Competitor Packet

How to compete

Formats

Teams and performers may enter different formats in the same judging cycle.

We respond within 3 business days — to email, to your registration, and to confirm that music or a recording arrived. If you have not heard by then, reach out rather than assuming it reached us.

Registration

How to register

Team Program

Everything runs through the coach: registration, communication, feedback, and any medals needing posting. We do not send information separately to performers, parents or assistant coaches.

Joining

1. Email [email protected] for an intake form.
2. Complete it. We set up your Team Folder, where entries, music and video live for the season.
3. Add your acts to the spreadsheet — one line per act, not per performer.
4. Email us when your lineup is ready. We do not check folders until we hear from you. You get back an entry summary, an invoice and your welcome email.

Later events are simpler: add the new acts and email us again. The Team Folder carries across the season and the intake form is not repeated.

Independent performers register on their own. Anyone needing help identifying their level or interpreting rules is referred to a virtual competition coach — Aerialympics staff do not advise on which level a performer belongs in.

Welcome email

Sent after you register. It carries links to your entry summary, the waiver, the current documents, and instructions for sending music or your recording. Check that we have your information right.

Coaches: tell your families about tickets. Everyone attending needs one except babes in arms, and the price is on the event page. It is the cost that surprises families at the door.

Things we need from you

Each has a deadline after which a late fee applies. Anything still missing at the freeze means the performer is dropped — no slot, no judging, no placing, no refund.

Music

We do not pre-approve music. Music must meet Code of Conduct and fit performance time. See the Rubric.

LIVE: email [email protected] as an attachment, or add to your Team Folder. MP3 or M4A only. File name must include the performer name as listed in the Entry Summary, and the apparatus. In the Wild: do not send music.

Waivers

Sign once per season, not once per event: participation waiver, release of liability, and media release. Waivers for junior performers must be signed by a parent or guardian with the legal right to sign for the minor child.

Host studio waivers: Studios hosting LIVE competitions require their own signed waiver in addition to ours. Instructions are posted on event pages.

Schedule of Events

Regionals are open to anyone, from anywhere in the world. Nationals is by invitation.

Invitationals

An Invitational runs on its supporting regional’s dates — same registration window, same recording deadline, same awards timeline. The host studio may add its own awards on the day.

Ask your host before you plan around it. They decide who can enter, and whether they are registering the group in one block or leaving you to register with us.

Invitationals are added to the table above as hosts announce them.

Pricing and fees

Pricing is per act. A performer entered in more than one act pays the full fee for each — two solos on different apparatus, a solo and a duet, a duet and an ensemble, and so on.

Regionals

Nationals

Showcase

Showcase must declare a level and follow the rules at that level. Showcase is not judged and does not receive feedback.

Team discounts

Teams registered in the Team Program receive a discount on each event’s registration fees, based on the number of acts entered at that event. Discounts are per event, not per season.

The discount applies only to acts the team registers and pays for as a team. Where a performer registers and pays separately, that act is not part of the team’s count and receives no discount, even when the team is registered in the Team Program.

Late fees and change fees

Late fees

Change fees

This applies to music changes, division changes, name changes, ensemble roster changes, and any other change that requires us to re-check your entry.

No change is accepted after the freeze.

Additional costs to plan for

• Tickets
• Videos of your performances
• Change fees
• Motor qualification for a coach at Nationals — $30, charged once
• Travel and related costs

Workshops, photography, and merchandise are not offered at every event. Where they are, prices and details are on the event page.

Refund policy

If you drop for any reason you receive a refund based on timing, regardless of why. It applies to every performer at every level and age, including showcase.

Nothing is refunded after the freeze, whether you withdraw, are dropped for a missed deadline, or simply do not come.

Tickets are not refundable. Videos are refunded in full less a $5 administration fee. Refunds for photography, workshops, and anything else sold by a photographer or host studio are theirs to decide.

