Only one possible place to start, a huge thank you and congratulations to Korda, Sheda the Czech Yo-Yo association and everyone involved with the running of the event for an absolutely immaculate contest. I don’t know what the plans are for the future of the contest, but if it doesn’t go on tour I, for one, would be happy to return to Prague year on year.

So, the contest! First of all, i have to talk about Vashek Kroutil and his 1A winning performance. I was totally shocked to see the level of adoration and hype that Vashek generates in his home country as well as the rock star he transforms into when he takes the stage. Off stage, he’s a pretty quiet, super nice guy, on stage he undergoes an instant metamorphosis. He owned the stage from start to finish and i can’t say enough good things about his performance.

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I also have to mention Vashek’s acceptance speech, acceptance speeches are something i think we should see more of at yo-yo contests, seeing Vashek come back on to the stage and openly show everyone how emotional he was, how much he cared, was a very special moment for me, as i’m sure it was for him.

So, other highlights of the contest itself. First thing that jumps to mind is Petr Kafka. Very first freestyle of finals day, Petr goes for a behind the back whip of some sorts at the end of his freestyle, trips over and goes flying backwards into the backdrop almost tearing the whole thing down. Fantastic!

Huge shoutout goes to our very own Pat Cuartero, who put in a stellar performance as the events MC, keeping the crowd’s energy up and weaving together all of the different performances. Pat was up there for two days straight and is probably still trying to regain his voice as i type this!

From a patriotic perspective, i have to give a big shout out to Luke Roberts, who took 3rd in 4A, Liam Devine who took 3rd in 3A and Krisztian Kaluza who took 6th in 1A for representing the UK to the fullest, as well as a big thank you to Langley, Dale, Matt, Stefan, Richie and Corli for making the UK turnout as strong as i hoped it might be. You have a passport now BosK, no more excuses

The H-Spin 3 vs 3 battle was also (mostly) a huge success, great to see a contest division for a more laid back comedic vibe and so many memories come from that event. Team Super Gay Masters, YoYoFactory domination, Jason Lee’s constant wiggly thing, and just the level of hype and (friendly) smack talk. The only thing i would suggest is a time limit on the players throws, give them 10-15 seconds and make them toss out the bangers that they usually don’t put in their freestyles.

Massive further shout out to Don Robertson, European Champion of over half a century who came to present the prizes to the new winners, for me Don was the undisputed star of the show. He presented himself with massive dignity as well as some casual swagger and got easily the biggest cheer of the contest when he hit Rocket In The Pocket on stage. Such a great feeling to see the new generation of yo-yo players paying their respects to one of the true greats.

So, let’s talk about things outside the contest. I can’t go much further without mentioning the legendary “Pub”. For those of you who haven’t heard the story yet “The Pub” is basically a bar, where each table has 4 taps in the middle and your table is scored on a giant screen against not only the rest of the pub, but the rest of the country as well. I’m proud to be a part of table 3 who, as evidenced below were on top of the country at one point near the end of the night (even if I paid for it the next day)

Also of personal great satisfaction to me was the debut of the new YoYoNation.co.uk stickers which were a big hit, we ended up sponsoring Chelsea, Bayern Munich and the Wales Rugby team as well as several players choosing to represent us (or me? can i get away with that? haha) on stage. Look out for these being included with your YYN.com orders starting soon.

EYYC also saw the release of many new yo-yos, the Beysick from H-Spin as well as the prototype of the Icon, Stefan Benjamin’s signature yo-yo, The Dot, a new yoyo direct from the Czech Republic, the Screaming Eagle branded Hugo Z Hor and many more, so keep an eye out for many or all of these making an appearance at YoYoNation.com and YoYoNation.co.uk soon.

Okay, i think that’s all i’ve got. Huge further shout outs to Nathan, the Finish guys, Palli, Sebastian, Mattias, Lars, Ondrej, , Stu, Brandon, Coyote, Jumper, Wiggly Thing…anyone else i’m forgetting. I love you all. See you all again at EYYM: April 29th

Photo Credit: Ben Mcphee, Corli Du Toit, Markus Springer, Nathan Crissey

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