2013 WJRC Competition Rule Book

2013 WJRC Competition Rule Book PDF

CHANGES FOR 2013

Based on our experiences and the helpful feedback we received around last summer’s competition, as well as looking ahead toward expected growth and expansion for next year’s competition, the World Jump Rope Planning Team has made a few changes for our 2013 World Jump Rope Championship. All of our changes are outlined below, and will also be incorporated into our 2013 WJR Competition Rulebook and Judging Handbook. Please look it over carefully, and as always let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thanks,
Amy Canady
World Jump Rope Director of Rules and Judging amy@worldjumprope.org

  1. 1)  REVISIONS FOR THE “NOVICE” COMPETITION CATEGORY:
    1. This year’s novice cut-off date will be changed to September 1st, 2010. This means anyone who

      competed in their first competition on or after September 1st, 2010 will be eligible to compete in the

      “Novice” category.

    2. We have added single rope speed 1×180 as a novice event. We noticed in our entries over the past two

      years that many jumpers competing as novices also chose to enter the single rope speed 1×180 event (three minute speed) as juniors or seniors. Given the large number of entries for this event, we have decided to offer the novice category in order to give less experienced jumpers the opportunity to compete against others with similar levels of experience.

    3. We have reduced the scope of the novice category. For 2013, the novice category will be offered for individual competitive events only. Novice events will now include single rope speed 1×30, single rope speed 1×180, and single rope individual freestyle. We will not offer a novice category for Triple Unders, or for any pairs or team events.
    4. We have modified the age divisions for the novice category. Based on the number of athletes who chose to compete in the novice categories last year, we have modified our novice division age groups. The novice division age groups will now be 10 years old and younger, 11 and 12 years old, 13 and 14 years old, and age 15 and older. We will no longer offer novice categories for the 18 – 29 and 30 and older age groups. All novice category athletes aged 15 and older will compete against each other.
  2. 2)  WE HAVE CHANGED OUR SINGLE ROPE SPEED 2X30 EVENT. Instead of single rope speed 2×30, we will now have single rope double under speed 2×30. We have decided to change our single rope pairs speed event to single rope pairs double under speed for several reasons. Double under speed events have been contested in other major jump rope organizations, and there are athletes who excel in these events, so we felt that this type of event should also be represented in World Jump Rope. We also want to provide a variety of events for our athletes and our audience, and changing this event to double under speed will encourage our athletes to train a different skill, as well as provide some variety in our speed events for our viewing audience. As is done in other major jump rope organizations, our single rope double under speed event will require jumpers to use a two-foot bounce, where both feet touch the ground simultaneously after two rotations of the rope around the body. A jogging-step motion (where jumpers alternate between their right and left feet) will not be allowed.
  3. 3)  WE HAVE REMOVED TWO DOUBLE DUTCH SPEED EVENTS. Based on consistent feedback from our survey responses over the past two years, we have decided to reduce the number of double dutch speed events that we will offer. We will continue to offer double dutch speed 3×40 and double dutch speed 2×60. We will no longer offer double dutch speed 1×120 or double dutch speed 4×45.

a. DOUBLE DUTCH TEAM ALL-AROUND: Because of this change, our Double Dutch Team All-Around Championship will now be determined based on points accrued through placements in the following

3 events: double dutch speed 3×40, double dutch speed 2×60, double dutch single freestyle, and double dutch pair’s freestyle.

  1. 4)  JUNIOR AND NOVICE DIVISION ATHLETES WILL NOW BE ABLE TO QUALIFY TO COMPETE FOR THE GRAND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. In order to be more inclusive in our Grand World Championship, and to make sure that the best athletes from our Age Division Championships are being represented with as few restrictions as possible, we have opened avenues for our Junior and Novice Division athletes to qualify for the Grand World Championship. Following are the ways that Junior and Novice Division athletes may qualify:
    1. SPEED EVENTS: For all speed events, athletes and teams will advance to the Grand World Championship based on their scores only, irrespective of their age division. This means that all athletes and teams, whether they are competing in the Junior, Senior or Novice divisions, are eligible to advance to the Grand World Championship. This also ensures that the very best athletes in our competition are given the opportunity to compete in their appropriate divisions, while still being able to advance on based on their scores alone. Gender divisions will still apply (female and male/open).
    2. FREESTYLE EVENTS: In addition to the standard number of Senior Division athletes and teams that are selected to advance on to the Grand World Championship, we will also invite the top two finishers in each event and gender division from the Junior/Novice Championship to advance. This means we will compare scores for each freestyle event across the Junior and Novice Division Championships, irrespective of age divisions, and the top two finishers from each event and gender division will be invited to compete in the Grand World Championship.
    3. ANNOUNCING THE JUNIOR/NOVICE QUALIFIERS: We will announce which individuals and teams from the Junior/Novice categories qualify for the Grand World Championship at the award ceremony for the Junior and Novice division championships. After awards are distributed for an event, we will then announce which individuals or teams qualify to advance to the Grand World Championship for that event.
  2. 5)  WE HAVE MODIFIED WHICH DIVISIONS WILL USE MUSIC FOR FREESTYLE EVENTS: As always, the organizers of World Jump Rope recognize the artistic nature of our freestyle events and acknowledge the great impact that music has on the performance and appreciation of routines for both our athletes and our audiences. Because of this, we can assure that music will always be allowed for all Grand World Championship freestyle events. However, we have to balance this desire against our responsibility to run a time-efficient event for our athletes, officials, judges, and viewing audience. Given the inclusive nature of our event, we are accepting all freestyle entries without any limitations or selection process. Therefore, we will need to make some modifications in order to maximize our use of time and space. We will need to use four freestyle stations running simultaneously in some of our events and divisions in order to get all of our competitors through their freestyle events in a reasonable amount of time. Because of this, some events for some competitive divisions will not use music in the Age Division Championship. Given our projections for the number of entries we expect to have for 2013, here is our expectation for the events that will and will not use music for the 2013 Championship:
    1. NOVICE DIVISION: Music will not be used for the Novice Single Rope Individual Freestyle Event. However, should a Novice athlete happen to qualify for the Grand World Championship, they will be allowed and encouraged to use music at the Grand World Championship.
    2. JUNIOR DIVISION: Single Rope Team Freestyle will be the only Junior Division event that we anticipate being performed to music this year. The other Junior Division freestyle events will not be performed to music. However, Junior Division athletes or teams that qualify for the Grand World Championship will be allowed and encouraged to use music at the Grand World Championship.

