Freestyle Rulez

(General rules that apply to the two divisions)

Each contestant will have 3 minutes to perform a freestyle routine to his or her choice of music. 
The time starts when the music starts. 
No points will be scored for tricks done before the music starts, or after the 3-minutes have elapsed. 
All music must be considered G rated (appropriate for all audiences). Performers with inappropriate music (obscenities, ethnic or sexual slurs, etc.) may be disqualified. If you are unsure about your music, a judge will be available to listen to your music and make sure it is appropriate. 
Music must be provided on a queued Cassette, a CD-R. (No MP3's or CD-RW) 
All music must be clearly labeled with the track to be used and with the contestants name. 
All actions of a performer must take into account the safety of the audience, facility, and the player himself. With the concurrence of the Contest Director and the Head Judge, all judges have the authority to disqualify a performer for dangerous or inappropriate behavior. 
No assistants are allowed on stage while a contestant is performing. 
All yo-yos that are to be used by a contestant must be brought on stage before their freestyle starts. 
No props are allowed without the prior approval of the Contest Director and the Head Judge 


COMPULSORY SCORING:



Compulsory points are the total adjusted points a contestant has earned in the compulsories. The compulsory scores will be converted to compulsory points by dividing them by 5. Therefore, a perfect score of 50 points will be adjusted to 10 points while a score of 44 points will be adjusted to 8.8 points. 



· All tricks performed on first attempt receive 5 points. A successful second attempt, if necessary, receives 3 points.

· The yo-yo must be caught with one hand and not trapped against the body.

· If more than five inches of string remains outside the yo-yo when caught, it is considered a miss.

· Any throw made while in the trick circle (or Box) counts as a try.

· Only the following tricks may be done while the contestant is on deck (on stage but outside the trick ring): Throwdown, spinner, forward pass, a single Loop the Loop, or string adjustments. Practicing a contest trick outside the circle or box once the contest starts shall count as a miss.

· Loop the Loops must be done with feet fixed in one position within the trick circle or box.

· The judge(s) decision is final and not subject to appeal.



FINAL SCORE:



The Final Score for each contestant will be determined by adding their adjusted points for combined Technical Execution and Performance Style with their Compulsory score. 

A perfect score of 100 points would indicate that a contestant received first place votes from all the judges (after the high and low judges scores were discarded) for a combined Technical Execution and Performance Style score of 90 points and also scored a perfect score of 10 points (50/5) on the compulsory tricks. 

Ties will be broken based on the following tiebreakers in the order below: 

Highest Compulsory Score 
Highest Score on Compulsory tiebreaker 
In the extremely unlikely event that there is still a tie, the judges may devise an appropriate tiebreaker, or declare the contestants to be tied. 


CONTEST OPTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS:

· The contest official shall be free to substitute tricks and to adjust the number of repetitions recommended for various tricks based on the level of competency of the contestants.

· Equipment: The contest official shall be free to specify the type or types of yo-yo(s) that are allowed for each division. Although it is recommended that the contestants be required to use same yo-yo(s) for all compulsory tricks. However, the contest official has the discretion to allow more than one yo-yo to be used in a competition and/or to allow a change in yo-yos for tiebreakers, provided that the contest announcement clearly states the rules that are in effect.

· The contest official shall inform all contestants that good sportsmanship is expected and that taunting or otherwise interfering with another contestant may be cause for disqualification.

· The contest official shall also advise all freestyle contestants that inappropriate behavior or vulgar music is not acceptable and may also be cause for disqualification. Any contestant who is not sure if his or hers music is acceptable to the contest official shall have it reviewed in advance of their performance.