The mission of AYYA is to provide a venue for players and collectors to come together in fellowship and to engage in the promotion of yo-yo playing as an art form and a sport, for both amateur and professional players. It is also to render assistance to fellow yo-yo players and collectors; to provide an accessible source of information about yo-yo people and events; to conduct as many competitions as possible across the nation; and to establish uniform standards for running AYYA sanctioned competitions for all levels of skill from the novice to the professional.

The AYYA received 41 ballots from the active members eligible to vote. Ballots were counted on November 1^st by Bill deBoisblanc and John Stangle.

The Bylaws were approved with 40 Yes votes and 1 No vote. Re-elected to the Board were Jim Johnson and Paul Buethe. Jim and Paul will serve for two additional years starting January 1^st 1997.

Board Election Results are as follows:

Jim Johnson 29 votes

Paul Buethe 24 votes

Hal Griffin 13 votes

Bob Bowden 13 votes

One member did not vote for any of the candidates and another only voted for one person. Thank you to everyone that took the time to submit their ballots and congratulations to Jim and Paul.

The second Annual Meeting of the AYYA Board of Directors was held October 3rd, 1997, 3:00-6:00 p.m. at the Round Table Pizza, Chico, California. The AYYA provided pizza and soft drinks.

The meeting began with introductions of all board members / officers. All board members were present: John Stangle, President, Dick Stohr, Paul Buethe, Jim Johnson, Bill de Boisblanc, Chuck Short and Lucky Meisenheimer. Also present was Val Krantz, Secretary. Absent was Mark Brataas, Treasurer.

Members present included: Dale Oliver, Bob Bowden, Alan Nagao, Don & Donna Duncan, Ryan Zink, Joel Zink and Parents, Hal Griffin, David Keele and Family, Jason Tracy, Chris Cook & Family. There were a couple of others but our notes on attendees are missing.

Following the agenda prepared by president, John Stangle, the following items were discussed.

1. AYYA Web Page - Operating Procedures - Web Master - Posting Information - Disclaimers

Currently, Fredd Culbertson is the AYYA web master using web page space donated to the AYYA by Greg Cohen of Infinite Illusions. Discussion ensued regarding the AYYA control over what is and is not posted on our web pages.

It was agreed that the content should be controlled by the AYYA board and that the web master would need to proceed with whatever decision was made by the board. Discussion ensued regarding the appropriateness of information posted on pages linked to the AYYA as well as the idea that only members be allowed to have a link to the AYYA page. It was agreed that beyond the first linkage level, it is impossible to control information on web pages. Also agreed there is a need for disclaimers regarding links and emails.

The idea was brought up as to whether the AYYA should proceed with locating a nonprofit donation from a Internet Service Provider (ISP), so that the AYYA is not dependent on an outside parties access to the site. This would also allow the AYYA to decide who had limited access for changes or updates.

Chuck Short offered to draft a Web Site Standard Operating Procedure defining the use and procedures of the AYYA web page. A motion was made and seconded to draft such an agreement which would then be reviewed via email by the AYYA board, voted on, and presented to the current web master.

The issue was brought up regarding appropriate content of web pages attached to the AYYA page. This was in response to some profanity which was found on a AYYA link site, which was immediately removed.

A motion was made, seconded and voted unanimously for a drafting of a Code of Ethics for AYYA membership which would be added to the AYYA Bylaws. Dick Stohr offered to draft such a code of ethics.

John Stangle made a motion which was seconded and passed to dissolve all current committees of the AYYA. This was in response to the lack of activity of all committees currently in existence.

The following committees were reformed:

a. Tricks and Rules Committee - Bill deBoisblanc - Chair with the assistance of Dale Oliver and Alan Nagao.

b. History and Collectors

Lucky Meisenheimer - Chair

These committee formations were motioned and seconded and voted unanimous in favor of forming.

It was also agreed that each committee will be required to make a quarterly report of the committees progress to the AYYA president. Voted unanimously. These reports will be published in the AYYA Newsletters or YO-YO Times.

4. 1998 Tricks and Rules - Where are we?

The discussion ensued regarding the use of Transaxles in AYYA sanctioned competitions.

Dale Oliver reminded the board that the use of Transaxles was passed by a vote of the general membership and changes would require a vote by the general membership.

A motion was made and passed to table the tricks and rules discussion and allow the Tricks and Rules committee to present its recommendations in their first quarterly report.

5. AYYA Benefits to Members - How can we increase the benefits for the membership?

John Stangle suggested the idea that the AYYA provide some type of reward and award patches that could be displayed by members under their AYYA Membership patches.

It was agreed that the details of the rewards and award patches should be the responsibility of the Tricks and Rules committee. John Stangle offered to help with the awards for the committee.

6. Corporate Sponsors - Adopt a dollar amount for Manufacturer and Retailer. What do we do for the sponsors?

A discussion ensued regarding the need to define a corporate vs. a retail sponsorship and the benefits of each. It was suggested by Alan Nagao that the Manufacturers and Retailers provide suggestions. It was agreed to wait for suggestions from the Manufacturers and Retailers. Alan Nagao said he would follow up with the board with suggestions.

The following ideas of possible benefits for Manufacturers and Retail sponsors were:

a. The ability to place the AYYA logo on manufacturer’s packaging identifying them as an official sponsor of the AYYA, however not endorsed by the AYYA.

b. Identification of sponsors on AYYA web site.

c. Opportunity to place advertising in the AYYA newsletters.

d. Eligibility to hang a sponsorship banner at AYYA sanctioned events, assuming that shipment and return of the banner would be paid for by the sponsor.

e. Advisory position to the AYYA board.

7. December Newsletter - Input on items to be included. Need Graphics - Draft now includes current roster.

John Stangle requested graphics for the December AYYA newsletter. It is best if these be given as TIF, BMP or JPG extension on files and provided on a diskette.

Currently all that is ready for the December newsletter is the AYYA roster, two articles and the results of the Chico National competition.

A request for additional articles from the membership, including articles that have been published in newspapers or magazines was made, of which the AYYA will proceed with receiving authorization to reprint.

8. Need to locate Lawyer to review Bylaws The board voted on a legal review of the Bylaws in Pittsburgh, PA on 9-4-97.

Lucky Meisenheimer offered to contact a lawyer to assist the AYYA in the review of its bylaws. Lucky indicated that the lawyer is a friend and may provide the review at little or no cost.

Val Krantz offered to prepare the necessary forms required to trademark the AYYA logo. John Stangle will provide the AYYA logo to Val for the application.