If we cancel an event, we refund registrations, photos, videos, and tickets in full — including tickets sold by the host studio. We are not responsible for travel, training, costume, or other preparation costs.

Request refunds in writing. They are made to the card used for the original payment, only for payments made directly to Aerialympics, and only to the person who made them. Dropping does not trigger a refund on its own.

Divisions

Divisions are created by combining location, type, apparatus, level, and age.

Flight acts form their own divisions at Advanced, All Star, and Elite, separate from non-Flight acts on the same apparatus at the same level and age. LIVE and In the Wild performers do not compete against each other in the same division. Divisions are split where they contain more than 6 performers; each group receives placings and medals.

How a split is made. Randomly, except that we separate performers from the same studio where we can. Splits are published within a few days of registration closing and are final at the freeze.

Registration asks every act the same question: if this act turns out to be the only entry in its division, would you like it combined with a neighboring age division? You answer per act, so a performer entered in several divisions answers separately for each. For Team Program acts the coach answers.

Combining moves you to the neighboring age division at the same level and apparatus — upward for performers under 14, downward for performers over 29. A lone 14–17 or 18–29 performer competes in their division as it stands, because the division next to them is across the adult boundary and we never combine over it. If combining would mean skipping an age division, we will check with you first.

Type

Solo. One performer on one apparatus. Solo performers may choose to perform on more than one apparatus; these are judged in the Specialty category.

Duet. Two performers in the same act on the same apparatus.

Parallel. Two performers in the same act on two apparatus of the same kind. Parallels may perform on more than one type of apparatus; these are judged in Specialty.

Ensembles. Small is 3–6 performers, large is 7–10, production is 11 or more. See Ensembles.

Apparatus

Your apparatus must meet the specification for the division you enter, and an apparatus that does not is judged where it was entered rather than moved. Specifications and the deduction are in the Rubric. If you are unsure, email us before registering.

Regionals rig single point throughout, so a two-point apparatus such as a trapeze needs a spreader bar. Nationals rigs double-point static trapeze, where one is not needed; everything else there is single point.

Specialty. Standard pole divisions are not included, given the number of pole-specific competitions available. Ground-based specialty acts run at Nationals; at regionals and Invitationals they depend on floor space and schedule, so email us before registering.

Level

Your level should represent both the difficulty of the skills you choose to perform and how well you can perform them.

You are required to move up when:

• You place first at Nationals in a group of 3 or more performers.
• The Judge Oversight team directs a deduction for competing in a division too low for your evident skill.

Moving up applies to the following season, on the apparatus concerned. You do not have to compete at the same level on each apparatus.

You are not required to move up if you are a minor moving into a new age division.

Dropping down. Performers may drop a level unless they have been required to move up under any of the rules above. Where a performer is affected by injury, illness, pregnancy, or other life events that reduce their skill level, they may be granted entry to a less advanced division regardless of previous success. Request this in writing to [email protected]; requests are reviewed by members of the judge oversight committee.

Age

Your competition age is your age on the day after the previous season’s Nationals ended, which is the day the new season begins. It applies to every event that season, including Nationals — a birthday during the season does not move you to another age group.

Solo is the only performance type that uses age to determine the division. Duets, parallels, and ensembles may contain performers of any age and compete based on level and apparatus.

Ensembles

Every ensemble competes at Level 1 or Level 2. More than half the performers at Novice, Intermediate or Competitive makes it Level 1; half or more at Advanced or All Star makes it Level 2.

Every ensemble submits a roster. List every performer in the act and the level each one is at. For a performer competing a solo this season, that is the highest level of their solo division. For a performer who is not competing a solo, give the level they train at. Then show us how you applied the rule above to reach Level 1 or Level 2.

We work through the roster with you rather than simply accepting or rejecting it. If our reading differs from yours we will say so before entries freeze, while there is still time to move.

Substitutions that change the level. Where a performer drops out and their replacement changes which level the math gives, tell us in time for us to change it in the judging app. A level change that reaches us too late to make carries a 10-point administrative deduction, because the ensemble is then judged in a division it does not belong to.

