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• Participants can only have one role (coach, judge, or competitor) for each competition unless prior approval has been arranged with the competition coordinator. Requests should be submitted to the competition coordinator at least three weeks in advance of the competition.

• All participants must have a current USAWGF membership. You can register for membership here (website under construction – link coming soon!) at any time, or you can register as part of the registration for a competition.

  • Memberships are valid for the remainder of the calendar year in which they were purchased. (For example, if you purchase a membership in August 2018, it will be valid through December 31, 2018.)

• In general, USAWGF competitions will follow IRV competition regulations. See rhoenrad.com for details. However, in certain circumstances, we will make adjustments to the regulations while preserving the spirit of the competition.

  • We may sanction USAWGF competitions in gyms that are smaller than regulation size. We have sanctioned the following dimensions for USAWGF competitions:

    • Spiral: 11m x 11m competition zone / 1m on each side security zone

    • Straight-line: 23m x 3m competition zone / 1m on each side security zone

  • For the first qualifying competition, USAWGF judges will not deduct for coaches entering the competition zone more than once in a straight-line routine. For subsequent qualifying competitions, this policy may be enforced at the discretion of the head judge. Coaches can check with the head judge in advance of each event.

  • The head judge may choose to allow competitors to complete a routine even after three falls when the competitor would normally be stopped. In this case, the judges will continue judging for the full duration of the routine. For the final qualifying competition to build a Team USA, the head judge should enforce the IRV rule.

Competition Categories

• Competition Events

  • Straight-line (per IRV regulations)

  • Spiral (per IRV regulations)

  • Vault (per IRV regulations)

  • Duo (read these regulations carefully, as there are several differences from Straight-line)

    • Intro

      • Two athletes perform a free program to music in one wheel

      • General IRV regulations for straight-line with music apply, with exceptions noted below

    • Competitive Wear

      • Clothing options are open, but nothing can be taken off during the performance

      • Lingerie/adult-themed costumes are not allowed

      • Competitors must show their costumes to the head judge during warm-ups if requested

    • Music

      • Only one piece of music is allowed during the competition (edited versions are allowed)

      • Lyrics are allowed, but there will be a 2-point deduction if lyrics are not used appropriately as part of the performance

        • Content of the lyrics must be consistent with the presentation

      • Lyrics must be appropriate; aggressive, vulgar, or adult content is not permitted

      • Music must be checked by the sound technician before the competition

    • Scoring

      • The maximum score is 15 points

        • 5 points: Difficulty

          • The four highest elements are counted for each athlete

            • A element: 0.2 points

            • B element: 0.4 points

            • C element: 0.6 points

            • D element: 0.6 points (same value as C element)

          • If one or both athletes perform a B dismount, a bonus of 0.2 is added to the score

          • For example: If athlete A performs 4 C elements, and athlete B performs 4 C elements, and both athletes perform a B dismount, the score is (8 x 0.6) +0.2 = 5.0

        • 5 points: Musicality/Choreography (each section gets 2.5 points)

          • Each judge will score out of 5 points and scores will be averaged

        • 5 points: Execution

          • Judges’ scores will be averaged

          • Judging follows the regulations for straight-line with music

      • Each athlete is allowed to leave the wheel without contact once, for up to one revolution, while the other partner remains connected with the wheel. One partner must be in contact with the wheel at all times.

    • Judging

      • The judging panel consists of:

        • 1 head judge

        • 1 execution judge for athlete A

        • 1 execution judge for athlete B

        • 2 music judges

        • 1 difficulty judge for athlete A

        • 1 difficulty judge for athlete B

• Age Ranges:

  • USAWGF events will be divided into the following age ranges:

    • Senior (per IRV regulations)

    • Junior (per IRV regulations)

    • Novice

      • Athletes are eligible from the year in which they turn 12 until the year in which they turn 14

      • Competition format is identical to junior

    • Beginner: Compulsory

      • There are two age categories within beginner compulsory

        • A: Open to athletes through the year in which they turn 12

        • B: Open to athletes in the year in which they turn 13 until the year in which they turn 16

          • Compulsory Routine A

            • Elements​

              1. Side position​​

              2. Front support forward with hand grips from below

              3. Spindle position backward

              4. Spindle bridge (on back board) backward

              5. Underswing dismount from standing on both boards -- ​​​The dismount has to happen out of the motion of trick number 4. The wheel is not allowed to stop before the take-off for the dismount.

        • Contact Wolfgang (wolfgang@thecirquesexperience.com) for clarification on the elements
          
          

        • Scoring:

          • Maximum 5 points (not including bonus)

          • Bonus:

            • An athlete has the option to add up to two tricks following element 4, before element 5. For each additional trick, 0.5 point may be credited.

    • Compulsory Routine B

      • Elements​​​

        • Front support backward (hands grip from below) into free fly backward

        1. Bridge forward into bridge backward (hand hold on the rung handles)  

        2. Side position one arm (with arm against direction) and side step onto the bar into front support backward (with front step backward)

        3. Free fly with step on the bar forward into front support with step forward onto the bar backward

        4. Half tuck roll

        5. Dismount: Underswing from both boards

        • Contact Wolfgang (wolfgang@thecirquesexperience.com) for clarification on the elements

        • Scoring:

          • Maximum 5 points (not including bonus)

        • Bonus:

          • An athlete has the option to add up to two tricks following element 4, before element 5. For each additional trick, 0.5 point may be credited.

    • Kids: Explorer
      • Athletes are eligible through the year in which they turn 5 years old
      • Elements:

        1. Standing rock on the boards

        2. Seat rock from sitting on the floor on the bar

        3. Belly rock from laying on the floor on the bar

        4. Jump from handle to handle while hoop handles are held with both hands

      • Scoring:

        • At least two judges will score the routine

        • Scale: Okay / Good / Very Good

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Athletes

• Registration

  • All athletes must complete online registration at least two weeks prior to the date of a competition. Athletes who register past this deadline must pay double the competition entry fee.

• Every athlete is responsible for securing half of a judge position for each competition. Failure to make such arrangements by the time of registration will incur a fee of $250.

  • Athletes who are unable to bring judges from their own network may reach out to the competition coordinator or to the Chicago community, who may be able to facilitate matchmaking with available judges from other places.

  • We recommend that each athlete compensates their judge $50 to defer the cost of participation in USAWGF events. Judges may waive this fee at their discretion.

• Pocket cards must be sent to the competition coordinator at least 24 hours prior to the start of the competition. Missing a pocket card will result in an automatic 1-point deduction per event.

  • Pocket Card Cyr Wheel

  • Pocket Card Gym Wheel

Coaches

• Only certified Level 2 coaches are permitted to coach at USAWGF events, unless prior approval has been arranged with the competition coordinator.

• At the discretion of the competition coordinator, we may allow for more leniency on coaches’ attire. (For example, instead of the regulation zipped-up track suit jacket, we may allow a T-shirt/polo.)

Judges

• Judges should be certified through USAWGF in each discipline that they will be judging.

  • In general, only certified judges are permitted to judge national and qualifying competitions. However, the competition coordinator may approve non-certified judges as needed to ensure that a competition is fully staffed.

• Continuing Education

  • We strongly encourage judges to remain active in the wheel community, read all official judging materials, and periodically take a refresher judging course to stay up to date on competition requirements.

  • The refresher course for judging (usually held the day before a competition) will cost a $20 fee.​