Mr. Tomoya Onuma - Supervisor / Planning Section of the Toy Entertainment Division of Bandai Company, Limited was a special guest from Tokyo, Japan.

Mr. Onuma addressed the board and indicated the desire for the formation of a Japan Yo-Yo Association (JYYA) to be a charter of the AYYA.

Mr. Onuma desires to establish a joint effort with regards to Safety Guidelines as well as Tricks and Rules. Brought up was the idea that the newsletter would need to be translated for the Japanese members. Alan Nagao offered to be a liaison of such as a joint venture between the AYYA and the JYYA.

A motion was made to the board to acknowledge the JYYA with the intent to review the AYYA’s current mission statement and to use a similar format for the mission of the JYYA.

Meeting adjourned at approximately 5:30 p.m.

Hello once again. This is the second time I am given the chance to address the General Membership of the AYYA.

The position of President of the Board of Directors is a privilege given to one of the Board Members by the other six Board members. I have served my first year and will be seeking re-election for a second year as the new Board takes their place in January.

I want to take this time to express my goals as President of the Board for both last year and this coming year. My first goal was and is to meet the mission statement by promoting the YO-YO as an art form and sport for both the amateurs and professionals alike. My second goal is to increase the benefits to the members of the AYYA.

The first goal is somewhat easy. By practicing and becoming proficient with the many tricks I am able to dazzle the amateurs into a desire to someday be able to perform the same tricks or just remember their childhood. They always smile and that is my reward.

I describe it as infecting them with the virus of the "State of YO!"

My second goal is not as easy. As the AYYA does charge for membership the main portion of the funds raised are returned to the members through these newsletters and the membership packages.

As you have read in the Minutes of the Annual AYYA Board Meeting we have discussed my second goal. We have come up with ideas of rewards and award patches for members to display with their membership patch.

Well, this is not my only idea. Many of the members (and even non-members) want more contests closer to their home towns. They also want to learn new tricks from someone that already knows how to do them. For 1998 I am hoping to find a way to do this.

There are still many details to work out so if it does not happen with the AYYA in 1998 don’t give up hope. I won’t! Please be patience and the AYYA will find a way to make these desires and benefits reality.

The AYYA now has 395 members. As we continue to grow more funds will be created to provide the patches, trophies and other support to contest organizers and promoters around the country.

Once again I want to thank all the members for their support and I look forward to meeting each and everyone of you at a contest in your area.

The first two items are disclaimers that were added to the AYYA web site to inform the viewers of the position of the AYYA in regards to other member’s web pages and e-mail links.

"This site contains e-mail addresses to independently managed mail boxes which are not affiliated with the American YO-YO Association. While every effort has been made to assure these people are members of the AYYA, we cannot control the content that may be returned when sending to these addresses."

"This site contains links to independently managed World Wide Web Sites which are not affiliated with the American YO-YO Association. While every effort has been made to evaluate the sites to which we link, we cannot control the content that may appear on these or related links."

John Stangle submitted to the Board to review and vote to either leave the link or remove the link to the YO-YO Web Board.

The YO-YO Web Board was started by Greg Cohen of Infinite Illusions in Florida. It was intended to provide a venue that other YO-YO enthusiast could post questions and receive answers live. When it first started it did just that. As time went on things started to get out of control. The Web Board was free to post on and no one controlled the content of what was posted.

As John is President of the Board and the link is on the AYYA Web Site John started to get several complaints regarding the "AYYA YO-YO Web Board." It was explained to the complaining parties that the YO-YO Web Board was not the AYYA’s. All the AYYA did was provide a link to the site.

Because of the complaints John submitted to the Board to discontinue the link. This also quickly spread the word on the Web Board that there were problems. Things started to get cleaned up and now there are very few complaints if any at all.

Results of the vote for removal were: 2 yes and 4 no. Link is to stay on the AYYA Web Site.

In our new membership packages we include the "Lucky’s YO-YO Size and Shape Guide for Collectors." This is a tri-folded brochure printed on colored card stock with two inks. A very high quality tool that is used by both YO-YO enthusiast and collectors alike.

You may not know that Lucky Meisenheimer paid for and donated these to the AYYA out of his own pocket.

Recently we ran out of these and asked Lucky for more. Lucky had a problem finding the master but did find them. He printed approximately 400 and sent them to me to continue including in the AYYA Membership packages.

From all of the members of the AYYA we thank you Lucky for your continued support. YO!

The day went fast. In a short time he had the Yo-Yo moving up and down the string in the first grip of fascination. That lasted for an hour or so before he tried his first overhand throw - "Wow!", a fast flip down to the end of the string and back to a firm palm-down catch. Cheesh! And the overhand throws quickly replaced the simple open-hand up and down move. Sixty-five years have not dimmed the memory, the sense of power, skill, and pleasure of the smooth coordination of eye, arm, hand, and fingers to get that Yo-Yo down and back with an almost effortless flick of the wrist.

Saturdays in those days were sometimes slow and dull for street kids unless they could get a game together; "Ring-a-leavio" (sp?), stick-ball, skate hockey. . . Or maybe spending the day hitching rides on the local route trolley cars. But that Saturday was not a dull day for Don. Before the day was out, he had the Yo-Yo into the "Forward Pass", though he didn’t know a name for the move at the time. The day passed like a shot. Sunday allowed for some short practice before he was sent off to Sunday school - no disrespect, but he felt it a "God-send" that he wasn't yet deemed old enough to attend church service as well. The Sunday school session was a drag. All he could think about was trying his Yo-Yo moves again and learning or inventing (for himself at least) some new ones. Back home and back on the curb, the rest of the second Yo-Yo day was spent refining those first moves.

* * *

1993 Ryan Carver - Tom Kuhn

1994 Bill deBoisblanc - American Spinners

1995 Bill deBoisblanc - American Spinners

1996 Bill deBoisblanc - Terminator/Oliver Toys

1997 Jennifer Baybrook - Yomega Raider

1992 Dale Oliver - Original Pro-YO

1993 'Rocco' Ysaguire -

Duncan Wheels, one hand

Original Pro-Yo, two hands

1994 Bill deBoisblanc -

American Spinners, two hands

Original Pro-Yo, one hand

1995 Bill deBoisblanc -

American Spinners, two hands

Original Pro-Yo, one hand

1996 Dale Myrberg -

Pro-Yo, one hand

Jack Russell, two hand

1997 Bill deBoisblanc - Terminator/ Spintastic’s

* * * *

date: 9-15-97

Dear John, The yo-yo exhibit at the History Lounge looked so neat! The boards you and the other YO-YO people prepared were really neat.

