# who here thinks that yoyoing should be an olympic sport?
**URL:** https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461
**Category:** General Yo-Yo
**Created:** [July 20, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461 "2012-07-20T16:19:18Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@mx.yoyo](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/mx.yoyo)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/21 "2012-07-20T20:09:17Z")
Hmm…RC car racing could qualify for the Olympics…but I’d say that goes along with yoyoing at the X-Games.
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### Author:  [@anonyo](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/anonyo)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/22 "2012-07-20T20:17:17Z")
> [@THEflyingsquirrel312](#):
>
> There’s 2 different sides of this for me. If table tennis can be in the olympics then so can yo-yoing and on the other side, there are also the yo-yoing world championships as a whole event of it’s own
Well, there are world championships in many of the sports that the Olympics has. Soccer has the World Cup every 4 years. Basketball doesn’t really have a world championship, but is played internationally, as is soccer(Real football, not this US helmet/pad football nonsense).
As much as I may sound like I am ragging on NathanC above, the point about the yoyo being seen as a toy is really something that holds it back from being an Olympic event. But I also said that earlier too. He is right though, as am I: it’s effectively a toy.
And don’t knock table tennis. That is a wicked hard game to play at their level. Badminton, wow. And I used to be really good at badminton.
Besides, with youtube and streaming services, we can get what we want from the internet for yoyo. If we really want yoyo to be an Olympic class event, it’s got to have big dollar sponsors behind it, which means reaching FAR outside the “inner circle” of yoyo companies and yoyo accessory companies. I’m talking stuff like Johnson & Johnson, big food companies, big drink companies, big clothing companies and so on and so forth, companies willing to dump tens of millions of dollars into a sponsorship or advertising. I’m not saying that money talks, but it would take several sponsors of that kind of dollar level backing up the yoyo for the IOC to take things seriously. They wouldn’t take it seriously because of bribery dollars, but from the perspective of “well if these large companies feel it’s marketable and it meets our other criteria, then clearly it’s worth investigating deeper or voting it through”.
Who knows, maybe miniature golf will be next!
Not to give props to YYF, but their Birdhouse tour with Tony Hawk is smart marketing and shows both groups thinking outside the box and broadening each others’ audiences. It’s one of the few steps in the right direction. Expand on that concept and you start to get a model more appealing to “big corporate”.
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### Author:  [@Shadowz143](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Shadowz143)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 8:29pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/23 "2012-07-20T20:29:58Z")
> [@Studio42](#):
>
> > [@NathanC](#):
> >
> > lol just no. Maybe you could start your own skill-toy Olympics, but if you let yoyoing in you have to let juggling, kendama, diablo, etc. in, all which are arguably more difficult and more physically demanding than yoyoing. It’s a toy, not a sport, stop glorifying a hobby.
>
> Good argument.
>
> Cancel sailing for the same reason.
>
> Cancel shooting for the same reason.
>
> I’ll quit as soon as you do!
To me it’s fun.
To me it’s a hobby I hope to keep for life.
Wow, how can NathanC talk this way?
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### Author:  [@anonyo](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/anonyo)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/24 "2012-07-20T21:58:42Z")
> [@Shadowz143](#):
>
> > [@Studio42](#):
> >
> > > [@NathanC](#):
> > >
> > > lol just no. Maybe you could start your own skill-toy Olympics, but if you let yoyoing in you have to let juggling, kendama, diablo, etc. in, all which are arguably more difficult and more physically demanding than yoyoing. It’s a toy, not a sport, stop glorifying a hobby.
> >
> > Good argument.
> >
> > Cancel sailing for the same reason.
> >
> > Cancel shooting for the same reason.
> >
> > I’ll quit as soon as you do!
>
> To me it’s fun.
>
> To me it’s a hobby I hope to keep for life.
>
> Wow, how can NathanC talk this way?
Nothing is wrong with NathanC. He’s just making a point. Sometimes someone has to stir the pot a little. We need a bit of that sometimes. Thank you, NathanC for doing that.
