My school granted me to start a yoyo club that meets for an hour every week! They even gave me a sponsor and are putting my club on the sign up list! I have smoothed everything out except for one thing- What yoyo?
The school told me that they will cover any expenses from purchasing yoyos, but they are muggles of the yoyoing world, and I doubt they would be happy with me purchasing 10-20 Cliffs. This being said, I could probably get away with 10 dollars AT THE MOST. I really want something like the dm2, that can switch in-between responsive and unresponsiveness. My ideas so far are:
Yoyojam classic with an extra bearing once everyone is ready to go unresponsive.
Some other cost efficient yyj or yyf.
Classics would absolutely be the best way to go. Cheap, durable, extremely functional, and easily upgradable.
You should email Yoyojam and see if you can get a bulk deal on randomized colored classics and bearings. I bet if you explain that you’re setting up a yoyo club at your school (make sure to mention the school wants to sponsor it) they’d love to help.
Cheapest is probably the ONE, already comes with 2 bearings… And that should be good unless you’re really wanting to get into this to real advanced tricks. If you do want to do that then classics is your best bet. You can get buddha simple or buddha whipple bearings to upgrade too… Cheapest bearings out there, and they are 10-ball and the whipple is a string centering bearing too if you want that… 4 pack of them is $14.97 which is less than $4 a bearing! You’ll probably want to get a few tubes of flowable silicone too.
Lube isn’t necessary, you can run them dry. Just clean them every once in a while. But if you do want to use lube, one bottle is enough.
You can get one or two 100 packs of yye poly. They won’t need to change strings as frequently as we do, especially at the beginner-intermediate phase.
First, getting started. What to get? Are these “house items” or are these “sale items”? Do kids supply their own or does the club? Giving or selling?
Most clubs I’ve dealt with, the kids bring their own. But, yoyo isn’t as accessible.
So, I would see about a reseller’s permit and getting account with Duncan, YYJ or YYF(or all three). There are minimum orders though and “payment up front” is normal for first time orders. Gets your equipment to you at lower prices. They may offer school direct programs without the need for a reseller’s permit. Call them up!
So, start responsive. Classics or ONE? Or New Velocity?
Upgrading? Pads and or bearings?
Strings. LOTS of string! And more string.
Lube, or not… your call. If you’re doing responsive, get thick and thin lube. 2 bottles of each will more than last a year of 50 throwers.
But, we’re assuming 1A only. Might be best to start off that way.
Have a plan. Make progress charts/trick checklists. Make small contests, small prizes to motivate. Have plans of tricks to learn in an order, such as YYE does.
Thanks Studio! Anyway, the school says that I can pick the yoyo I want, and that they will cover the expenses. There will be no reselling and the kids don’t have to buy yo-yos. Also, should I let the kids bring the yoyos home?
Why? Kids lose everything. A yoyo is relatively easy to lose. Also, I find people don’t take care of things they don’t have some sort of obligation to. For example at a meet, some kid dinged up 4 yoyos, 2 of which I’d never played yet, so he’s on my “no-throw” list for quite some time. Didn’t even have the guts to say “hey, I dinged it”.
But, if they can’t practice, they really can’t improve much.
Here’s what I would suggest:
You get them exposed and interested. That’s a major portion. If you want to do a take-home, a security deposit is a must, signed for by a adult who ALSO assumes financial resposibility.
Example:
A little background. I’m a Disney fan. On my 2007 trip to WDW, I wanted to get a PAL Mickey. PAL Mickey is basically a plus Mickey stuffed with electronics. It interacts with emitters around the park, giving details about this, that and even knowing where you are and where you’ve been. Thanks to PAL Mickey, I saw a cool “rock formation” Disney created in the Animal Kingdom. There’s also rumor it transmits information back. I thought it could help entertain the kids, but they decided it scared them. All the kids have since warmed up to it(there were only 2 kids at the time, now I got 2 more, and they each get to have the doll with them one night a year and they fight over that…)
Anyhow, I forget what I paid. I reserved money for it and bought one. I still have it even though it’s discontinued. We take it to Disneyland even though it doesn’t work there. The item has been discontinued but the emitters are still functional, so I’ve been told. The item also works outside of the parks, allowing the kids to play games by squeezing it’s tummy and hands. The kids use this on the long car ride to Disneyland and back. However, often on the way back, I have to have it turned off.
There was a rental program that was discontinued years before I went on my trip. You’d basically pay a security deposit that actually was about $5 more than retail for the plush. If you failed to return it, well, you forfeit your deposit and it’s yours. I think the rental was like $15 or something per day, with the security deposit being whatever the doll was - $10. The thing was, most dolls were never coming back, leaving permanently, or that people were forgetting and then trying to return them a day or two later. Most people returning them late ended up getting partial refunds. It just turned out to be too much hassle so the program was cut off. Between the renting, returning and cleaning, tracking and logging in and out, and the complaints regarding late returns, even Disney and their world class customer service said “no more rentals. If you want it, buy it”.
It still sold well. I saw lots of people with them at WDW, mostly guys, who, like myself, were using the belt loop clip on the head to attach it to their belt or waist.
Honestly, I don’t like the idea of re-cleaned plushes being rented out. Despite being cleaned, it just doesn’t seem sanitary to me.
I digress. There need to be clear-cut terms how long the item goes home. At some point, they bought it. I’d say that the yoyos are for starting out. Have a hand-out packet that you give out to all new kids. This should contain a break down of “what is a yoyo”, what parts are in a yoyo, and maybe a few suggested models with very detailed descriptions, and links to places that sell them. The concept are the in-house yoyos get them started at no obligation and no price. If they return the yoyo, they get their full security deposit back. $10 to take it home, $10 back when it comes back. If they like it, buy something else(or the same thing but their own) or walk away(as most do anyways).
If someone is getting to unresponsive play, they really have shown a design to stick with it and should be able to order from YYE or some other online retailer(or even a brick and mortar store nearby) and have their own. At this point, it makes sense.
My eldest quit after around Eiffel Tower and Jamaican Flag. At that point, it became “too difficult” and she quit. ONE, Legacy II, Chaser… all responsive. She got a Starlight, can’t even use it. She’d be a typical example person: Shows up, makes minimal effort, and when the going gets tough, that’s it, it’s over. Probably 2 weeks and doesn’t show up anymore kind of person.
Then there’s kids like my son, who are actively interested. They would probably want to take it home, burn through strings trying to learn stuff and is busting their tail to learn stuff. Set-backs won’t stop them. They’ll power through to the intermediate level, then get stuck on the bind. They’ll then be shown the bind and then keep on going. These are the kids who should by their own because they are showing progress.
I would also suggest marking all the yoyos in some way to note they belong to the club. Maybe some laser engraving or something. If you get certain yoyos, maybe you can get custom caps. If you get ONE’s for example, you could do just that: Make your own pogs and substitute those.
Factor in 30% loss rate. It’s going to happen. Also have spare parts on hand too, but not a full complement.
surprised no one said velocity. Its about 10 bucks, ca change from responsive to unresponsive. Also I borrowed from the sign out sheet with my own personal collection. Made about 100 bucks from damage compensation…
