Interesting to see...

1998 US National 1A champion


1999 (missing)
2000 US National 1A Champion

2001 US National 1A Champion

2002 US National 1A Champion

2003 US National 1A Champion

2004 US National 1A Champion

2005 US National 1A Champion

2006 US National 1A Champion

2007 US National 1A Champion

2008 US National 1A Champion

2009 US National 1A Champion

2010 US National 1A Champion

2011 US National 1A Champion

2012 US National 1A Champion

So why did I post every (Minus Joel Zink’s missing 99 win) US National 1A champion?
History, memories, I think it’s interesting to see where 1A has gone through the years.
Each one of these wins had something special about them, as each took place in a big place for yoyoing. My favorite? It’s hard to pinpoint one as my absolute fave, I certainly loved Zachs recent win, as that proved to the world that a “non contest style” could in fact win a large contest. Jason Lee’s 01 win was truly the most incredible thing of its time. But if I had to choose one, I would say that it would have to be Takumi Sakamoto’s 2000 win. That was the most fun and most enjoyable showcase of yoyoing I had ever seen. Truly awesome to see.

So anyways, thought some might find interest in checking out the timeline of 1A champions here in the US, which are some of your faves?

bark!
Haru

1 Like

I think I (overall) liked the first two videos the best. Whenever I see a video from back then, I always notice that their performances seemed more designed for fun and entertainment, something one doesn’t see often these days. However, like you said they all had something special.

I thought Jason Lee in 2001 was really important because he kind of took the looping aspect out of it and based it all on string tricks. Then I think JD in 2003 was cool because you could tell a big difference from the last 2 contest because he brought a lot more technical aspects to the plate. Next Yuuki in 2005 took that the next level with the technicality I may be wrong but I dont think the yoyo ever came back to his hand during that performance. Then fast forward to 2012 I think Zach’s stuff is just crazy good so technical so flowy and just fun to watch.