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PHOTOS: Tricks Fly High at Bay Area Classic Yo-Yo Competition in Oakland

Muna Danish
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Takaki Clark placed second in last year's Bay Area Classic. He's been coming since 2013 when the competition was in San Francisco. 'My goal for this year just like have fun on stage,' he said. 'I'm not going for the whole competitive thing.' (Muna Danish/KQED)

This goes way beyond doing a "walk the dog" or "around the world" trick on the yo-yo your aunt got you for your birthday.

The competitors who participated in the 21st Bay Area Classic Yo-Yo Championships at Oakland's Jack London Square on Saturday are some of the best yo-yoers around. The tournament is a regional championship featuring competitors from California, Nevada and Arizona. It's one of the largest and longest running yo-yo competitions in the country.

"It's really prestigious," said competitor Chris Godsey. "There's the best players here out of all the contests in the country besides nationals."

The more than 50 competitors, ranging in age from 10-25, performed two-minute choreographed freestyle routines set to thumping electronic music in five different divisions including two-handed yo-yoing, offstring and counterweight. The winners will move onto the National Yo-Yo Contest in Chicago next month.

"I love the contest feel," said Johnnie DelValle, the contest organizer and one-time yo-yo world champion. "The people that come here, it's just a Bay Area vibe. People just really click. They all get together and share tricks. ... It's a lot of camaraderie."

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DelValle said hundreds came out throughout the day to watch the competitions, check out vendors selling a wide variety of yo-yos and get inspiration.

"Always remember that you could be yo-yo-ing too," DelValle said. "It looks really complicated when they're doing it, but just a little free time and some fun and you could be doing it."

Numerous participants and spectators in the Bay Area Classic hang out and show off their yo-yo tricks. Even though it's a competition, many of the participants said it's fun just to be around other people who love yo-yoing as much as they do.
Numerous participants and spectators in the Bay Area Classic hang out and show off their yo-yo tricks. Even though it's a competition, many of the participants said it's fun just to be around other people who love yo-yoing as much as they do. (Muna Danish/KQED)
A vendor talks with a couple of yo-yo fans at the Bay Area Classic. Some of those in attendance came to get inspiration from the competitors in hopes of qualifying for the event next year.
A vendor talks with a couple of yo-yo fans at the Bay Area Classic. Some of those in attendance came to get inspiration from the competitors in hopes of qualifying for the event next year. (Muna Danish/KQED)

Tyler Hsieh, 23, works a vendor booth at the Bay Area Classic. He has his own line of yo-yos called UNPRLD. He said he didn't like the models that were available when he started yo-yo-ing 10 years ago, so he started his own brand.
Tyler Hsieh, 23, works a vendor booth at the Bay Area Classic. He has his own line of yo-yos called UNPRLD. He said he didn't like the models that were available when he started yo-yo-ing 10 years ago, so he started his own brand. (Muna Danish/KQED)
A wide variety of yo-yos were for sale at the Bay Area Classic. Top yo-yos can cost nearly $200.
A wide variety of yo-yos were for sale at the Bay Area Classic. Top yo-yos can cost nearly $200. (Muna Danish/KQED)
Lorenzo Peñacerrada, known as LorenzYo Cubing on YouTube, practices his yo-yo skills in Jack London Square. He invented his own trick called the boba straw. 'It's a slacky trick that makes it look like a straw is being punctured into a boba cup,' he said.
Lorenzo Peñacerrada, known as LorenzYo Cubing on YouTube, practices his yo-yo skills in Jack London Square. He invented his own trick called the boba straw. 'It's a slacky trick that makes it look like a straw is being punctured into a boba cup,' he said. (Muna Danish/KQED)

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