Upstairs and down (the rubber stamps were downstairs) we ended up with 35 tables of stuff on display. I really wanted the tops and YO-YO people to be represented and everyone did their share to make it happen. Next year we may do the History Lounge again in Nevada, so don’t destroy your display boards. I can’t make Key West or the Showboat events (IJA events) but hope to get to more local California festivals during the coming year. It was great to see so many old friends at the 50^th Festival.

Thanks again.

Mary Elizabeth Wilkins

I.J.A. 50^th Anniversary Festival

Historical Lounge Curator Pittsburgh, PA

These yo-yos have been found in several different stores around the country including some Wal-marts. If found they are usually mixed in with the standard Duncan’s, so be sure to check all the yo-yos. It is unknown how many may have been released. Be sure to check quick before some 8 year old snags the yo-yo and it becomes playground fodder. The yo-yos to look for are the following: Hyper Glow, Hyper Imperial, Hyper Wheels, and the Butterfly.

This butterfly has the standard butterfly seal but is missing the word butterfly. If you luck out and do find some of the hyper series keep them on the original display cards as this increases their uniqueness. Happy Hunting!

The popularity of the yo-yo is growing "around the world" and the level of expertise is "reaching the moon" so these competitions, especially the Freestyle performances, have become very exciting spectator events.

Much like juggling, yo-yoing is a skill one must learn. There is no unfair advantage; not age or gender or height or arm length. Girls, boys, grandchildren and grandparents compete side by side with only skill the basis for winning. Although most of the earlier champions were men past the age of 50, the youngsters are now holding their own in the winners circle: 14 year old Alex Garcia of Hawaii won 2nd place and 16 year old Jennifer Baybrook of Vermont earned 3rd place honors this year. Let me tell you how much fun it is to never know who is going to win until they get up on that stage and show their twirling, spinning, catching, re-generating stuff. Go kids!

Fifty-five competitors entered five different divisions, traveling from places as distant as Japan and Germany. In addition to Alex and Jennifer, other winners included: Bill deBoisblanc of San Francisco, earning the 1^st place, grand champion title with his incredible display of technical skill; the always entertaining and over the top skillful reigning 1996 World Champion, Dale Myrberg, took 4th place this year; Hans Van Dan Elzen earned the 5th place trophy.

Added to the compulsory and Freestyle events are the more freewheeling' yo-yo events. Traveling (I guess it is running) down the 100 meter track with a looping yo-yo was Kenichi Nakamura of Japan. With both hands looping and both legs a-flying' for the same 100 meters came winner Alex Garcia of Hawaii. And, to top it off, was the up, up and away high toss winner, Nalukai Hookano of Hawaii.

Spectators and players alike will certainly agree that yo-yoing is great fun and there is no lack of new tricks to learn and use to surprise audiences in living rooms and on stages all around the globe. The benefits include..., ah, who cares, it is just plain fun to YO!

I purchased the book several months ago and find it a very useful reference guide for my YO-YO collecting and to answer questions regarding dates of production and even identifying YO-YO’s I have never seen before. There are great photos of the YO-YO’s (in color) and descriptions of them. It includes approximate dates and estimated values for both good and mint condition. Below is a little information that Christopher has provided about the book.

Description from publisher: "The legendary yo-yo was intended to be collected from its earliest days and is every bit an American pop phenomenon as the Barbie doll, Frisbee, or Hula Hoop. Readily available today, they continue to enjoy regular resurgences of interest without having changed fundamentally over the years. This has resulted in thousands of different models from scores of different manufacturers. YO-YO enthusiasts and dealers need help identifying what they’ve got and pricing it accurately. This fun-filled book honors and preserves the legacy of the companies that provided generations of American children with a simple, yet magical toy. Its focus is primarily on American YO-YO companies that were productive between the 1920’s and the 1970’s. Hundreds of YO-YOs are pictured in full color. Nearly 400 YO-YO’s are listed alphabetically by manufacturer and documented as to their source, date of manufacturer, and current market value. Every effort has been made to offer as complete a listing of each company’s YO-YOs as possible. Christopher Cook is the owner of one of the largest collections of YO-YO’s and related memorabilia in the world, with some of the first models made by companies like Duncan and Cheerio. With humor and insight, he documents these beautiful bits of art in an information-packed book. Collectible American YO-YOs – for all the collector’s needs and then some!"

In the back of the book there is reference to the AYYA , our mailing address and World Wide Web Site address (URL)!

The book is available from Collector Books at P.O. Box 3009, Paducah, Kentucky 42002-3009 or you can call them at (800) 626-5420. It is 128 pages long in paperback and measures 5 ½" x 8 ½". Order number is #4849.

In 1930 Flores sold the trademark rights to Duncan, but continued to run contests for Duncan in the early '30s. It was the Duncan contest promotions that made the word yoyo a house hold name. Duncan had yoyo demonstrators, usually young Filipinos, traveling from city to city across the united states, teaching yoyo skills and setting up contests for decades. California in the 50s had one of the most successful and well organized contest promotions sponsored by Duncan. This was due in part to the Demonstrator that was responsible for California, Bob Allen.

California contests were based largely out of the parks and recreation system, but some schools were involved as well. California was one the few states to have a consistent State Championship. In the early 60's Duncan changed there marketing approach from a demonstrator based promotions to Television based. Dropped by Duncan, Bob Allen continued to organize contests in California making his own line of yoyo the Bob Allen Sidewinder, but the era of grand yoyo contests were over.

Duncan initially had wild success with television in the early 60's, but without the demonstrators to teach skills and set up contests interest faded rapidly. In 1965 Duncan lost a court battle to retain the word YO-YO, as a registered trademark, and the word became generic. Later in the same year Duncan filed for bankruptcy and in 1968 was bought by Flambeau Plastics. Flambeau continues to produce plastic Duncan yo-yos, but with the exception of a few weak attempts in the late 70's has never reinstated traveling demonstrators or contests.

In the late 1980's California again started state championships a in large part due to the efforts of Bob Malowney out of Chico, California. In 1993 the first modern national yoyo championships were held in Chico, California. Sponsored by the Bird-in-Hand store the store is also the site of the National Yoyo Museum. The national yoyo championships have been hosted by Bob Malowney in Chico ever since.

