Local Teen to Compete in World Yo-Yo Championships

A Castro Valley teen has earned her place to fight among the best across the globe for the title of World Yo-Yo Champion.

This August, upcoming Sophomore at Tessa Piccillo is going to test her skills against more than 200 yo-yo players coming in from more than 20 countries — all vying for the coveted title of World Yo-Yo Champion.

Last year, Piccillo, an apprentice on team YoYo-Jam, made it up to the regional competition, placing fifth overall in in the Single A (one yo-yo traditional) division, according to an article by the San Leandro Times.

She also received First Place Girl, a commendable achievement especially in a competition dominated by mostly boys.

One blog posted that despite only yo-yoing for two years, she demonstrates the skills of someone who's been doing it for five-plus years.

Piccillo's athleticism also comes from high school sports. She is a varsity runner at CVHS, earning her first letter in cross country this past season. She runs sprint races and long jumps for the track team as well.

This annual contest, which started 80 years ago, has been bringing the best of the best from every corner of the globe since the first World Yo-Yo Contest was won by Harvey Low in London, England in 1932.

This year is considered to be the 21st modern World Yo-Yo Contest. It will be held at Orlando, Fla. from August 2 to 4.

The contest is fed by a network of other contests. In the USA, winners from state contests get seeded into regional contests, which then go onto the U.S. National Yo-Yo Contest. From there, finalists move onto the World Yo-Yo Contest. This system works similarly in 28 different countries around the world. 

The World Yo-Yo Contest has six Divisions divided by different yo-yo styles. These include Single A, Double A (two yo-yo's looping), Triple A (two yo-yo's sleeping tricks), Off-String (where the string is tied to your finger but not to the yo-yo), Counter-Weight (where the string is tied to the yo-yo but not to your finger), and Artistic Performance..

This contest is supported by the worlds best yo-yo manufacturers including Duncan, One Drop Yo-Yos, Yomega, and YoYo-Jam — each of which sponsors players in this contest. 

Since 2000, the World Yo-Yo Contest has been chaired by Gregory Cohen of Tallahassee, Florida. 

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