I like the idea of the world yoyo contest being for only the best players in the world and this is yoyoing, women aren’t disadvantaged in any way.
Well, there are very few, if any, women who could make finals at worlds, so…
Percentage wise I bet you it’s the same as men.
It’s a good thing that we have mature adult males currently making the decisions about what is happening at Worlds. While things may never be perfect, and that group may not always agree, at least they apparently care about the state of yo-yo, and what might help the industry as a whole. Everyone can have their opinions, but the decision has been made.
Some males don’t like a female division, simply because they are excluded. I swear, the next time I see kids competing in parts of the contests apart from the older folks, there will be a backlash. Those kids don’t need their own time to earn trophies. Some of them yo-yo better than me, so they should let me in that division too. It’s not fair to exclude older people from getting those trophies. >:(
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There’s a division for older people too.
Correct, but do you think they are separated at times for the benefit of the little people, or for the benefit of the big people?
It is good for young people to have an opportunity to be rewarded without the intimidation of going on stage and competing with big people. Children at yo-yo contests are not minorities in yo-yo, yet they receive certain treatment for arguably appropriate reasons. Children who are more comfortable in yo-yo might get on stage with big people, and have no issues. It is not the same for all of them.
Females receive certain treatment in this context for appropriate reasons too (though different reasons than children). Females are a minority in the sport. The females who want to compete with the males do so, but those who would rather compete in the women’s division have that option. These decisions are not made to maliciously exclude certain groups, they are made to encourage others.
I don’t believe a woman’s division takes anything away from the general contest as long as women are allowed to step out of the women’s division and showcase their talent in the general contest, if they so choose. The idea/suggestion that it does is misplaced, in my opinion. I would like to think that many girls and women, would take advantage of such a division, hone their skills, experience competition and then move to the general contest.
If multiple divisions get more people yo-yoing, regardless of gender, I’m for it.
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[quote=“TotalArtist,post:66,topic:68304”]
And that really is the crux of this whole argument, after all. If having a women’s division encourages more female players, then that is the only reason you need for having one.
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The World Yoyo Contest has never been for only the best contest players in the world. Growing the industry and building interest in yoyoing has always been a major purpose of having contests in the first place, and Worlds has had plenty of events to encourage wider participation by a broader spectrum of players. For example, prelims, sport ladder, Artistic Performance, etc have always been full of players who would never contend for a world title in one of the five main divisions. Adding a women’s division to increase the focus on getting more women participating isn’t really much of a departure from what Worlds has been in the past, and it’s not going to detract from the other events any more than anything Worlds has done in the past has. If the competition for the top spots in the five main divisions is all that interests you, it’s still just as easy to watch that and ignore the rest as it’s always been.
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I’m not mad, I know I’m not good enough to compete, and I don’t want to anyways. That’s not my point at all. Yoyoing doesn’t need a women’s division because there is nothing that stops them from being just as good as the best in the world.
I don’t get why we need to always divide by sex, even when it doesn’t matter, you don’t see gingers only divisions or something.
Ill chime in a bit on this.
When I first got into yoyoing, I remember that I highly looked up to players like Katelyn Anton, Ann Connoly, and Maya Nakamura. There was no “womens division” during that time, but all of them were able to make their way through contest along with all the other guys.
I see some mention over women not being able to place as high as men in contest. People seem to forget that Maya Nakamura won worlds in 05, as well as placed 2nd in 3A that same year I believe? What about Tessa Piccillo? She has been placing well among the top placings in regional and other contest around here as well. Stephanie Haight? Mimi Thian? All relatively good placings in my eyes, beating out quite a few guys.
Now over the idea that there doesn’t need to be a women’s division. I feel a bit back and forth on the subject. On one hand, It does give a new division and something interesting for us girls, but at the same time, It does feel that it’s trying to make an alternate division that doesn’t need to be there exactly. I think most of the female competitors could fair well among the other males in the major divisions. But I see its appeal as well. Personally, separating genders like this is a bit strange for me.
Overall, I see the appeal of making it something that would draw other females into the game, but I think seeing females in any division can do this. As I said, there was no female division when I got into the game, but I still got inspired by watching the fellow girls rock it on the main stage.
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you and DOZENS of other girls. 
there will always be players who will rise above any obstacle (real or just perceived). there will always be amazing girl players that don’t need to see tons of other girls on stage to be inspired and want to take part. that 1% is not why you have a women’s division. it’s to encourage the people who WOULD take it up IF ONLY it didn’t seem like such a bro-fest all the time.
being a female yo-yoer means being part of a disproportionate minority. and the majority in a relationship like that almost always enjoys privilege in ways its constituents almost always take for granted. as a dude, i can’t experience being the lone girl competitor. i just can’t. having a women’s division doesn’t diminish my efforts as a guy duking it out in an “open” division. as part of a majority, i’ve got to be cognizant that it’s tougher to break in as a girl player. it CERTAINLY doesn’t diminish the efforts of the girls good enough to wipe the floor with me in said open division… as “yoyo” pointed out, there’s no reason girls can’t compete at the highest level with the guys (and HAVE in many aforementioned cases). that being the case, the fact that our community turns away females in droves makes me feel we need MORE legitimate outreach. not less.
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The average woman yoyoer stands little chance in competing at a world level. And /neither does the average male/.