THREE YEAR MEMBERSHIP
In addition to the new type of membership, members can now pay $54 and get a three year membership with both the AYYA News and the Yo-Yo Times. That's a savings of $6 over the yearly dues. Remember that all memberships come up for renewal the end of December.
Board Member Elections
There will be four board member positions coming up for election in December. Anyone interested in running for the board should submit a short yo-yo biography about themselves and state their desire to serve on the Board of Directors.
Committees
There are several committees that members are invited to volunteer for. Membership, Promotion, Editorial, Contest Rules, and Mailing all would welcome your help. Write in and volunteer or call your favorite Board Member.
CONTEST NEWS
New World Champ Crowned
The fifth annual World Yo-Yo- Competition was held July 18th in Rapid City, S.D. at the 49th annual International Jugglers festival. Competitors came from as far away as Japan. Contest judge was Dale Oliver. The results were as follows:
World Champion: Dale Myrberg, Salt Lake City, UT
Winners:
Freestyle Division
Champion Division
Greater DC Open
There will be a series of contests and lesson held in the Washington D.C. area the first three weeks in October. They are organized by Dick Stohr and sponsored by Knockin' Wood Toy Stores. Contact Dick, 703-451- 3439 for more information.
Two preliminary contests at:
The Shops of Georgetown
3222 M st. NW, Washington, D.C.
Sat. Oct. 5th, 1:00 P.M.
Chevy Chase Pavillion
5335 Wisconsin Ave. NW
Washington, D.C.
Sat. Oct. 12th, 1:00 P.M.
Championship contest at:
Springfield Mall, Springfield, VA
I-95, I-495 & I-395
Sat. Oct. 19th, 1:00 P.M.
They will have multiple divisions and age brackets, even a non-spinning division for the young beginners.
Sweet side, Sour side
If you don't know what this refers to, read the Dec. '95 issue. For transaxle players, the sweet side can have an effect too, but in reverse. One of the biggest problems in using a transaxle yo-yo is getting it up at times. The sweet side that makes a standard yo-yo work better will make a transaxle harder to get up....so.....if you are in a transaxle competition, better to try the trick on the sour side (particularly on tricks like around the corner) so it will be more responsive on the return. Also in this vein, most transaxles can be adjusted to be more responsive by varying the number of wraps around the axle. The more wraps, the more responsive. You'll also give up some smoothness at the same time but for some tricks, it can be worth it.
Double or Nothing
YO'ER FORUM
Got something you'd like to tell the Yo-Yo world about or something you'd like to see discussed? Write it in to the AYYA's Yo'er Forum. If it stays in good taste, we'll print it.
From Chuck Short, Reno, NV
The way of the Peaceful Yo-rior
or
Zen and the Art of Yo-Yo Maintenance
or
I'm Yo-Kay, Yo'er Yo-Kay
The Yo-Yo as a tool of meditation. Not an abstract concept to those that have attained the oft-mentioned "State of Yo" akin to the runners high. The sensory perception, the look, the feel, the sound. The beauty of the being and the Yo-Yo as an extension of the being existing as one in a cosmic spiral dance. The object, a gyroscopic energy, the manipulator of the object harnessing the very force that keeps the big, blue marble we call home in place. What could be more sublime and humbling? Sequester yourself in silence. Remove all distractions and concentrate wholly on what you are doing and why you are doing it. No matter your skill level, realize you are not playing with a toy, but applying the energy of mind, body and spirit to a task of infinite possibilities, limited only by the scope of your own imagination. Listen to the song, hear the song, be the song. In between the silences, the sound of your own breathing, the vibration of the string, the clarity of the moment reveals not only the truth of yo-yoing but the essence of the truth of life . Regardless of the pressures of everyday existence and the world that continues to spin about, find comfort in pure joy, the gift of accomplishment and the ability to share that gift with others.
We who are driven to Yo-Yo have already sanded the burrs away. We are benevolent and share a camaraderie that is seldom felt in any group with a common cause. In other words, uptight people don't Yo-Yo. They don't know an inner peace. The finger of a uptight person is as far away from the pulse of the planet as the moon to the sun. The hand that yo-yo's is the hand that has a song to sing, a tale to tell, something of value to share. Big shoes to fill, but make a child smile, make an adult recall when he played with a Yo-Yo, and you have contributed to history, plain and simple. Find the time to tap into the universal magic of the Yo-Yo and you find the time to tap into the greater good.
