Entering a 1A Ladder Division as an uber n00b

Yo-Yo Contests, Clubs, and Events
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Hi guys,

I might be getting way ahead here, and if so someone stop me please. :grin:
So while searching for people in my local area that shared my new found hobby for yoyos, I came across BYYA.
BYYA is the British Yo-Yo Association and I joined their Facebook group.
(Quick shout out, anyone here from UK other than @Lukoyo and @nothingfaced? Anyone in Surrey?)
(Surrey, UK not Surrey BC)

So I introduced myself, and said hi and found the facebook group to be very friendly and got welcomed in.
Many there suggested that I come to the SRC (Southern Regional Contest) for yoyo happening about 1.5~2 hour drive away from me on 30th November.
Wife is cool with me taking off on a Saturday to go spectate and meet other yoyoers (throwers, or whatever the correct term is).

While reading up on the SRC contest, I noticed that there is something called a 1A Sports Ladder Division.
So basically you have to complete a series of 25 tricks, starting from a sleeper up to a black hop.

Well some of the tricks at the end of the ladder I canā€™t even do yet, but I figured, I probably wonā€™t be able to get to there anyway as I am likely to drop out midway as you only get 2 lives as it were. The second time you mess up a trick then your turn ends.

For example I think Kwyjibo as I have 50% chance of succeeding could be one, and I am bound to mess up something else before I get to like Spirit bombs and Kamikazes and stuff right?

So now I am thinking instead of just going to spectate, it might be fun to partake with all the Iā€™m assuming children that enter this division.

What do you guys think? Should I go for it or maybe I should practice those tricks and try entering next year with the aim to try and complete the ladder.

Maybe I am getting way ahead of myself.

I might also have better luck with finding someone who wants the 3 yoyos that I would like to sell to fund my new hobby.

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Sports ladders are fun! It is also great practice for doing your tricks in front of other people. I say go for it!

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Thanks Gethin for the words of encouragement!
Is the sports ladders normally for kids though?
I donā€™t want to ruin their fun, not that I will be very competitive (in both sense of the word) but I donā€™t want to gate crash something that was designed for the younger entrants

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The ones we typically have at Utah states are a good mix of ages, one of the best parts of yoyoing imo is that it is pretty much an ageless hobby. I get that standpoint tho of not wanting to be the only adult in a sea of kids.

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You can always ask. Traveling two hours to hang out with the cub scouts would feel strange.

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go. for. it. do it bro!! contests are a great way to feel inspired to learn new tricks and compete @Legit_yoyostrings said to me ā€œcompete when you feel unprepared that way when you start competing more often youā€™ll know what to expectā€ there are so many more points i could type out but iā€™m too lazy at the moment lol have fun at the contest bro!

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Thank you @gcoomans and @PCaliyoyos, I think I might just go for it :slight_smile:

@stevejspins the guys who asked me to come along all seems similar ages so it doesnā€™t seem like there will be only kids, but I will ask about the sports ladder and see if that is something I can join.

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Okay while I decide, Iā€™m off to practice that Eiffel Tower

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Hell yeah man! I say absolutely go for it!!

Having a list of tricks you have to work on for the ladder will help give you direction in your practice sessions and will help you work on a lot of the building blocks.
And like others have said, itā€™ll give you some practice yoing in front of othersā€¦itā€™ll break the ice a bit and hopefully help you overcome some of the fear you have in doing so.

Plus it can be so much fun getting caught up in big events like this!

I entered the noob devision of a Yomega World competition in 2003. It was a ladder too (but none of the tricks on the list were all that tough). There was a lot of younger people in this division (it was for ages 16 and up), but there was also some adults so I didnā€™t feel SUPER uncomfortable about it.
It ended up being one of the funnest things Iā€™ve ever done in my life. I got to meet some amazing people, learn new tricks, and I donā€™t knowā€¦it was just super exciting.

I did win, so that was super cool (I got TONS of really cool things for winningā€¦including a super nice trophy. The first trophy Iā€™ve ever gotten for anything! :heart:).
But it wasnā€™t the loot that made this such an amazing experience. It was all the people! It was such a great timeā€¦it was so fun watching people up on stage! Some of them blew my freaking mind!

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So yeah man, I say jump in! Have fun! Get them competitive juices flowing!!

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Hope itā€™s okay that I post this on your threadā€¦lol itā€™s off topic, but mehā€¦I just want to share it with you!!

This is just 1 of the MANY amazing things I got to watch and experience at the contest! Iā€™m sure youā€™ll get to see a ton of amazing players as well!

This one absolutely blew my mind!

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Not at all @twitch77 that video was amazing!
Also well done for winning your competition back then!!

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Go for it, people rarely finish the full ladder anyway (the pressure is real) so go for it and see how far you can get. Then next contest see if you can get further.

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i hope you enjoy the contest!

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Iā€™ll add my own ā€œgo for itā€. Like many have already said, it is really a competition against your self, trying to get farther than the last time. It is also a great way to move from yoyoing alone or in front of the camera (ever notice how tricks seem just a bit more challenging when trying to record them?) to doing those tricks with a judge watching.

At contests Iā€™ve been to, trick ladder is either done off stage or with multiple people on stage (each with a judge). So, you wonā€™t need to deal with the stress of looking out at an audience. That said, no matter what, Iā€™ve never seen anyone told they did a terrible job. It takes courage to open yourself up to competing. Anyone who has ever competed knows that and recognizes we all had our first contest. I look back at my first YoYoExpert Throwdown, my routine wasnā€™t good, but everyone cheered, and, the experience was very good.

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It would be over for me with Iron Whip.
After all this time, I can only land it one out of 10.

Must be a learning disability.

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Thank you @French, that was actually super insightful.
I think I will just give it a go!

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Hey @stevejspins

Looking at the trick ladder list, I think I can get up to 17 hopefully without a mistake.
Eli Hops (3 times) could be one where I donā€™t land on the string one of the 3 times.

Kwijibo is the hurdle for me, but hopefully I still have all my lives left by then, and I have 50% chance of landing it soā€¦

And then, I canā€™t do Hook, suicide, Iron Whip, Kamikaze, Spirit Bomb, Black hop.
I think I should be able to do the grind :sweat_smile:
So it looks like the maximum I can get to at this point is to Ladder level 18

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Spirit Bomb isnā€™t bad, although if it falls off the string on the second hop, guess that doesnā€™t count. I just hop it back on at that point.

Spirit bomb is not too bad though once you get it a couple of times, just more knots than Kwijibo when you are learning it.

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I havenā€™t even learnt those tricks I listed yet.
So if I am going to go for it (which I think I will) I will start by learning the hook (assuming I can get to that point with a life left) as it will be a shame to stop just because I canā€™t do the rest of the tricks not because I messed up.
And in between continue to practice eli hops and kwyjibo.
Going to stop focusing on new tricks now, other than when I just want to have fun and enjoy.
And after the hook, the suicide, and then the iron whip and so on.
Hopefully I can at least get 1 or two more between now and 30th as I have 1 week left.
(1 week, because Iā€™m on a business trip to Korea from 16th to 24th)

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Man you are focused. :slight_smile:

You are going to be really good, I got very lazy about it. Iā€™ve found 20 minutes of focused practice is enough, then I just mess around.

Iā€™m past the point of challenging myself with yo-yos, life has enough.

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