What a whirlwind of a weekend. What a great way to catch up with so many friends. Life has been so busy for me in recent years as I have focused on my professional career, I have almost forgotten how much I enjoy spinning a top. Admittedly it had been over a year since I had thrown a top, but it all came flooding back pretty quickly.
Mike was a fantastic host as always. It is no small task to organize such a gathering, and yet somehow the Earl of Whirl makes it look easy. Great to catch up with John Marcus, procure a few more of his indestructible tops (unless your name is Austen or Eli), and get an upgraded tip for one of my yoyofactory tops. Always a pleasure to see Jim Neff and ask dozens of questions of “why do you have that,” or “what does that do?” (The answer, of course, was always “it spins!”) Great to see the progress of Markus who, when I met him just a few years ago, was just getting started and now is the custodian of the national championship trophy for the next year.
It was my privilege to help judge the contest. Sorry I didn’t get to spend more time with Mark Heyward who had to leave shortly after I arrived. Absolutely mesmerized by Jun’s performance, the perfect blend of technique and artistry. Too much fun laughing with Mike, Austen, and Eli Hickerson. I’m pretty sure if we had another half hour together, we could have solved all the world’s problems. Impressed is not a strong enough word for all of Paul Stewart’s creations. Amazing work by an amazing craftsman. We even came close to recreating the epic, never-ending battle between Wolf and Black Mariah from My Summer Story! Always fun to reconnect with Kirk and Rachel, Kirk jumping in to make the contest a bit more interesting and Rachel catching so many fun moments on camera. Jay, thank you for documenting all of the fun, even my failed attempts with Paul’s 17 inch behemoth top!
There were whispers and rumors about possibilities for Cleveland in 2024. Time to dust off the tops and start training!