A word from Pookie Yo.
As the Chico 1996 National Championships approach, so do the Annual AYYA General and Board of Directors meetings. The Board of Directors depend on "Input" from other members. This association is a joint venture between 'All' members. We are your voice at the Board Meetings! The Board of Directors cannot do it without your help, input and suggestions. If you have anything you would like to see from your association, please drop your local Board Member a note before Chico. Thank you and see Yo in Chico!
John Stangle. Board Member
707-542-YOYO - yotopia@sonic.net
Starting a Yo-Yo Club
by Val Krantz
Last year at this time, I kept thinking about how fun it would be were there a yo-yo club in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. After all, I just KNEW there had to be other yo-yo enthusiasts besides myself here, but I had no clue at how to find them. Oh sure, there was the AYYA member list as a start, but there HAD to be more...people who may have never even heard of the AYYA yet. Well, you know the old adage, "If you want something done...do it yourself," or something like that. Well, since I've been there and you may be there now, I want to share some ideas with you about "How to Start a Yo-Yo Club." Sounds so official, doesn't it? But, it doesn't have to be. You don't have to have a president, a secretary, dues and all that "club" stuff, although you can or may want to at a later date. To start, you simply need to find people that are interested in yo-yoing. The first thing that I did was to write a verybrief inquiry and sent it to both the AYYA for its newsletter and to the Yo-Yo Times. It read simply, "MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL, MN - Anyone interested in forming/joining a club in this area should contact Val Krantz at 612- 929-1271." That's was it The AYYA news flash should be sent to the editor of the AYYA Newsletter. Currently, this is AYYA President Dale Oliver. Send it to him at 439 Northwood Dr., So. San Francisco, CA 94080 or email it to him at YOPRO@AOL.COM. The Yo-Yo Times news flash can be sent to, "Yo-Yo Times Club News, P.O. Box 1519, Herndon, VA 20172 or email them at YOYOTIME@AOL.COM. Okay, so now you've reached the subscribed yo-yo community.
Next, in this fast moving age of technology in which we live and in order to reach yo-yoers who have not yet been enlightened to the AYYA or the Yo-Yo Times, it is really helpful to get the word out on the Internet, whether you yourself are on "the net" or not. AYYA member Fred Culbertson takes pertinent information from the AYYA newsletter and places it onto the AYYA yo-yo page (http://www.pd.net/yoyo). There may be some time delay in this approach, however, in waiting for the next newsletter to be published and the information to reach Fredd. (FREDD@SONIC.NET) or snail mail (see AYYA member list) to reach him as soon as possible.
Now for the easy part. Wait for the phone to ring...and it will. You'll be amazed at the people you will reach, who are thrilled to find another yo-yo lover. Once you have reached a few yo-yoers, start meeting as frequently as you wish for the fellowship and fun of it. Teach each other. Share new tricks. Prepare for competitions. Make new friends. Whatever. Our Twin Cities Spinners Yo-Yo Club began meeting monthly at my home and recently have started meeting at a pizza restaurant owned by a relative of one of our members. Another option is to contact local churches for use of their facilities, particularly as your membership grows.
Local community newspapers will have a calendar of events section to notify the public of such club meetings. These community service listings are frequently free of charge. Be sure to request that your listing be printed in as many local publications as possible and on an indefinite basis (until further notice) as your club meets on a continual basis. You may wish to specify a certain day of the month (ex. the first Tuesday of each month) or request that they call for club dates and times. That's it! Get to know some yo-yo people in your area. Introduce the yo-yo to others. Make friends that you may have for a lifetime. Put your city in the "State of Yo!" Start a yo- yo club...today...it's easy and YO'll be glad you did. YO FOR IT!
Collectors Corner
Spectra Star Yo-Yos
by Lucky Meisenheimer, M.D.