Brad is a craftsman in the old tradition, and got his start creating wooden carousel animals -examples of which are in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Brad’s BC Yo-Yo line now encompasses a broad spectrum of the finest high performance yo-yos in the world including the Tom Kuhn Yo-Yo models. Tom continues to innovate and collaborate with Brad in providing exceptional yo-yos to the discerning aficionado. Tom Kuhn (Dr. YO) also continues in his practice of restorative and cosmetic dentistry in San Francisco and is celebrating his 30th year as a dentist in 1997.

Tom Kuhn YO-YOs emerged as a company in 1977, with the introduction of the No Jive 3-in-1 Yo-yo. The tradition initiated by the Duncan and Cheerio Yo-Yo professionals to modify and improve their cherished stock wooden yo-yos by sandpapering the string grooves and axles, was all but lost with the advent of the plastic Duncan Imperials of the 50’s and 60’s. In response to a total absence of finely crafted high performance wooden yo-yos, Tom Kuhn began an earnest quest for the holy grail of yo-yos. Many shapes, weights and axle configurations were tested, until the No Jive and its various versions emerged.

Beautiful, hand-crafted and individually tested yo-yos began emerging from a small workshop in San Francisco, gradually making their presence known nationally and internationally. Publications as diverse as Sports Illustrated, Science Digest, Mechanical Engineering, and even Playboy Magazine picked up on this revolutionary new line of yo-yos. The Today Show, Johnny Carson, Evening Magazine, and CNN News found these high tech fun machines newsworthy. The yo-yo re-emerged as more than just a dime store toy, exclusively in the domain of kids. In fact, for the first few years, most of the customers for Tom Kuhn YO-YOs were adults. John Cassidy of Klutz Products likened the No Jive Yo-Yo to "a piece of flying furniture" and indeed a new breed of yo-yoer was attracted to the art with these instruments.

Over the years wooden yo-yos have appealed to a small but dedicated segment of the yo-yo market. Today many exceptionally fine yo-yos are available, and for most, the material that the yo-yo is made of is irrelevant. But for others (like Dr. YO), the feel of a fine wooden yo-yo has a quality that can not be duplicated in plastic. The worn Roller Woody that Dr. YO carries in his pocket, has cracks and chips in the finish. These imperfections add an indescribable esthetic that is appreciated even as the yo-yo sits on the desk top at the end of the day. Still a smooth long spinner, this scarred but proud Woody evokes warm feelings and memories of spectacular tricks (and misses), smiling faces, new and old friends, time well spent.

Contact Tom Kuhn YO-YOs at: (800) US- YOYOS or write: Tom Kuhn YO-YO’s 4 Rule Drive Arcade, NY 14009 or fax (716) 492.1018.

Once again Duncan Toys will be running Television advertisements for the 1998 season on Nickelodeon, ESPN, ESPN-2 and the Cartoon Network from mid-March to the end of May. They also have aired on the World Wrestling Federation, Ice Skating Championships and American Gladiators. They will also advertise during the Little League World Series which will be televised on ESPN late August. This will be more television advertising than they have done in over 20 years and the biggest amount of money they have ever spent in their annual media advertising campaign.

Sales for the Duncan YO-YO’s have been increasing at 35% to 40% each year for the last three years and it is estimated as much as 250% over that three year time.

New products just being released are the Alien YO-YO which is their Professional Model with glow-in-the-dark paper inserts with a image of an Alien. There has also been rumor of new Shirts and patches becoming available soon.

Currently Duncan Toys are manufacturing their products 24 hours a day, seven days a week with three assembly lines. They have mailed over 80,000 YO-YO Lesson Plans titled "Teaching Science with the YO-YO’s" to schools which has also added to their success.

In 1997 Dale came out with the lowest priced Ball Bearing Transaxle on the market (The Terminator Tornado). Now coming in January 1998 is the Terminator Torch. A lighted yo-yo using LED’s and disk batteries that plays as well as the standard Terminator yo-yos. This will quickly be followed by a "Butterfly" type yo-yo to complete the marketing line. Sales have been brisk despite the fact that no marketing has yet been done to the retail or wholesale trade and production capacities have had to be stepped up. Spintastics is looking forward to vastly increase sales for 1998 as their marketing program gets into gear.

Contact Spintastics at (817) 318-7746 or write at 3121 Birch Avenue, Grapevine, TX 76051

Brad Countryman was also the creator of the Hummingbird YO-YO’s and founder of Hummingbird Toy Company, LTD ("HTC"), formerly Country Wood Shop, in 1979. BC achieved a series of successes throughout his career.

Brad is a master craftsman, wood sculptor, designer with expertise in Business Management Cost Accounting, engineering and manufacturing of wooden products and components, Sales and Marketing and Product Development and Creative design.

As furniture designer and builder in the late ‘70’s, and as he started a family, he began to look for fun children’s things to build. He built children’s furniture, hobby horses and pull toys. The elaborate furniture designs and hobby horse constructed created a scrap wood problem. As a wood worker he could not throw these pieces of wood away. The solution: The YO-YO, as a gag item to sell locally.

In 1981, he took his furniture, hobby horses and pull toys to the New York Toy Fair (worlds largest toy trade show) along with a few unpacked YO-YO’s thrown over the back drop of his exhibit. Guess what?! The YO-YO’s were a hit! By ’83, the entire 5,000 square foot old mill was producing Hummingbird YO-YO’s. No children’s furniture or hobby horses. No beautiful hardwood pull toys, but "YO-YO’s"!

The development of a YO-YO line in 1981 was marketed under private labels such as Eddie Bauer, L.L. Bean, The Nature Company, Brookstone, Nieman Marcus, Lands End, American Eagle Outfitters, Eastern Mountain Sports and many other high-end specialty retailers and mail-order catalogers as well as many national and international Museum gift shops including the Smithsonian Institute. The Hummingbird YO-YO was born!

In 1988, BC licensed with the Smothers Brothers to market a line of YO-YO’s known as YO-YO Man / Smothers Brothers YO-YO’s. BC’s Hummingbird Toy Company produced this popular YO-YO for 3 to 4 years.

1n 1992, BC co-developed the Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends Wooden Railway System with Early Learning Centers and was instrumental in the securing of the license for Early Learning Centers which was the catalyst for the formation of Learning Curve Toys. Hummingbird produced the Thomas line until 1994 when the production was moved to China.

BC developed a very strong following for Hummingbird products in the specialty retail market, positioning the skill toy lines as #1 in quality and has developed a significant reputation in custom wood products manufacturing due to his extensive knowledge in this field.

