Two local teenagers are getting ready to rock the cradle and go around the world as part of the 2012 National Yo-Yo Contest in Calgary Saturday.
High school students Ibrahim Itani and Andy Tertzakian organized the competition taking place this weekend at the Telus Spark Science Centre.
The best friends both picked up a yo-yo about four years ago, but despite their impressive moves, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing.
"I’ve hit my sister, I've hit myself in the face, almost broken a window,” Itani said. “Strings snapping is quite an issue."
Tertzakian now uses the popular yo-yo with flared rims and a bearing in the middle, but his first yo-yo was much simpler.
"My grandpa actually gave me my first wooden yo-yo because it's something he did as a kid," he said.
The Grade 12 students aren’t allowed to compete this weekend because they organized the competition, but they say they are still excited to show off their skills.
"When I throw it, I don't even think about it,” Itani said. “I'm just lost in a wide array of tricks and combinations of tricks, so I don't think it's something I’ll ever be able to give up."
The winner of Saturday’s competition earns a spot at the World Yo-Yo Contest 2013 in Orlando, Fla., next year.