yoyo competitions to feature more creativity and variety within routines, then you simply need to change the scoring system. In addition, contests could have a special event for the fans where competitors (who wish to participate) get 120 seconds to do whatever crazy, thrilling, crowd-pleasing tricks they want. The benefits of participation might not be in the form of a contest “win”, but the video would surely go viral and put a nice spotlight on the players (though the event organizers have to be careful not to use copyrighted music during this “Showcase”).
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This is reasonable. I didn’t mean disrespect toward competitors. It’s just not something I get pumped about. There’s too much going on to actually process in any kind of meaningful way. For me, at least.
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That is an excellent point about figure skating and gymnastics. In competitions why can’t there be a strictly free form / innovation category?
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OMG THIS MAN SPITTING STRAIGHT FACTS. I would heart 10 times
I haven’t said anything about this topic because I know I’m in the huge minority on these forums but I highly appreciate, respect, and admire top competitors.
Like it or not, the guys at the top ARE the best players in the world. I think a more valid argument is saying that competitive yoyoing has gotten to such a high level that it’s not as casual-viewer friendly anymore.
You can still analyze any routine today like you could 20 years ago. You just have to be more skilled. Just watch Scales’ routine analysi. Guys like Colin can easily break down any freestyle.
Honestly I just see the whole “competition freestyles are boring, they need to change the judging format etc” as people complaining that yoyoers have gotten TOO good. The difference between a general casual thrower vs a pro now is much higher than it was 20 years ago
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Good point.
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