Ways to win

Submission

A submission is recorded when an athlete taps with their hands, feet, or verbally. Once the referee has made a decision that a submission has happened, the match is over.

 

For the safety of youth competitors, a referee may stop a match before an athlete taps. For example, if a youth athlete is in a fully straightened out arm bar, the referee may “tap” for the athlete.

 

Points

If there is no submission in a match, then the athlete that scores more points will be awarded the win.

 

Advantage

If there is no submission, and the athletes are tied in points, the athlete with more advantages will be declared the winner. Advantages are only tiebreakers, advantages never turn into points.

 

Disqualification

In the event of a major foul, an athlete will be disqualified immediately.

 

Referee decision

If at the end of the match, there’s no submission, and the athletes are tied on points and advantages. The referee will make a decision for the winner based on dominance and aggression in the match.

 

Brackets

The tournament will be a double elimination. If there are two athletes in a division it will be best 2 out of 3. If there are 3 athletes in a division then it will be round robin. If there are 4 or more athletes in a division it will be double elimination with the winner of the loser’s bracket able to win 3rd place.

 

Tie breakers

In the event of a tie in the round robin format, winners will be chosen based on fastest submission. If there is still a tie, winner will be chosen by most points scored.

 

How to score

Points

Mount-4 points

    ⁃    defined by an athlete being on top of their opponent with one leg on each side of their opponent’s body with at least one knee on the ground.

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Back control - 4 points

    ⁃    defined by an athlete being behind their opponent while on the ground with both legs being in control of their opponent’s lower body with either heels hooked on the inside of their opponent’s thighs or a body triangle.

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Passing the guard - 3 points

    ⁃    defined by an athlete starting in any sort of guard, (closed guard, half guard, open guard, quarter guard, seated or standing) and advancing around the legs to side control, mount, or knee on belly and maintaining the position for 3 seconds. The athlete must be completely free of the opponent’s legs and have at least half of the opponent’s back on the ground.

    ⁃    If the opponent goes to turtle to avoid the pass, the athlete will be awarded an advantage if they maintain control of the opponent for 3 seconds, but fails to pass the guard or take the back.

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Take down- 2 points

    ⁃    defined as an athlete taking their opponent from a standing position to their back or knees and maintaining a top position for 3 seconds.

    ⁃    If an athlete takes an opponent down but fails to maintain top control the athlete will receive an advantage.

    ⁃    If an athlete is in the process of being taken down and their opponent pulls guard, the athlete will be awarded 2 points for a take down.

     ⁃    If an athlete takes an opponent down to their knees, the athlete must move to the opponent’s side and maintain control in the top position for 3 seconds.

 

Sweep from guard - 2 points

    ⁃    defined as an athlete, starting in the bottom of any guard, puts their opponent in a bottom position and maintains the top position for 3 seconds.

    ⁃    An athlete will score no matter if their opponent lands in bottom of guard or bottom of a pin.

 

Knee on belly -2 points

    ⁃    Defined as an athlete putting one knee from their hip side leg on the torso of their opponent with the other leg extended, and only their foot on the ground. The athlete will score 2 points if they maintain this position for 3 seconds.

    ⁃    Points will not be awarded for “knee on shoulder” position.

    ⁃    An advantage will be awarded if an athlete gets completely to the position but fails to maintain for the full 3 seconds.

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Point stacking

    ⁃    Defined as an athlete moving from a point scoring position, back to another to try and rack up points.

    ⁃    Example, an athlete moving from knee on belly to mount, back to knee on belly. In this example the athlete would receive 2 points for knee on belly, 4 points for mount, and no points for moving back to knee on belly.

    ⁃    A single movement resulting in multiple points scoring actions or positions would receive all earned points. For example if an athlete completes a take down directly into mount, they would receive 2 points for a take down and 4 points for mount.

 

Advantages

    ⁃    Advantages will be awarded to an athlete for nearly completing a movement that would have resulted in points. For example, a sweep taking an opponent down to a hip, but they are able to recover, or an athlete taking an opponent down to their knees, but the opponent is able to stand and recover before the athlete has established control. Advantages will also be rewarded to athletes who have their opponent’s in a very close submission that the opponent manages to escape.

 

  ⁃    Advantages are only seen as tiebreakers, as no amount of advantages will equal points.

 

Penalties

Major penalties

 Major penalties will result in the immediate disqualification of an athlete.

 

Examples of major penalties:

    ⁃    Fleeing the mat to avoid a submission

    ⁃    Applying an illegal submission for the division (see chart below)

    ⁃    Eye gouging, fishhooking, hair pulling, striking your opponent.

    ⁃    Any use of grease or lotions with the purpose of making an athlete slick

    ⁃    Hair dye or make up staining your opponent’s gi or the mat surface

    ⁃    Having a uniform rendered unusable, and not having a replacement

    ⁃    Any generally unsportsmanlike conduct as determined by the referee or tournament director towards the other athlete, coaches, referees, or the public.

 

Minor penalties

In the event of a minor penalty, in the first instance the athlete will be given a warning. The second instance of a minor penalty will result in an advantage for their opponent. The third and every subsequent minor penalty will result in two points for their opponent.

 

Examples of minor penalties

 

    ⁃    Fleeing the match area (not under threat of a submission)

    ⁃    Refusing to engage

    ⁃    Taunting

    ⁃    Pushing your opponent out of bounds without attempting to take down

    ⁃    Grabbing the inside of the gi sleeve or pant leg

    ⁃    An athlete or coach talking to the referee during a match

    ⁃    Grabbing an opponent’s clothing in No Gi

    ⁃    Using an untied belt to assist in a choke

    ⁃    Small joint manipulation, such as grabbing less than four fingers or less than five toes

    ⁃    Reaping the leg in a division that does not allow reaping

 

Stalling

When an athlete is warned for stalling, this will start a 20 second clock. If the athlete has not made efforts to improve their position, the athlete will receive their first penalty, resulting in an advantage for their opponent. If a further 20 seconds go by and the athlete has not improved their position, two points will be awarded to their opponent. With every subsequent stalling penalty from that same position, two points will be awarded to their opponent.