All wound up with nothing to do? Swing by the Exploratorium on September 6th, beginning at 10am, for the 2008 California State Yo-Yo Championships. Meet National and World Yo-Yo Champions, watch daredevil tricks, and learn basic techniques from yo-yo masters. This event is included in the price of admission to the Exploratorium. Registration is open to the public and begins at 10am. Winners will qualify for next year’s regional tournament. For more information, go to www.calstateyoyo.com.

In keeping with California’s rich yo-yo heritage, this competition promises to be one of the best venues to witness all that is yo-yo. Museum visitors can also participate in a Yo-Yo Tricks Clinic, in which yo-yo novices can learn basic yo-yo techniques from experts. Enjoy contestants performing up to 25 tricks that might include “Walk the Dog,” “Boingy Boingy,” and “Atom Smasher.” Among the competitions are the following:

Open Divisions
Competitions using multiple yo-yos, unattached yo-yos and use of counterweights.

Free-Styles
In the free-styles, the competitors perform a 2-3 minute routine of their own creation to music, squeezing in as many difficult and high-scoring tricks within those minutes as possible. Some of the coolest and most advanced tricks visitors will most likely see during the free-styles include “Green Triangle,” a trick that involves forming a triangle with the string and the yo-yo while actively yo-yo-ing; the “Tangler,” in which a contestant, using both hands, throws two yo-yo’s simultaneously and controls the tangling and untangling of the two strings while continuing to yo-yo; and “Off-String,” in which a contestant’s yo-yo leaves the string — the yo-yo is tossed into the air and then caught on the string, often with a whipping motion called the “Whip Catch.”

This event is sanctioned by the American Yo-Yo Association. Winners will qualify for next year’s regional tournament. To learn more, visit the American Yo-Yo Association’s website at www.ayya.net.