USAWKF Competition Regulations- General Format

Location and Competing Area

The competition area for all events will be held on a carpeted surface if possible (with the exception of Shuaijiao, which will have a matted surface, and Full-Contact Sparring, which will be on a padded, elevated platform), with each competing area measuring at least 26' x 36'. Each ring could be slightly longer, (such as contemporary Wushu, which requires 46' length), but all competitors should prepare for these dimensions. All weapons should stay within these boundaries and should not extend past the boundary limits.

The officials will be placed on one side of the competing areas and the spectators will be on the other. The judges will be seated in each corner of the ring with the fifth judge being seated opposite the chief judge.

Judging

There will be 5 judges for each forms event of the competitions, plus a chief judge who does not score, unless another number is specifically called for in the rules. The high and low scores will be deleted and the remaining three scores will be averaged.

In the case where the difference between the high and low scores is greater than 0.7, there shall be a judges' conference called to discuss the problem. The chief judge shall have the deciding vote as to which score(s) are out of line. After the conference, all 5 judges will score again.

Should the difference between the remaining three scores be greater than 0.5, there will also be a judges conference, after which all five judges will again score.

Dress Code

USAWKF events are formal events. All competitors are required to dress appropriately. Competitors may wear traditional Chinese martial arts uniforms (preferred), or pants appropriate for the Chinese martial arts plus a school T-shirt or an events T-shirt (note: push-hands competitors must wear short-sleeved shirts). The competition committee reserves the right to make the final judgments on appropriate attire. Karate-type Gi's are NOT considered appropriate, and are not permitted. All uniforms should be clean, well fitted and as non-wrinkled as possible. Shoes are mandatory for all events, except for light and full-contact sparring and shuaijiao. All shoes should be regular gym-type shoes or shoes made specifically for the martial arts. No regular street-type shoe is permitted. Shoes should be clean, especially the soles.

Full-contact sparring competitors will wear trunks (no pants), and will wear T-shirts or tank tops when sparring.

Protection Gear

Nearly all sparring events have listed some sort of protective gear, some mandatory, some optional. All competitors are responsible for their own protective equipment unless otherwise mentioned in this book. See the regulations for each event to find the protective equipment requirements for a specific event. Boxing gloves and head gear for the full-contact fighting will be available, but all other
competitors are urged to have their own.

Awards

General Competition

All awards for competition will be given immediately upon completion of each event. First, Second and Third place medals will be awarded to the top 3 competitors of each event in the General Competition. The following special awards are awarded at the National Competitions and are optional for regional and other sanctioned USAWKF events:

TRADITIONAL FORMS GRAND CHAMPION (1 for men and 1 for women) Criteria:

Ten (10) points are given for a 1st place finish; 7 points for a second; 5 for a third; 2 for a fourth and for fifth. Events required are:

Tie breakers: Consideration of one competitor being placed higher than the other in any event they both competed in. Second tie breaker: Placement in a fifth event.

MODERN WUSHU FORMS GRAND CHAMPION (1 for men and 1 for women)

Criteria: Same as Traditional forms, but using five events:

Tie breakers: Same as Traditional forms.

INTERNAL FORMS GRAND CHAMPION (1 for men and 1 for women)

Criteria: Same as for Traditional forms, but using 3 events:

Tie breaker: Same as for Traditional forms.

National Ranking Competition

Qualifications

In future years, the National Ranking portion of the competition will only be open to those "Advanced" level competitors who competed in an official USAWKF Regional Event. All other competitors will not be eligible to compete for official national ranking. However, The 1996 National Competition will be open to all advanced competitors. Regional competition participants, however, automatically qualify for the finals.

Preliminaries

Preliminary competition events will take place in the advanced divisions where there exists more than 7 competitors above the number of regional qualifiers. Where this occurs, only those competitors who did NOT compete in a regional event since 1995 Nationals will compete in the preliminary event. The top 5 competitors of the preliminaries will advance to the finals.

Example: There are 6 regional qualifying athletes and 9 non-qualifying athletes. The 9 competitors will compete in the preliminaries and the top 5 of these will advance to the finals to compete with the 6 regional qualifying athletes.

Should there be 7 or less competitors other than the regional qualifiers, then there will be a final round only with no preliminaries. However, these 7 or less competitors will compete first giving the regional qualifying athletes preferred seating.

Music and Other Props

No music or props such as materials for breaking, scenery, etc. is allowed.

Time Limits

Deductions: 1/10 of a point for each 5 second interval outside the time limit.

Example: A traditional form lasting only 22 seconds is 7 seconds too short. 2/10 is deducted since 7 seconds is in the 2nd "5 second" interval outside the range. Therefore, a 22 second traditional form will receive a deduction of .2 points after the final scoring by the judges. All competitors should make sure their forms fall within the proper time limits.

Re-Performing

Any competitor may begin his/her form again, without penalty, should that competitor be interrupted by uncontrollable circumstances, i.e.: spectator interference, debris being thrown into the competing area, or the judges direction to stop. Re-performing without penalty will not be allowed due to noise from the other competitors or spectators.

Re-performing due to forgetfulness, broken weapons, etc. will be permitted with a full ½ point deduction form the total score. This will not be permitted more than once (be sure to check your weapons).

Protests/Arbitration

Any competitor may protest any score or decision at any time. However, he or she must do this in writing within 2 hours after the score or decision occurred, and the competitor must pay a filing fee of $100.00.

The competitor must inform the Chief Judge of his or her intent to file BEFORE the end of the event, so that all competitors can be informed that arbitration is pending. Failure to do so may void the arbitration request. The Competition arbitration officials will then examine the protest. If the competitor's protest is valid, then the decision or score will be adjusted accordingly. Also, the competitor's fee will be refunded. Should the arbitration officials decide that the competitor's protest is not valid, then the decision or score shall stand, and the money will not be refunded. More in the Arbitration Section of this manual.

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