Spanish Yo-Yo Nationals 2011 in Madrid
by YoJoe 06.11.2011
Hier klicken für die Deutsche Version des Berichtes
It was now the third time I was coming to the
Spanish Yo-Yo Contest and it was, of course, like always a wonderful
experience. The short version of this report would be like: Awesome
weather, awesome people, awesome food, awesome contest! But let us start at the beginning ;-). On Friday I met with Lorenzo and his girl from Italy and with David from Hungary, who was invited as international guest this year. Two European Champions and me – there was a lot to see and learn! Most of the Spanish players were supposed to arrive in the evening, so we were hanging out most of the day in the park and played yoyo. Later also Corli from the UK joined us – probably the best female yo-yo player in Europe. In the afternoon Daniel, the 2010 Spanish Yo-Yo Champion, had no school and picked us up at the Plaza de Espana. After a short visit at Daniels home (in the center of Madrid, 2 walking minutes away from the palace), everybody was saturated and we went off to play and enjoy the last sun rays in the park.  The sun soon disappeared and it was time for us to move on to Arganda del Rey – a suburb of Madrid. Arrived there, the reunion had to be celebrated by everybody. Yo-Yo players know what happened the rest of the evening ;-).  Next morning was contest day! First the was a yo-yo olympic as a warm up with disciplines like longest sleeper, longest walk the dog, most blind eli-hops (blind = underpants on the head :-) and so on... . After a short lunchbreak the contest started. In the advanced class, 1A Avanzado, Alfredo, the organizer of the contest won with an awesome freestyle. Unbelievable how he could train that excellent freestyle and also organized such a perfect event. Then it becomes really exciting, as the pro classes started! The spectacle was introduced with the X-Division, where I also attended. Due to the fact that the Spanish community is still young, the typical X-Division styles (AA, AAA, 5A, OS) are not so popular yet. So it was a highlight that Lorenzo could show offstring at its best (first place) and David presented Freehand on highest level (third place). And hmmm, then there was I who still made second place with some AA basics ;-). A very good start.  Now before I tell you about the most exciting disciplines, some words about the location: The contest this year was held in a theater, which was really impressive. Dope music, smashing lighting, big stage and of course an audience which was in a good mood – what could you want more!?  Then also on with the 1A Open Class: Did I already told you that the Czech players went from Prague to Madrid with a minivan? These boys are just totally crazy and so were their freestyles. Thomas, Petr, Vashek and Robert got the crowd pumped up with their performance and brought so some EYYC feeling to Madrid. This category was won by Thomas Bubak, the reigning European 1A Champion. At the end of the evening the most important discipline for the Spanish players started. 1A Pro, where the Spanish Yo-Yo Champion was crowned. Here I was also judging and instantly I saw that the level of the community in the last years rose enormously. So it was a head to head race between Daniel, the champion of last year and Ixbalam, the vice champion of 2010. Both played awesome freestyles, but at the end Ixbalam was a little ahead of Daniel and became Spanish Yo-Yo Champion 2011. A well deserved victory. This year the trophies were made of glass and looked very stylish. Maybe also an idea for other contests?  Of course now all participants and especially the winners of the categories wanted to party and forget the tension which a yo-yo contest brings for every participant. Therefore we moved on to a cool club in Arganda del Rey. But naturally yo-yo play was not renounced completely. So it started a team battle, 3 players each, competed against another team. The teams were judged by clapping, howling ... by the other party guests. They were pretty impressed by the battles. In K.O. system at the end InTeamo! (with Octavii, Daniel Capilla and me) went against the Czechs (Robert, Thomas and Petr). It was a head to head race, but a very special trick, which came to my mind last minute, blew the mind of the audience and the win for InTeamo! On this point the very special trick will kept a secret ;-). So ended a contest day, which was packed with action. On Sunday after a big pizza meal we had to say goodbye and everybody knew again the worst part of yo-yo contests or meetings is, that they have to end at some point. It was a fantastic weekend and I know that I will attend again next year. Axo tio!  Pictures by Throw YoYo and YoJoe |
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