Countryman sold 70% of Hummingbird Toy Company in 1991 but remained with the company as Creative and marketing director until April of ’95 when Hummingbird Toy Company closed it’s doors.

Upon the closing of the old company, the local Chamber of Commerce was inundated with calls from Hummingbird YO-YO dealers trying to find BC and his YO-YO’s. Due to the overwhelming support from these dealers, BC and (fiancé) Deborah Fields founded a new company, What’s Next mfg., inc.

Countryman developed the complete line of BC™ YO-YO’s in ’95. Shortly after starting What’s Next, Dr. Tom Kuhn (renowned YO-YO inventor) granted Brad an exclusive license to manufacturer and distribute the well known line of Tom Kuhn YO-YO’s. Brad and Tom have collaborated for over 12 years in manufacturing many of the tom Kuhn YO-YO’s. BC™ and Tom Kuhn™ YO-YO’s are quickly becoming the YO-YO’s of choice amongst professional players as well as beginners. They are highly prized for their collectible value as well.

What’s Next mfg., inc. moved into a much larger facility, March of ’97 and continues to grow as their YO-YO line gains preferred status internationally. BC YO-YO’s are distributed in over 14 countries world wide as well as the USA and Canada.

BC™ YO-YO’s were selected as one of DR. Toy’s 10 Best Active Products for 1996 as well as a Top 100 Children’s Product. This internationally recognized award is only given to high quality products that enhance learning and creative development.

Brad Countryman and What’s Next mfg., inc. are dedicated to crafting the finest running, and looking YO-YO’s available anywhere in the world. Brad and Tom continue to work together in the search for the perfect YO-YO. At What’s Next, "Hand Crafted Excellence is Alive and Well"! "Happy Yoing"!

For more information about all BC™ and Tom Kuhn™ YO-YO’s, contact BC at (800) US-YOYOS or fax them at (716) 492-1018.

In the United States, Russell YO-YOs have become quite a collector’s item as they are no longer for sale here on a retail level. The company is still running promotions for Coca-Cola, however, and sells yo-yos for brief periods in countries throughout the world. The Coca-Cola branded Russell Yo-Yo is still in mass production, but the avid collector may have to travel to the ends of the earth to find one!

If sufficient demand is generated, Russell Promotions, Inc. is considering opening a new line of Russell branded yo-yos in the United States. For more information, please contact Ken Russell at russyoyo@aol.com or fax number (561) 288-4969.

They have also just released their new Vid-e-YO® video featuring Hans Van Dan Elzen (YO-Hans) on the front cover. This video is for training in Beginner and Advanced YO-YO tricks. The video is approximately 40 minutes long and includes string length, changing the strings and many other items all Yoers need to know.

On October 1^st Playmaxx opened the ProYo Training Center in Tucson, AZ. It is located at 2947 E. Grant Road and is open Tuesday through Friday from 1-6:00 PM and on Saturday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. They have loaner YO-YO’s to lend, you can bring your own or even purchase one right there.

Due to the overwhelming popularity of Yo-yoing Playmaxx has relocated their Corporate facilities to 2410 N. Huachuca, Tucson, AZ. For more information on Playmaxx you can contact them at (520) 623-7085, fax them at (520) 623-0583, e-mail them at sales@playmaxx.com or visit their web site at www.playmaxx.com.

Their Distributor Bandai has been receiving Cargo Containers of Yomega YO-YO’s and can barely get them unpacked and out to the stores in time to prevent riots.

Recently a YO-YO Contest was held by Bandai, High Performance Kites and Yomega with an expected attendance of 5,000 +. I am told that an estimated 10,000 people showed up and created somewhat of a mob scene. There were some problems with such a large crowd that special security was required for the event and future events.

Bandai (Yomega’s exclusive distributor for Asia) has arranged for the Yomega YO-YO’s to have their company name on the side caps and also special packaging in Japanese so it can be read by the general Japanese population.

They have even given models new names like "Hyper Brain" and "Stealth Fire". There is a special gold colored YO-YO that had "Congratulations! 1997 You are now officially approved as a Japan Pro-Spinner" that is said to sell for almost $500.00 and only awarded to special people.

Stateside the Yomega YO-YO is also one of the most popular YO-YO’s available. Though with the YO-YO craze Toy Stores commonly run out of stock and have waiting lists for the next shipment. Some stores have reported selling as many as 100+ YO-YO’s a day both on the west coast and east coast. Recently Yomega relocated their corporate offices to a larger facility to keep up with the demand.

Yomega specializes in the Transaxle style of YO-YO and recently released their Saber Wing (Stealth in Japan) Butterfly configuration model. It is available both in their Fireball model and Brain models. Rumor has it that they are considering a fixed axle style or a kit that can convert their Transaxle models to a fixed axle. They also have a aluminum model called the Wing Force and a light up model called the Strobe-YO that are expected to be released the beginning of the year of 1998.

USPS - Stamp Development

RM 4474E

475 L'Enfant Plaza SW

Washington, DC 202-2437

The attendees of the championship reads like a "Who's Who of Yo-Yo Players". What better opportunity to get autographed yo-yos by past and future greats. Chris Cook attended selling and signing his new book "Collectible American YO-YOs". Alex Garcia was also there with the "Team High Performance" players and was autographing the Duncan trick cards that are such a hot item now in Japan. Additionally a trading frenzy occurs before, during, and after the National Championships.

This year one of the highlights for yo-yo collectors occurred during the Friday evening pre competition dinner where an auction was held of collectible yo-yos to raise funds for the American Yo-Yo Association. Almost one thousand dollars was raised for the AYYA and it was such a success plans are already being discussed for a repeat auction next year. If your still not convinced if you should attend next years yo-yo championships then just look at this list of some of the yo-yos sold or traded at the National 1997 Championships.

