Stargazing Night

We dreamed of hosting a big event at Worlds, but we didn’t know what “big” would look or feel like.

What I’ve always appreciated about yo-yo contests are the spontaneous events that emerge on the day, driven by the initiative of a handful of players and the community’s energy. Take, for example, the alternative freestyle that often happens after the main contest. It offers players who may not have had a chance during the main event a stage to showcase their style and tricks. Similarly, there’s the lesser-known pink slip battle, where two players go head-to-head, the audience decides the winner, and the loser hands over their yo-yo. I think both of these spontaneous events highlight a gap in the competitive scene that can’t be filled by a different judging system but rather a new type of event entirely.

Players like Zach Gormley and Janos Karancz could share the stage despite having drastically different styles of play, both equally celebrated for their unique contributions to yo-yo. Looking back, I think this celebration of diversity is one of the reasons what drew me to yo-yo in the first place.

However, as the judging system has evolved over the last decade, yo-yoing has slowly shifted focus towards the “meta” as players have favored optimizing their tricks for competition over originality. This focus on scoring points has led to routines that appear similar, contributing to a sense of homogeneity. Occasionally, you will have anomalies like Daniel Kim, Tsukasa Namba, and Toru Miyazaki who bring an entirely different style of play and still perform competitively, but these examples are becoming more and more few and far between.

The “meta” has indeed made competition incredibly exciting, as players continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible with a spinning toy. But, I believe that this has come at the expense of what makes yo-yo so special in the first place—being embraced for being a little different. It has created a highly aspirational style of play, inaccessible to many who just want to hang out, create cool tricks, and yo-yo.

Growing up competing, I found it ironic how players were sometimes frustrated after a contest, having performed tricks they didn’t enjoy to music they didn’t like, all in an attempt to place higher. But perhaps that is indicative of society as a whole—this tendency toward conformity—a topic worthy of its own exploration.

I think there’s an itch just waiting to be scratched, and I believe the yo-yo community can find inspiration in the dance community.

Unlike fixed routines, dance battles are all about freestyle, with competitors going head-to-head, improvising to random songs selected by a DJ, and judged on criteria like musicality, character building, and originality—similar to yo-yo performance evaluations. Instead of explaining further, check out this video from Red Bull Dance Your Style, where the winner is chosen by the audience.

There have been a handful of yo-yo battles in the past, but rarely are they the primary focus behind the event. Normally, they’ll be organized to fill time or quickly put together on the day-of.

That’s why I’m incredibly excited for Stargazing Night.

Stargazing Night is a semi-invitational, fully improvisational freestyle battle, featuring an elite bracket of sixteen players. Ten have been invited for their innovative and unique styles, while the remaining six will be selected on the day of the event.