I may not agree completely his position, but I’ll certainly defend his right to be heard!
However, he’s got a darn good concept: skill toy Olympics. Screw the IOC!! Just kidding. There’s a lot of skill toys that kind of operate in their own circles, and I don’t see why these circles can’t link up with each other into larger events.
Diabolo and yoyo go almost hand in hand as they are very similar, although have many differences. Kendama still involves a string, but again, skill toy. Spintops are at Worlds and Nationals. I’m kinda mixed on cubing, but hey, why not. I think juggling is already covered under “magic” categories, but that doesn’t mean we should exclude it, but we’d have to set boundaries for competitive categories, but definitely have AP and exhibition categories as well. I know i"m leaving stuff out.
I think consolidating these into a larger “contest/community” would be beneficial. My yoyo meets are more about skill toys than just yoyos, but the focus is on skill toys. My concept is to bring color and motion and community together for the purposes of fun at all levels, from beginner to pro, from participant to observer.
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### Author:  [@Shadowz143](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Shadowz143)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/25 "2012-07-20T22:29:02Z")
Ah thanks, I understand.
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### Author:  [@jsell14](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/jsell14)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2012, 4:54am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/26 "2012-07-21T04:54:18Z")
I don’t think it should be in the Olympics. I don’t want to see a bunch of people being trained by professional coaches and pushed to their limit to do something that is supposed to be fun. I don’t want to see scientists in a lab studying new ways to enhance a yoyo or even yoyo string to be supernatural. I don’t know if any of that would happen, but what if it did? Then there would be no turning back.
As for skill toy olympics, I think that’s a pretty cool idea.
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### Author:  [@Nathan](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Nathan)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2012, 5:26am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/27 "2012-07-21T05:26:06Z")
> [@Studio42](#):
>
> #2, it needs to be practiced in at least 50 countries (female sports) or 75 countries (male sports)
>
> Well, considering it is world-wide, that won’t be an issue. All of Asia, all of Europe, all of North and South America, the more “civilized portions of Africa”, and by that, I mean places that have at least sufficient mail in place to deliver small parcels. This is probably tied to areas with internet as well so they could place the order. We know of throwers in Kenya, and probably a lot of Africa at least has some access to internet and some form of mail. I think we can hit those numbers easily. Yoyo is only limited to where the items can be delivered.
Worlds is generally in the mid 20s of countries represented. Since I think “practiced” in this context means having a recognized national sanctioning body and national championship, there’s a ways to go before hitting 75.
> [@Studio42](#):
>
> Basketball doesn’t really have a world championship, but is played internationally, as is soccer(Real football, not this US helmet/pad football nonsense).
Basketball definitely has a World Championship. It’s played every four years on the off Olympic even numbered years.
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### Author:  [@damainzar15](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/damainzar15)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2012, 5:44am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/28 "2012-07-21T05:44:55Z")
> [@JohnnyJ](#):
>
> I defenitly think it shouldn’t. Japan/China would win every year :🙂
true. Those guys are on some yoyo super crack or something.
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### Author:  [@DrAwesome](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/DrAwesome)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/29 "2012-07-21T16:35:23Z")
I think it would be interesting but i don’t know what the general public would say
> [@Studio42](#):
>
> > [@memoria](#):
> >
> > The Olympics seem to be more about physically exhausting endurance tests. I’ve never seen someone really sweating or panting for air…while yoyoing.
>
> Second: In a word, ARCHERY. You don’t see people doing endurance tests for that sport.
concerning this archery has a lot to do with endurance your pulling back a bow that has at least 60 lbs of pressure on it and if you shoot at the comps i do you shoot 60 arrows not to mention the practice rounds. so in all your pulling alot of weight in that amount of time
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### Author:  [@supbreh1234](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/supbreh1234)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/30 "2012-07-22T02:10:12Z")
if yoyoing becomes an olympic sport, it would be confusing. think about it this way, lets say augie fash wins worlds. then he also wins a gold medal at yoyoing in the olympics! woah augie fash wins worlds! yeah i heard he won worlds in florida? wait i thought worlds was london? see what i mean! id just avoid it.