Duncan tin whistler, propeller design (30's); Goody Master; Duncan Jewel, wood, (50's); Multiple Royal TV yo-yos MIB (60's); ProYo Champion Award yo-yos, gold, silver and bronze; Festival, Mickey Mouse (70's); Star Trek (90's); Mega Yo-yo (90's); Duncan YPI Trick Book (70's); 1962 Duncan Trick Book; Tin Sparkling Glo Yo (30's); Cabbage Patch Figurine playing the yo-yo (90's); Disney Wonderful World of Color/Duncan, convex face (60's); American Spinners in display box (90's); Merry Christmas Yo-Yo on display card/Festival (70's); Team High Performance/Yomega (90's); High Performance Champion Yo-yo; Hyper Pro/Duncan (90's); Multiple Hyper /Yomega's (90's); Multiple Stealth and Saber Wing Yomegas; Two Gold Plated award Yomegas; Loony Tunes display box and yo-yos (90's); Hunch Back of Notre Dame/Spectra Star (90's); Hunch Back of Notre Dame/Canada Games (90's); Lion King/Canada Games (90's); Bat Man/ Canada Games (90's); Sailor Moon/Canada Games (90's); Goose Bumps/Canada Games (90's); Canada Games, Twin Pack (90's); Multiple Moose series yo-yos (90's); Multiple sets of Duncan yo-yo tricks trading cards featuring Alex Garcia (90's); Bob Allen string packs (60's); Original unfolded 1935 Duncan display box; Oliver Toys Terminators (90's); Multiple different national championship yo-yos from varying years; Multiple pins and stickers; Duncan Super Original (50's); Duncan Cross Flags Tournament (60's); Several Standard Line Goody's (60's); Several Duncan Satellites (60's); Nadson Jewel (50's); Gorham Sterling (70's).

These are just some of the trades or sales I saw, many other trades occurred I did not see. When you can't decide whether you want to attend the national championships next year. Just take this issue out and look at the list of yo-yos bought or traded. Maybe this will help sway your opinion. Don't forget to bring your best trading stock with you.

Bob made custom trophies for the winners and Yomega Corporation donated YO-YO’s. Team High Performance from Hawaii and Japan attended in force wearing their team uniforms. Everyone had a great time.

This year the event went from 10:00 AM until dark at about 6:30 PM. It was a little long but the huge crowd stayed until the last minute then everyone pitched in to help clean up and stack chairs. The results are as follows:

1^st Jennifer Baybrook - St. Albans VT

2^nd Paul Buethe - Portola CA

3^rd Alex Garcia - Honolulu HI

4^th Paul Han - San Jose CA

5^th Yo Hans - Tuscon AZ

1^st Cody Kiyabu - Aiea HI

2^nd Nalukai Hookano - Waipahue HI

3^rd Devin Yamada - Kaneohe HI

1^st Hal Griffin - Pleasanton CA

2^nd John Stangle - Santa Rosa CA

3^rd Gani Macaraig - Antioch CA

1^st Chris Herringer - Chico CA

2^nd Mackenzie Yoshida - Honolulu HI

3^rd Joel Zink - Reno NV

1^st Nicholas Shively - Hercules CA

2^nd Chris Keene - Chico CA

3^rd James Reed - Orland CA

1^st Erik Morley - Tempe AZ

2^nd Ryan Zink - Reno NV

3^rd Andrew Crivelli - Chico CA

That is it! A total of 92 participants. Thanks once again to Bob and Barbara Malowney and the staff from Bird in Hand. The event was sponsored by Chico Area Recreation District and underwritten by North State Radio Network, Yomega Corporation, High Performance Kites, and supported by Playmaxx, Spintastics and What’s Next Manufacturing. Richard Nye of Stash Distributing donated Arizona Iced Tea Beverages for everyone.

The Chico event is held the first Saturday of October each year so mark your calendar for next year and we hope to see you all! J

This event was held at 2:00 PM November 1^st 1997 at the Springfield Mall and was sponsored by Knockin’ Wood Toy Stores. The Judges were Dick Stohr and Bonnie Matthews. The results are as follows:

1^st Tim Crump - Herndon, VA

2^nd Ann Connolly - Springfield, VA

3^rd Eric Sobel - Annandale, VA

2^nd Kristan Meletzke - Annadale, VA

3^rd Matthew Winer - Potomac, MD

1^st Jordon Canniff - Springfield, VA

2^nd Steve Crump - Herndon, VA

1^st Joel Zink - Reno, NV

2^nd Jason Leuck - Fairfax Station, VA

1^st Jodi Crump - Herndon, VA

1^st Tom Connolly - Springfield, VA

The tricks used in this competition were: Gravity Pull, Spinner, Forward Pass, Creeper, Breakaway, Around the Corner, Walk the Dog, Skin the Cat, Rock the Baby, Around the World, Sleeping Beauty & Three Leaf Clover.

The tie Breaker tricks used were: Brain Twister, Double or Nothing, Splitting the Atom, Man on the Trapeze and Loop the Loops.

Prizes included trophies for 1st, 2nd & 3rd place in all age and skill levels. All participants in Down & Up, 11 & Under , 12 - 16 Received Award Ribbons and assorted prizes donated by Hijinks at Trolley Square and the What's Next Yo-Yo Company.

2nd Marco Smouse - Woods Cross, Utah

3rd Katherine Furse - Mendon, Utah

1st Rebekah Saunders - Orem, Utah

2nd Eric Ulbrich - Salt Lake City, Utah

3rd Ignas Grazulis - Salt Lake City, Utah

1st Joel Zink - Reno, Nevada

2nd Ryan Zink - Reno, Nevada

3rd Mackenzie Booth - Evanston, Wyoming

1st Ryan Patterson - Pocatello, Idaho

2nd Jason Peterson - Taylorsville, Utah

3rd Brad Ostler - Pocatello, Idaho

1st Timothy Saunders - Orem, Utah

2nd Byron Foster - North Salt Lake, Utah

3rd D. Mike Sundahl - Salt Lake City, Utah

1st Larry Kimura - West Jordan, Utah

2nd Douglas Eller - Kearns, Utah

3rd R. Troy Fergusson - Salt Lake City, Utah

1st Brent Sells - Kaysville, Utah

2nd Eric Lowry - West Valley City, Utah

3rd David Harris - Sacramento, California

1st Joel Zink (Age 11) - Reno, Nevada

2nd Brent Sells - Kaysville, Utah

3rd Timothy Saunders - Orem, Utah

Sponsored and supported consistently by: What's Next Mfg., Hijinks (formerly The Air Apparent) Kites*Toys*Games, Trolley Square Salt Lake City, Utah 84102 (801) 531-7434

The IJA will be holding it’s annual Winter Mini-Festival in Las Vegas, NV. at the Showboat Hotel. The Jugglers are getting more and more interested in YO-YO’s and the IJA events are fun to attend and learn. For more information contact Richard Dingman at (413) 367-2401.

The Midwest Regional’s will be held on February 14th 1998 at the University of Minnesota.

The time of the competition is tentatively set for 11:00 AM for qualifiers, 12:00 PM start time. The event is held in conjunction with the MONDO juggle festival, which charges $4.00 (last year) to get into the gym.

