So i decided to post here, for the reason that I’ve been yoyoing for three years and I love it ,I’m not really part of the community and I’d like to be.Sadly I don’t have any friends that yoyo and i feel that there is only so much I can learn from watching in awe at new freestyles. From what I’ve seen contests seem to be really fun and a good place to learn sadly contests in New York don’t really exist anymore from what I know of at least. I figure that posting here is a good start to being a part of the community, the most I’ve done here is one post on the B/S/T, so hi. I also have a question,I know “contest season” is pretty much over but since I’d really like to go to one what are the closest contests to New York, the closest i know of is NER, and I’m considering going to Worlds next year, and also do you think that its worth the trip to go to a contest. Also sorry this post was so long I have a habit of writing a lot if you’ve made it this far thanks for reading.
I’ve been playing for 8 years and have never been to a contest or a large meet (ie. more than 5 people).
All my best friends are people who I have met through yoyoing, some of them I have never even met in real life…
That’s the great thing about Internet, email and forums such as this one, it allows all the isolated people all over to come together and share with like-minded individuals.
I’m sure I would have learnt much faster and be a much better player if I did have the opportunity to go to meets, but that’s no reason to feel left out 
Admittedly contests and other gatherings such as clubs can be difficult to locate and become a part of. One of the aspects of contests which makes them so inviting is players just standing around in circles throughout the day and throwing together. That is always mutually beneficial as well as just a lot of fun. I understand the lament of not having found anything like this to attend. My short answer advice is don’t sit around waiting for someone to create something for you. If you can locate just one or two others in your area who throw, meet up. Get something started and get the word out. You might be surprised to learn there are others much like yourself just looking for such an opportunity as you are. Right here at YoYoExpert is a great place to start barking about creating a club.
One last thing reycoreki. You said “I’m not really part of the community and I’d like to be.” Well, that’s not quite true. You posted here and this is the largest yo-yo community in the entire world. I have learned of many around me who throw yo-yos by being a part of the YoYoExpert forums and I live in the middle of the cornfields of Iowa.
If you are posting here you are indeed a part of “the community.”
I am in the same boat mate, 2.5 years and no contests and I live in new York. I almost went MA states but there was a storm and my parents didn’t want me driving through it on my own…What part of NY are you in?
Been roughly 6 for me…
There is a new york yoyo contest, 2013! Look it up! I think its in november.
I really made yoyoing a Hobby back in like 1999 - I have never been to a competition. I am also the only person I know of that had committed to doing more than just around the world and walk the dog. Apparently I missed a smallish boom about 4-5 years ago but at that time I felt that I had plateaued pretty hard in yoyoing ,mostly due to being the only one and not having anyone to learn from, bounce ideas off of so I was heavy into Contact and Toss Juggling then.
You know, it can be kind of almost better not to have people around, you can figure out things on your own, learn how to carve space in different ways, create pathways no one has yet thought of ( careful with this last one it’s been my experience that even though you figured out a trick on your own, someone, somewhere has come up with it before you ), etc.
Still, I know what its like to be the only one, hang in there, I can tell you one thing, the sheer amount of quality tutorials that are around on youtube and other sites are LEAPS and BOUNDS better than what I had when I was learning, which consisted of the Yonomicon, Realplayer , and that one site that had the hand/pc drawn images of how to do tricks ( sorry I can’t remember the name, it was a really popular yoyo site back then ).
Good luck! Keep throwing, if you get discouraged, don’t get mad, just put the yoyo down for a day or two and do something else , come back and 9 times out of 10 you will be able to get past whatever was making you mad.
Thanks, I really appreciate all of you guys replying, it’s rather comforting knowing there are quite a few people stuck in the same boat as me, and sadly it looks like the new york contest was canceled this year due to budget restraints i believe, but maybe it’ll get up and running by next year, and next year I’m going to try and get to worlds since it’s on summer it doesn’t interfere with high school. After this l think ill become more active here on the forums
Don’t worry about attending contests. If you can, then great.
I’ve been at this for about 2 and half years now. I’ve done sound production for CalStates and BAC in both 2012 and 2013 and have those contracts going forward, so I will be guaranteed to attend 2 contests per year.
I’m after getting the contract to handle sound for Nationals, but regardless if I get the job or not, I’m still going to Nationals. Both BAC and Nationals are about 2 hours from me, while CalStates is a 15-20 minute drive.
The community is what you make of it. See if you can find some nearby clubs or see about arranging meet-ups.
My area seemed to be a “skill toy wasteland”, but after I got in, I started making efforts and finding people and places and things. I’ve seen kendama come in, peak and then start a 2-way cross-over between both kendama and yoyo. I announced that the Duncan Pro-Z hit a store, and the next day they were nearly sold out. I’m sure there’s more people out there. I just think most people are in “hiding”. I’m finding more and more skill toy oriented groups but my schedule won’t allow me to attend these other meet-ups.
In the meantime, do what you can to get the support and help you need. If anything else, you never have to leave here. Just do what you need to do.