i. Special note: We intend at this time for the Single Rope Team Freestyle to be performed to music. However, once coaches turn in their entries, we may find that we have too many entries in that event to use music efficiently. In that case we may need to remove the use of music for that event in order to run multiple freestyle stations simultaneously. If this turns out to be the 4 case, we will notify coaches and athletes of this change as soon as we can so jumpers can be prepared to perform without music.

c. SENIOR DIVISION: Due to the very large number of entries expected for the individual single rope

freestyle events this year, music will not be used for the Senior Division Single Rope Individual Freestyle Event so that we can run four freestyle stations simultaneously. However, Senior Division athletes who qualify for the Grand World Championship will be allowed and encouraged to use music at the Grand World Championship. At this time, we project that we will be able to use music for all other Senior Division freestyle events.

i. Special note: We intend at this time for all Senior Division Pairs and Team Freestyle events to be performed to music. However, once coaches turn in their entries, we may find that we have too many entries in some events to be able to use music efficiently. In those cases we may need to remove the use of music for those events in order to run multiple freestyle stations simultaneously. If this turns out to be the case, we will notify coaches and athletes of this change as soon as we can so jumpers can be prepared to perform those routines without music.

  1. 6)  WE HAVE MODIFIED THE AGE DIVISIONS FOR THE FEMALE SINGLE ROPE INDIVIDUAL FREESTYLE EVENT. Data taken over the past two years along with projections for the number of entries we expect for 2013 have led us to modify the age divisions for Female Single Rope Individual Freestyle (FSRF) events. Last year there were two to three times more entries in certain age divisions for the FSRF event than there were in other age divisions, or in the male divisions. Also, jumpers from one age and gender division must be evaluated in front of the same judging panel, which for these very large divisions requires the same group of judges to evaluate an inordinate number of routines. Therefore, in order to promote fairness for our athletes and more reasonable workloads for our judges, we have created more age divisions for the Female Single Rope Individual Freestyle event only. This change will give FSRF athletes a more fair opportunity to earn awards, will allow us to distribute our FSRF athletes more efficiently across four judging panels, and will allow us to switch judging panels more often, giving judges more reasonable numbers of routines to evaluate at one time. The age groups for the FSRF event will now be as follows:
    1. JUNIOR FSRF AGE DIVISIONS: 10 years old and younger, 11 years old, 12 years old, 13 years’ old, and 14 years old.
    2. SENIOR FSRF AGE DIVISIONS: 15 years old and younger, 16 years old, 17 years old, 18-29 years old, and 30 years and older.
    3. NOVICE FSRF AGE DIVISIONS: Novice division age groups for the FSRF event will remain consistent with the other Novice events. These age divisions are: 10 years old and younger, 11 and 12 years old, 13 and 14 years old, and age 15 and older. We will not offer novice categories for the 18 – 29 and 30 and older age groups. All novice category athletes aged 15 and older will compete against each other in the same division.
  2. 7)  WE HAVE MODIFIED THE NUMBER OF JUMPERS ALLOWED IN OUR DDC TEAMS. To accommodate as many teams as possible for our Double Dutch Contest event, we have removed the minimum requirement for the number of jumpers in a DDC team. We will now allow teams of up to 8 jumpers, with no minimum number of participants required.
  3. 8)  WE HAVE MODIFIED OUR TEAM SHOW DIVISIONS: Based on feedback given in our surveys and patterns of participation shown over the past two years, we have decided to have only two Team Show divisions, rather than four. We will no longer have “Large Group” and “Small Group” distinctions for Team Show. Instead, Group Show will now consist of teams ranging in size from a minimum of 9 jumpers to a maximum of 30 jumpers. We will still maintain our “Junior” and “Senior” age divisions for Team Show. For both Junior and Senior teams consisting of 8 or fewer jumpers, we encourage participation in our “DDC” event instead.