All Divisions on the AYYA Tricks and Rules Sheet for 1997 will be used. Pro Am will have 10 two handed tricks instead of a free style.

For more information or If you would like to sponsor or help run the event please contact Dave Schulte by phone at (612) 535-7587 or e-mail Dave at dschulte@edina.k12.mn.us.

Also updates on contest can be found on the Yo-Yo web board at::

www.yoyoguy.com/wwwboard

This event has been held on July 4^th for the first two years but is expected to be held in April of 1998. The event is produced by Playmaxx. For more information contact Playmaxx at (520) 623-7085 or e-mail them at sales@playmaxx.com.

The third annual California State YO-YO Championships are again planned for the month of May of 1998. Currently the promoter is negotiating a new location with a better venue site and prizes.

For more information contact John Stangle at (707) 542-YOYO or e-mail him at yotopia@sonic.net. Also you can visit his event web page at:

www.sonic.net/~yotopia/HTML/event.html for the most up to date information.

The Baybrook family is planning this contest. The information so far is that it will be June 6th at 10:00 am. It will be in Saint Albans, Vermont at the Collins Perley Sports Complex if the weather is good. If not it will be inside.

There will be trophies for the different divisions. For more information contact the at (802) 524-2782. You can also visit their web site at their Web site at: homepages.together.net/~yoyorjb or you can e-mail at yoyorjb@together.net.

Once again the Sonoma County Fair is expected to sponsor the 4^th Annual West Coast Regional YO-YO Championships in the Redwood Theater during the 1998 Sonoma County Fair. Final negotiations are going on.

For more information contact John Stangle at (707) 542-YOYO or e-mail him at yotopia@sonic.net. Also you can visit his event web page at:

www.sonic.net/~yotopia/HTML/event.html for the most up to date information.

This event is held in conjunction with the International Jugglers Association’s (IJA) Annual Convention. The World’s Best in both object manipulation (Juggling) and Yo-yoing will be in attendance from around the world.

The TENTATIVE date of the YO-YO contest is July 13^th from 4-6:00 PM at Whiskey Pete’s Hotel which is connected by monorail from the IJA Event. Please confirm this date with Dale Oliver at the numbers below!

The Primadonna Hotel is where most will be staying in Primadonna, NV. You can contact them at (800) FUN-STOP for room and travel information.

At any IJA event you must join the IJA for insurance reasons if you plan on entering any Juggling area. To find out more information on the IJA and it’s memberships contact Richard Dingman at (413) 367-2401.

For YO-YO Competition Information contact Dale Oliver at (415) 871-4197 or e-mail him at yopro@aol.com.

Saturday October 3^rd is the schedule for the Fifth Annual National YO-YO Championships held by Bird in Hand in Chico, California. This is considered the largest YO-YO Competition in the United States and is well attended by players from all over the world.

Chico is also the home of the National YO-YO Museum and has just expanded their displays thanks to the Duncan Family. For more information contact Bob Malowney at his Bird in Hand store at (916) 893-0545.

Several yo-ers are currently meeting on a regular basis in the southern California/Los Angeles area. We are currently forming the Southern California Yo-Yo Club which would meet once a month, probably on Saturdays. If you would like to help with the club or are interested in attending any meetings, contact Jason Tracy. Phone:(805) 245-1320 or e-mail: yoyo@frazmtn.com

The Los Alamitos YO-YO Club meets every Friday at lunch. For more information e-mail Noah at renford@aol.com.

The Palo Alto YO-YO Club meets the 2^nd and 4^th Saturday or each month at the Ventura Activity Center in Palo Alto, California. For more information contact Dave Bazan at (408) 732-3320 box #9920.

The name of this club is the Wizards of YO! Cool name! For more information call David Harris at (916) 363-2650 or e-mail at DWH21-yo-yotunes"@msn.com

Dale Oliver lives in this area and is interested in starting a YO-YO Club. For more information contact Dale at (415) 871-4197 or e-mail at yopro@aol.com.

The Willie Birds Flyers YO-YO Club meets the first Saturday of each month at 1:00pm. They meet at the Willie Bird's Restaurant 1150 Santa Rosa Avenue. For more information contact John Stangle at (707) 542-YOYO or e-mail at yotopia@sonic.net.

(702) 677 1625.

The group is growing all the time, We meet in a church basement but will be moving soon to meet in a School Gym. We have watched Video's of different players and always start with the Basics so we have a strong foundation, to move onto more advanced tricks.

We have brand new players, going on up to Championship level. The weather here is mild so activity outside during the winter is no problem, most of the time. We would love to meet with other Yoing Clubs if possible,

For more information you can contact Rob Davies via e-mail at rdavies@pacificcoast.net or phone at (250) 472-1442.

In 1994 (see 1994 December AYYA Newsletter or visit the AYYA Web site at ayya.pd.net/ayyan2.html) the results of the vote to allow or disallow the use of Transaxles in "AYYA Sanctioned" event was published.

The results were: "80% were for a separate division for Transaxle YO-YO's." Just to clarify the vote; There was approximately 175 members of the AYYA at that time. Of that membership only about 20 ballots were returned. Of the 20 ballots 16 members voted to not allow Transaxles in "AYYA Sanctioned" contests. It was not 80% of the General Membership but less than 10% of the overall membership.

In 1994 the Board of directors voted on the following policy: "Transaxles may be used in the other divisions at the discretion of the contest organizer but only with a unanimous vote of the other contestants in that division, otherwise they are to have their own division."

The AYYA has held to these rules as can be found in the current AYYA Tricks and Rules web page for 1997 at AYYA.pd.net/list.html and were sent with your membership package. Only four contests in 1997 were sanctioned by the AYYA. They were the California State Championships, The West Coast Regional Championships, the Windsor YO-YO Classic and the Sebastopol YO-YO Open all held by myself. All of these contests required "Fixed-Axle" YO-YO's and were sanctioned by the unanimous vote of the Board of Directors.

Now almost three years later the AYYA is once again conducting discussions about the Transaxle rule. The Board of Directors received a written request from AYYA Member Alan Nagao of Team High Performance to revisit the issue.

Because the issue was voted on by the General Membership the only way to change the policy would be to conduct another vote of the General Membership. This has been approved by the Board and we are submitting the issue to the General Membership for vote in this Newsletter. This will once again be your chance to vote on the issue. The results of the vote will be incorporated in the 1998 Tricks and Rules that are currently being discussed by Bill deBoisblanc (Tricks and Rules Committee Chair).