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### Author:  [@supbreh1234](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/supbreh1234)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2012, 2:11am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/31 "2012-07-22T02:11:32Z")
imagine the chaos if baseball was in the olympics!
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### Author:  [@patrickcondon](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/patrickcondon)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/32 "2012-07-22T02:18:30Z")
[quote=“Studio42,post:8,topic:40461”]
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that you’ve never done either. I do both, and I’ll say that you’re incorrect.
Regarding yoyoing in the Olympics: ew no.
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### Author:  [@kuyaChristian](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/kuyaChristian)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/33 "2012-07-22T02:29:15Z")
This is like the 5th “Should yoyoing be an olympic sport?” thread I’ve seen the past two months.
My answer? Just like in every other thread, no.
If there are lots of other sanctioned sports out there that are not Olympic events, why should yoyoing be? Come on, yoyo ‘organizations’ [especially in the US] are already messy and unorganized in the first place anyway. Can it take the heat if was taken to the Olympic level?
Hobby-based games are always going to be a niche thing.
My guess, the sixth “should yoyoing be an olympic sport” thread will be in one month.
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### Author:  [@jwil425](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/jwil425)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/34 "2012-07-22T04:45:29Z")
geeze i havent seen all the posts yet but im glad it at least got people talking. yes yoyoing isnt a sweat it out push it to your bodys limit but there is ping pong, curling, and im sure plenty other things that people watching on tv never see going on. i just would like the aspect of people seeing what people are doing with yoyos now days. i was really suprised when i began again and hooked. i think one of the best things about yoyoing on the other hand is the nature of it and the people who do it. tons of other sports have been ruined by people who only care of winning and dont care about having fun while doing it. heck some children in other countries basically get forced into certain things (expecially gymnastics). In the end i just think it would be cool to see it but i understand your guys point of views on the subject and look forward to reading the rest of what you guys wrote.
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### Author:  [@jwil425](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/jwil425)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/35 "2012-07-22T04:47:15Z")
> [@Studio42](#):
>
> > [@memoria](#):
> >
> > The Olympics seem to be more about physically exhausting endurance tests. I’ve never seen someone really sweating or panting for air…while yoyoing.
>
> First: You haven’t seen me yoyo. It’s a struggle! Maybe I sweat too easily. I’m certainly not panting for air though!
>
> Second: In a word, ARCHERY. You don’t see people doing endurance tests for that sport. Another: air rifle.
>
> The Olympics has ventured into X-Games type events. They have BMX biking and mountain biking in the summer. Winter has Snow boarding, which quickly went from exhibition to event.
>
> Then they have the more artistic sports, such as figure skating including men and women singles, pairs and ice dancing. Gymnastics is always another one that has a more “artistic” performance element, as well as diving.
>
> Not all events are as physical as others. The shooting sports aren’t as demanding, yet still require a high degree of skill.
>
> I fail to see the athleticism in equestian events. Sailing, I just don’t get it unless they are doing 2-person catamarans or skiffs
>
> It may be because the yoyo is still largely considered a toy. I’m too lazy to do research to see what it would take for something to be a candidate for consideration for a future Olympic sport. The things that play in favor for this is the international organizations regarding this, a more uniform set of rules that are being worked on, and a truly standardized set of judging criteria and scoring rules. The odds are that there’s more going in favor of yoyo being a possibility than not.
>
> There’s also another point of concern. The Olympics used to be about amateurs, but it’s not anymore. It’s more about “my country vs all other counties” and whenever possible, our highest level “best of the best” athletes are recruited, regardless if they are amateur or pros. While the Olympics aren’t about the money(whatever), it is. I know sports are determined based on what people will most likely watch, and advertisers are calling the shots. Ideally, yoyo is gonna end up on the “wrap-up hghlight reel” they do each day, if we’re lucky. The 1-3 place performances in at least 1A and 2A might get broadcast. 3A might get 30-seconds to a minute as it looks too busy to most people. 4A and 5A 1st place might get air because of the “wow factor”.
