YO-YO ARRIVES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 316, 1 September 1932, Page 7

YO-YO ARRIVES

NEW CRAZE SPORT THAT HAS SWEPT j ENGLAND NOW STRONG CHRISTCHURCH. j THE GAME EXPLAINED. I ..Christchurch, Monday. Yo-yo, the world menace, has arrived. Already it is gripping Christchurch, says the Sun. Innocent old men, knowing young women, hricklayers, barristers, perambulator manu- j facturers, are yo-yoing. I yo-yo, thou yo yoest, they are trying to yo-yo. Even policemen are toying with the xdea of taking up this sinister pastime. Yo-yo, let me explain, is a game that has swept London off xts feet. The Prince of Wales plays it. Joe Young, a Canadian schoolboy, who had showed extraordinary aptitude for the game, was brought to London to demonsttate it to society functions, where it had supplanted dancmg, sxnlcing the cocktail, tossing th'e caber, and other sp'orts forn.erly heloved of

Mayfair. . , 1 1 Yo-yo consists of a deeply-grooved piece of wood, a sort of reel, to which a string is attached. The young yoyoer must first learn to make the j reel climb down the string, then up again. This is the stage which Christchurch has so far reached. It must be mastered thoroughly hefore such advanced work as "Walking the d'og, "Around' the world," "Over the falls, "The creeper," "The three-leaf clover," and the 'Figux-e of eight" can be attempted. ! The Height of Y o-Yo. ; The "Figure of Eight" marks the height of yo-yo skill. "If you can do this with out entangling th'e string, you are fairly clever," remarks the "Beginners' Guide to Yo-yoism. The j first Christchurch man, woman, or child to achieve it in public will receive a free piece of string for his or her yo-yo.

A yo-yo was introduced to Ine &un office to-day. The news-editor sneered, hut fell. The office boy, who had half an hour's start in his practice, now sneers at the news-editor, who hasn't heen able to yo suceessfully for more than 17 2-5 seconds. The editor stood on his tahle, so as to get a fair swing at it. He yoed (abbreviation only to he used hy successful yo-yoers) for 2£min, after half an hour's practice. The printer passed out as a fair beginner after 10 minutes. The movie editor bought one of his own. The leader-writer, who has been putting in some home-work, and is heing tempted by offers to go over to League Yo-yoism, is a two yo-yo man. The manager of a picture theatre who called has resigned from his golf cluh. He has heard the call of yo-yo. _ The lady editor is practising in the privacy of her own office, whsnce come the groans of a yo-yoer twarted hy a twisted string. : Higher Nature Appeal. In the literature of the game an appeal is made to the higher nature. "The child or adult who fails to inaster yo-yo will fail in the battle of life. He who masters it will conquer life's problems," says Arbuthnot-Jones, in "Contact Yo-yo for the Beginner," (3 vols., 18/6).

Deep thinkers, however, realise the I perils of yo-yo. "When it reaches the B epidemic stage," said a prominent candidate for the Chamber of Commerce, "it will mean the downfall of th'e nation. Where once the wheels of industry clattered there will be nothing but the gentle whirling of yo-yo strings, the occasional baffled yowl of one who cannot master the spin, or the triumphant cheer of one who performed the "Three Leaf Clover." Parliament will yo-yo instead of lifting taxation. It's a menace. j Prominent Rugby players and ad- j ministrators criticise the game. While j 1 they admit that the exercise is h'ealthy, they claim that it does not encourage team-work and esprit de corps/ But "A.L.C." in the privacy of his office, is working on the details of a yo-yo tournament. However, enough of this. I have an appointment with my yo-yo tutor.