World Yoyo Contest 2026 - Himeji Japan 🇯🇵
This Year, We're Heading to Japan 🇯🇵
The summer holidays are already in their second half, August is in full swing, and for every serious yoyoer that can only mean one thing – the World YoYo Contest is just around the corner!
Last year, Czech yoyeři had plenty to celebrate. The biggest names in the yoyo world came to the heart of Europe, with Prague hosting the World YoYo Contest. This year, however, Prague is handing the organizational torch back to Asia. The World YoYo Contest is heading to Himeji, Japan. 🇯🇵 13th - 16th August 2026.
Competition Divisions
- 1A – Classic 1A unresponsive tricks (men + women)
- 2A – Looping with two yoyos (men + women)
- 3A – Tricks with two unresponsive yoyos (men + women)
- 4A – Offstring, where the yoyo is not attached to the string (men + women)
- 5A – Freehand, with a counterweight attached to the end of the string (men + women)
- AP – This will be the final year as a championship division. Starting next year, it will no longer be part of the championship in this format.
Alongside the championship divisions, there will also be four non-championship divisions:
- Women's Freestyle – a division exclusively for women
- Over40 Master – only for national and world champions over 40
- Over40 Open Class – open to anyone over the age of 40
- Junior Freestyle – for yoyeři aged 16 and under who were not allowed to compete in their country's final
A Record Number of Competitors?
According to the latest information, more than 550 competitors are expected to take part in Himeji. If the number is confirmed, this year's contest could break the current record for the highest number of competitors, set at the World YoYo Contest in Shanghai.
We'll have to wait a little longer for the exact numbers, but either way, it looks like this year's contest is going to be seriously packed.
What Does the Schedule Look Like?
The contest is spread across four days and follows the classic World YoYo Contest format:
- August 13 – Day 1: registration, Wildcards and prelims for Over40, Junior and Women's divisions
- August 14 – Day 2: 1A–5A prelims, Junior Final and Over40 Open Class
- August 15 – Day 3: 1A–5A semifinals, Women's Freestyle and Over40 Master
- August 16 – Day 4: 1A–5A finals, AP and the awards ceremony
You can find the complete and up-to-date schedule on the official World YoYo Contest website.
Where to Watch the World Yoyo Contest?
Good news – the entire event will be streamed. The first two days will be available for free on YouTube, while the third and fourth days should be available through the paid Zaiko platform. The price for one day of viewing is around 300 CZK.
- Day 1: YouTube stream
- Day 2: YouTube stream
- Day 3 & 4: Zaiko stream
An Early Alarm? Unfortunately, Yes.
If you want to watch the contest live, get your alarm ready. Japan is several hours ahead of Europe, so the stream will start at approximately 4:00 AM our time and continue until around 1:00 PM.
So grab some coffee, breakfast and get ready for a proper dose of yoyoing first thing in the morning.
Watch the Finals with Us at SLUSNY Shop! 🇨🇿
On Sunday, August 16, we'll be streaming the entire finals day at our shop and yoyo space at Budečská 39, Prague 2.
The stream starts at 3:00 AM, so if you're an early bird, feel free to join us right from the start. If not, you can of course arrive anytime later.
And most importantly, we'll be cheering for our best czech player, Kuba Dolejš, and hoping he can finally take the title home this year! 🇨🇿🏆
So mark August 16 in your calendar and come cheer with us. This one is going to be worth it.
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