>
> We also have to consider interests around the world vary. I have no idea if they still do cricket, but they flat out don’t cover that in the United States. I’m not really interested in cricket, but I’d kind of like to see a match just to see what it’s like. Many other sports are not covered in the United States even for the Olympics unless we start dominating in it, otherwise it’s a passing mention in the nightly highlights reel EVEN if we(United States) win.
>
> In the end it comes down to “can it be done, will it be done and should it be done”. Can it be done? Probably yes, but it will take some time and effort through appropriate channels. Will it be done? Hard to say. Should it be done? Again, even harder to say. I would like to see yoyo more mainstream, and stuff like the Olympics brings a broader scope of sponsors into the mix. So, should it be done? From the perspective of expanding the sport of yoyo, yes, it should be done. Then again, we’re back to “will it be done”.
>
> I guess it’s not cool when you can carry around all your sporting gear in your pockets and still have room for your iPod for your music.
this is what i was trying to say but with better info lol
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### Author:  [@Zach6106](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Zach6106)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2012, 4:51am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/36 "2012-07-22T04:51:20Z")
thats like saying painting should be an olympic sport. I think of yoyoing as an art.
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### Author:  [@jwil425](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/jwil425)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2012, 5:03am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/37 "2012-07-22T05:03:33Z")
> [@kuyaChristian](#):
>
> This is like the 5th “Should yoyoing be an olympic sport?” thread I’ve seen the past two months.
> My answer? Just like in every other thread, no.
>
> If there are lots of other sanctioned sports out there that are not Olympic events, why should yoyoing be? Come on, yoyo ‘organizations’ [especially in the US] are already messy and unorganized in the first place anyway. Can it take the heat if was taken to the Olympic level?
>
> Hobby-based games are always going to be a niche thing.
>
> My guess, the sixth “should yoyoing be an olympic sport” thread will be in one month.
^^ wow you know everything going on everwhere right. im sorry that i dont see everything that goes up here. who cares if someone has said it before. i didnt get up out of bed and think oh my gosh why hasnt anybody ever thought of putting yoyoing in the olympics? i figured it has been asked before. probably before any of these forums. all i wanted to know is what others had to say and i think i got some good stuff from both sides of the fence. thanks for wasting your time on a post teaching us that this is… what the 5th time. maybe i will do the 6th and you can post again saying how pointless it is. people crack me up.
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### Author:  [@jwil425](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/jwil425)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2012, 5:07am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/38 "2012-07-22T05:07:38Z")
> [@Zach6106](#):
>
> thats like saying painting should be an olympic sport. I think of yoyoing as an art.
and i like thinking of it as an art to. figure someone can do the same exact move as me but it looks totally different because they put the own style into it. kinda like dancing. someone could take the moves and do them just like they should but if they dont have feeling and style then it looks boring and lifeless. thats why some time i like the more fluid players cause its just so smooth. but all in all i like how everybody seems to have the passion for yoyoing but they express it in different way.
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### Author:  [@Domin123](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Domin123)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2012, 8:53am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/39 "2012-07-22T08:53:45Z")
Also, yoyoing lacks quantifiable aspects of it. Most of the judging done at yoyo contests are actually subjective to the judge’s opinion. While there is a count of the number of string hits going on, that is inadequate to be able to determine the winner, since it would probably change yoyoing into an eli hop competition, which is not what yoyoing is all about.
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### Author:  [@PlasticWhip](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/PlasticWhip)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/who-here-thinks-that-yoyoing-should-be-an-olympic-sport/40461/40 "2012-07-22T12:41:59Z")
> [@Zach6106](#):
>
> thats like saying painting should be an olympic sport. I think of yoyoing as an art.
Yes. This is what I was trying to say.
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