The Spectra Star Company was originally founded by Frank Alonso in 1973. He began the company while at USC. The company originally did not produce yoyos, but was a kite company. The idea for the development of this company come from a term paper he completed on 'Mylar Star Kites'. Around 1982-1983 Spectra Star began manufacturing yoyos. The company became interested in producing yoyos after Mr. Alonzo saw a sculptured interpretation of what could be done with the faces of yoyos. This led to the development of the sculpted yoyo concept and a very successful yoyo line for Spectra Star. Originally Spectra Star started with a non licensed series of yoyos such as the Globe 'Earth Zone', 'Leaping Lizard', Hamburger 'Fast Food', etc.. This initial success led to the manufacturing of several licensed yoyos such as 'Ghost Buster', 'Pee-Wee Herman', 'Donald Duck', 'G.I. Joe', etc.. These licensed character yoyos did extremely well and now define the type of yoyos which Spectra Star currently produces. When Spectra Star produces a new yoyo there is a first run between ten to fifty thousand yoyos. After this initial test market more yoyos may be produced depending on the demand. The more successful yoyos may have as many of two to three hundred thousand produced before the molds are retired. On retirement of a style, molds are recycled and the hand made spray mask used for painting each yoyo is destroyed. Although Spectra Star presently produces only sculpted yoyos, there have been some variations in the past. One variation has been the Ninja Turtles of which there were three designs. One for Avon, another design for Spectra Star and one non sculpted yoyo, which was painted by a Tampo Printed Process. The demand for the Ninja Turtles yoyo was so high, the Tampo Printed version was made briefly to fill their orders. This is a harder to find yoyo than the two sculpted versions. The Pee-Wee Herman yoyo was another yoyo in which more than one style was produced. Again, a Tampo Printed style was used as well as a sculpted face. The sculpted yoyo is a harder find than Tampo Printed style in this case. Spectra Star also produced yoyos which had photo stickers on the face such as the 'New kids on the Bloc' yoyo. Spectra Star no longer produces photo style yoyos and plans on sticking to sculpted styles in the future. So Far they have produced one glow in the dark yoyos This is the 'Nightmare Before Christmas' yoyo. This yoyo had a very limited release. Spectra Star produces yoyos primarily for large retailers. Currently the best place to find them is a WalMart. WalMart has released the new 1996 line which includes 'Darth Vader', 'Star Wars Storm Trooper', 'Bat Man', and 'Tasmanian Devil' yoyos.
Do not Despair Friends
by Chuck Short
An antique dealer (He was pretty old, but he also sold antiques.) recently told me "I haven't seen an old yo-yo in years, they must be all collected by now.". That brought to light the true meaning of 'collecting' to me. There are hundreds of individuals out trying to collect my yo-yos before I have the chance to find them. Just as we players never tire of hearing "I can't even make one of those things go up and down" or "Are you better than Tommy Smothers?" We collectors never tire of the insane prices being asked by Foe and Sally antique dealer. Remember there is a network of collectors willing to buy, sell and trade. There are thrift stores and garage sales and right now there are dozens of attics being cleaned all around the world. All the yo-yos are not 'collected' and it is never too late to start. Yet another factor complicating the life of the yo-yo collector, a ridiculous book complete with pictures and price Quotes. The one redeeming quality of 'that book' is that while some pieces are grossly overpriced, some are greatly undervalued. We are all waiting for a realistic comprehensive volume, but until then, we contend with a double edged sword. I have found in my antiquing, some valuable tips I would like to pass on to my fellow collectors. Get a business card. Business cards usually go into a Rolodex, while scraps of paper with your name and number usually find their way to file 13 (the good old wastepaper basket). Watch out for doorknobs. From a distance a doorknob in a display case looks a great deal like a yo-yo. (I know that to some, collecting yo-yos may seem peculiar, but what kind of person would want to collect crusty old doorknobs for Pete's sake?) Snuff tins, fishing feels and any small circular object are also potentials for disappointment. It is wise not to wear yo-yo related clothing. Look around, then ask, then leave a card for future yo-yos the dealer might happen upon. Don't advertise initially that is your only interest or your bartering power is greatly diminished. Try never to pay the asking price. Prices are never fixed, so start off low and try to meet in the middle. Don't let something go based solely on condition. It is what suits you that is at issue. One of my favorites is a black and red junior that just barely says 'DU' at this point in it's career. I can imagine it in the pocket of some little boy, right alongside a frog and some marbles back in more innocent times. My life is enhanced each time I hold it in my hands, the powerful magic in things with history and character. There is no reason to be taken advantage of unnecessarily, nor to look to 'get over' on someone who may not know the value of what they have. We all look forward to the day when someone says "I do have one yo-yo. I can't imagine it's worth much though. Some guy named Pedro stamped his name on it. I'll sell it to you for a buck." Thank him, give him twenty dollars, and save some yo-yos for me!