The AYYA Membership is now over 395 members strong! That is twice as many as in 1994 when the original vote on Transaxles was taken. The Transaxle YO-YO has grown from the Tom Kuhn models to the heavily marketed and produced Yomega YO-YO's, the Spintastic’s Tornado, Playmaxx Bumble Bee, Henrys Viper and a few others. As most of you know the Transaxle is everywhere.

The AYYA wants what the members want. The AYYA will support any decision made by the General Membership.

The AYYA just conducted a ballot vote regarding the AYYA Bylaws and two open positions of the Board of Directors. We only received 41 ballots back. That only represents 23% of the eligible voting members. That is a better response than we have had in the past but still a small amount of responses of the eligible voting members.

If you're concerned about this issue I would suggest that you contact the other members eligible to vote and rally them to participate. A current AYYA Roster is part of this Newsletter so you have phone numbers and addresses to contact the others eligible to vote and express your concerns and opinions.

Thank you for your time and YO!

The membership of the AYYA is being asked to vote whether Transaxle yo-yos should be allowed to be used in AYYA sanctioned competitions without restriction. The following are some "pros" and "cons" to this issue, as several members of the AYYA and several people involved in the promotion and manufacturing aspects of yo-yoing see them.

The PRO Transaxle vote

The Transaxle yo-yo represents the future and those who stand in the way of it being recognized as a "regulation" yo-yo are "afraid of change" and "living in the past"

Pro 2

The manufacturers of Transaxle equipped yo-yos have concerns that their products be allowed in competitions sanctioned by the AYYA and that disallowing them may constitute a form of discrimination against their product.

Pro 3

Many new yo-yoers may never own a fixed axle yo-yo in their lifetime, because of the popularity and availability of Transaxle Yo-yos.

A yo-yo is a yo-yo is a yo-yo, and no restrictions should be placed on any competitor as to his choice of equipment.

Pro 5 A Transaxle yo-yo is a tool that can be used to both increase an individuals skill and spark his interest in working with a fixed axle yo-yo eventually.

(NO Transaxles should not be allowed to compete, or should be allowed to compete in there own division, or should be allowed to compete at the discretion of the contest organizer and upon the approval of all competitors in that division, {This is a vote to maintain the current wording currently used by the AYYA} )

Con 1

The Transaxle yo-yo is not a yo-yo at all. A robot is not a human being, a motorcycle is not a bicycle, machines designed to take the place of human skill or mechanize the manual parts of a device do not qualify as being identified as what they set out to replace or improve.

Several sports including golf, baseball, tennis, disallow the usage of technologically advanced equipment in competition. If graphite rackets were allowed in professional tennis, it would be only a game of serves, because the ball would seldom be returned. This equipment is still manufactured and sold for people who play these games on a casual basis, and the sale is not hampered by any means by their being banned from competition.

The fixed axle yo-yo, a "real" yo-yo, is an important part of our heritage as yo-yo players, and anyone who chooses to use one in open competition against a Transaxle does so at his/her peril. There are those who seek to keep the fixed axle yo-yo alive and vital, and feel it is unfair to the individual competitor to place him/herself in a position where they are at a disadvantage because they choose to use a fixed axle yo-yo.

"Rigging" of a yo-yo has long been disallowed in competitions and Transaxle yo-yos by their very design may either be considered "pre-rigged" to spin faster and longer than a conventional yo-yo, or may be considered too easily riggable by a competitor because they may be tightened to disallow or slow "sleeping" by a mere flick of the wrist.

Transaxle yo-yos should be pitted against other Transaxle yo-yos in competitions. What is to keep any individual from winning the Fixed axle competition, the Transaxle competition, the Freestyle where he opts to use both? An ideal well rounded player would learn all aspects of yo-yoing, and be able to prove his/her skill using all of this equipment.

In summary, this is one of the most important issues ever placed before the AYYA as far as I am concerned, and I hope that you let your voice be heard and choose to vote on this matter, so that we may gather a collective decision on how this issue should be handled for the future of competitive yo-yoing.

Only official ballots will be accepted and counted for the vote on the above issue. If your dues were paid you have a Official Ballot that was hand inserted into your newsletter then stapled at the tab.

No replacement ballots will be issued or accepted. Per Article 6 of the AYYA Bylaws, you must be 10 years or older to vote. We use the DOB you submitted that show on the roster that is included in this issue. "Off to the Polls" J

We look forward to receiving your current dues or renewals for the 1998 season. Please look at the mailing label at the top of this page. You will see a set of numbers above your name. The first numbers indicate what year you joined and the second numbers indicate when your dues are paid through.

Examples:

’96 - ’97 Indicates that you joined the AYYA in 1996 and your dues are paid through December 31^st 1997. You are considered an Active Life Member thus you are receiving this December AYYA Newsletter. You will also find enclosed in this Newsletter a card stock ballot for the current Transaxle Issue being voted on.

‘97A Indicates that you joined the AYYA in 1997 as an Associate Life Member. This level of membership was started this year for the purpose of introducing interested YO-YO Enthusiast to the AYYA for the fee of only $3.00. You will have already received your membership

package with Lifetime Membership Card, AYYA Members Patch and other items included with membership packages. To upgrade your

membership to an Active Membership level you must pay the difference in dues as shown on the AYYA Membership Application included with this Newsletter.

’96 - ’98 (or higher) Indicates that you joined the AYYA in 1996 and have paid your dues through December 31^st of 1998. You are considered an Active Life Member thus you will receive all of the 1998 AYYA Newsletters. You will also receive a card stock ballot in this issue of for the current Transaxle Issue being voted on by the Active Membership.

To pay your dues please send a check or money order (in US Dollars please) to the return address on this newsletter. Be sure to include any address changes and your e-mail address so that we can

update the AYYA roster. If you are not sure what dues are due please refer to the AYYA Membership Application included in this Newsletter.

The AYYA is now offering a three (3) year pre-paid membership for Active Life Membership including three (3) years of the YO-YO Times for only $54.00. This discount for pre-paying reflects the discount offered by the YO-YO Times for multiple year subscriptions.

Dues for the 1998 Season are due December 31^st 1997. If we do not receive your dues by January 30^th 1998 we will reclassify your membership to an In-Active Life Membership. We will also send you a reminder post card on or about January 30^th 1998 indicating your dues as past due and reclassification of your membership level.

Once again, thank you for your continued support of the American YO-YO Association and we look forward to meeting each one of you at a future event.

YOurs in YO!

John "Pookie-YO" Stangle - AYYA President