Hundreds of participants holding small yo-yos, including one wielded by the Lodi News-Sentinel's Ross Farrow, drop them simultaneously in an attempt to set the record for most miniature yo-yos dropped at one time, at Hutchins Street Square on Sunday. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

Only 400 people show up for a record yo-yo attempt, but 'record' set anyway

Steven Speegle had hoped to draw more than 2,100 people to Hutchins Street Square on Sunday to break the world record for people dropping their yo-yos at the same time.

Only slightly more than 400 people showed up, but that didn't deter Speegle. He simply went to Plan B.

It goes like this — no one had ever dropped a miniature yo-yo, so you only needed one person to establish the record, Speegle reasoned.

So some 400 people of all ages dropped their miniature yo-yos — 1.5 inches in diameter, or slightly larger than a 50-cent piece — shortly after 2 p.m. Speegle said that's a record since no one had ever dropped a yo-yo that small.

Speegle gave away scores of red miniature yo-yos for people to use and sold some blue ones with a special Lodi commemorative seal. The $6 yo-yos were to raise money for the gymnastics team at Impact Sports Center.

"I made it go up and down," said Karen Batchelor, a grown-up from Sacramento who came to Lodi to visit her family and, yes, play with her yo-yo. Well, her son enjoys it, too.

Asked how long it's been since she played with a yo-yo, Batchelor said:"If I tell you, I'll be telling you my age."

She fessed up and said it's been 30 or 35 years.

Brandan Davidson, 8, of Herald, with a Batman mask painted on his face, said he was truly impressed with the yo-yo "record."

"I think it's pretty amazing," he said.

Speegle, who prides himself as being the California state yo-yo champion of 1961, is a child at heart. He has a collection of more than 30,000 yo-yos, about 1,000 of them on display at Hutchins Street Square. The display includes a rejection letter from Guinness Book of World Records, which informed Speegle they aren't interested in the yo-yo record he aimed to achieve on Sunday.

Chris "Dr. Yo-Yo" Allen performs tricks before a world record attempt at Hutchins Street Square on Sunday. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

He also has an extensive Beatles collection, though it doesn't compare with his yo-yos.

Speegle's aim on Sunday was to promote the yo-yo. His ultimate goal is to make it an Olympic sport, he said, wearing a white T-shirt that reads, "International Yo-Yo Olympic Organization."

"I want people to think differently," he explained.

It's not a coincidence the special Lodi commemorative yo-yos sold on Sunday have a picture of a panda bear on them. That's to make a direct connection between the yo-yo and the venue for this year's summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

Speegle acknowledges that Olympic status won't happen overnight. It will have to start as a demonstration sport and be sponsored by a third-world country because a nation like the United States would probably take itself too seriously, Speegle said. Or a yo-yo demonstration could be in the works during the opening ceremonies some year, he hopes.

"I hope to introduce it (in the Olympics) before I drop dead," Speegle said.

It may sound as if Speegle is a yo-yo snob, but those without the skills are welcome to just have fun with it. He was excited to see youngsters and grown-ups alike playing with his favorite toy.

"I'm here to teach the yo-yo and be the Johnny Appleseed of the yo-yo," he said.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.