Divisions
Yo-Yo has various play styles, and in competition there are 5 main divisions from 1A to 5A. They are separated depending on the number and type of Yo-Yo they use. The winner of each division will be crowned a World Champion title.
1A division
2A division
3A division
4A division
5A division
Extended divisions
Round structure
Round 1: WILDCARD
- Freestyle Length: 30 seconds
- Scoring: Only Technical Execution (TE)
- Music: Choose from the Official WildCard Music List
- Who Competes: 2024 National Contest 11th place and under -or- Did not compete in a 2024 National Contest -or- Anyone not already qualified to other Rounds
Round 2: Prelims
- Freestyle Length: 1 minute
- Scoring: Technical Execution (TE), 4 Freestyle Evaluations (FE) and Major Deductions (MD)
- Music: Your choice of music
- Who Competes: WildCard Winners, 2024 National Contest 2nd to 10th place, and 2023 World Finalists 4th place and under.
Round 3: Semi-Final
- Freestyle Length: 90 seconds
- Scoring: Technical Execution (TE), 4 Freestyle Evaluations (FE) and Major Deductions (MD)
- Music: Your choice of music
- Who Competes: Prelim Winners, 2024 National Champions, and 2023 World 2nd & 3rd place.
Round 4: FINAL
- Freestyle Length: 3 minutes
- Scoring: Technical Execution (TE), 8 Freestyle Evaluations (FE) and Major Deductions (MD)
- Music: Your choice of music
- Who Competes: Semi-Final Winners and 2023 World Champions
Seeding rules
Here is the structure to get a Seed spot to the Prelim, Semi-Final, and Final Rounds.
All other contestants who do not fit the criteria below
must compete from the WildCard Round.
Music Guidelines
Music Length and Choice (1A-5A and AP Division)
Final
- 3 minutes
- Your choice of music
Semi-Final
- 90 seconds
- Your choice of music
Prelim
- 1 minute
- Your choice of music
WildCard
- 30 seconds
- Choose from the Official WildCard Music List
AP Division
- Up to 4 minutes
- Your choice of music
Over 40 Freestyle / Women’s Freestyle
Final
- 2 minutes
- Your choice of music
Prelim
- 1 minute
- Your choice of music
Guidelines for Music Choice
All contestants must behave in an upstanding, appropriate manner. The player must consider their conduct in their freestyle, music content, and behaviour on the contest premises.
The following list is the content subject to penalty, but that does not mean you will get disqualified for sure with one small violation. Please see the detailed rules below.
Scoring Rules & Criteria
These rules apply to 1A-5A, Women’s Freestyle, and Over-40 Master and Open Class Freestyle.
| Round | Performance Time | Score Distribution | Major Deduction | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | 30 sec | TE (100%) clickers | No | |
| Prelim | 1 min | TE (60%) Clickers | FE (40%) 4 categories | Yes |
| Semi-final | 90 sec | TE (60%) Clickers | FE (40%) 4 categories | Yes |
| Final | 3 min | TE (60%) Clickers | FE (40%) 8 categories | Yes |
Extended Divisions
Art & Performance (or AP) is the division in which a player or team of players are judged predominantly on performance rather than technical skill.
Choreography, use of music, creative use of the stage, movement and performance will be among the important judging criteria of this division.
Yo-Yo is one of the few sports which is not affected by the contestant’s age or physical strength.
There are many former National and World Champions who were over 40-50 when they won their title.
Yo-Yo is a sport which is not affected by the contestant’s gender or physical strength. There are former National and World Champions who are women.
Today, there are increasingly more women yo-yo players all over the world.