On the day we verify the roster, we do not re-level from it. We check who is actually performing, for backstage access and for the record. The level set at the freeze is the level the ensemble competes in, whoever ends up on stage.

Ensembles perform LIVE at some regionals but not all, depending on what the venue can rig. Where an ensemble division is available it is posted on the event page. Ensembles may enter In the Wild.

Elite

Elite is offered at Nationals only, to any All Star competitor. There is no separate qualification, and you may enter both All Star and Elite on the same apparatus at the same event.

Elite uses three age divisions rather than the eight used elsewhere: under 18, 18–39, and 40 and over.

Flight applies at Elite as it does at Advanced and All Star, and Flight acts form their own divisions. Elite Flight uses the Elite age divisions.

Elite is scored against different criteria. Artistry is replaced by Impact, and the weightings change: technical ambition and visual impact are what separate acts here, not story and character. The criteria and their ratings are in the Rubric. The total is the same 135 points per judge as All Star, so an Elite score and an All Star score are directly comparable.

All Star's restricted moves apply at Elite.

Flight

In a Flight act the apparatus height changes during your performance, using a motor or hand-operated pulley. In every other category the rig point stays where it is set while you are on the apparatus. Flight is available at Advanced, All Star and Elite, on any apparatus.

• LIVE. Only where the venue supports it. See event page.
• In the Wild. Available. As with all In the Wild rigging, the equipment and its safe operation are yours.

At LIVE events a rigger operates the height change, working from verbal cues. These are not rehearsed. Never you, never a teammate. Designate one person to give the cues and make sure they are at the motor in time; at Nationals they need a backstage badge, so include them when you request badges.

At regionals, only the host studio’s riggers operate their own rigs. Nobody else does, including coaches.

At Nationals your coach may operate the motor instead, if the head rigger is satisfied they can. There is a set demonstration time for this, and a coach demonstrates once — it carries across seasons. Qualifying costs $30, charged once.

Showcase

Showcase is a performance slot, not a competition entry. It exists for performers who want to be on the stage or on the record without being scored — a first outing, a piece that does not fit a division, an act built for an audience rather than a panel.

• You declare a level and follow the rules at that level. There are no divisions and no placings.
• You are not judged. No scores, no feedback, no deductions, and no points toward a Nationals invitation.
• Performance time is capped at 4 minutes, whatever the type or apparatus.
• Every performer receives a pin.
• Available LIVE and In the Wild at regional events. Showcase is not offered at Nationals.

All deadlines apply. Registration windows, the freeze, waivers, music, and recording deadlines are the same as for a competitive entry, and so are the consequences of missing them.

Every rule for your declared level applies in full — restricted moves, crash mats, coverage, and the choreography standard.

Health and safety

Where our responsibility sits, and where yours does

We set the conditions at the event. Mats, rigging, apparatus inspection, what may be performed at each level, what happens when something goes wrong — those are ours, they are the same for everyone, and we do not leave them to individual judgment.

Whether a particular performer is ready for a particular act is not ours. What is safe and healthy for one athlete can be unsafe for another of the same age at the same level. How much a performer has trained, how they have grown, what they have recovered from, how many drops their body has taken this month — we know none of that. Their coach does.

So we do not cap how many divisions you may enter, prescribe training load, or set limits based on age beyond the restrictions already in this document. Coaches and, for performers under 18, parents or guardians decide what an individual athlete is ready to do.

Crash mats

A crash mat is mandatory for all performers, all ages, all levels, LIVE and In the Wild, without exception. When you are suspended in an aerial apparatus and not touching the ground you must remain over one — and on multiple points that means a mat under every point, and under any space you travel through between them.

The specification is the same everywhere: a minimum of 4' × 4' and 8" deep, and the mat must be intended for or sold as a landing mat or crash mat. Inflatables, coil mattresses, panel mats, circular pole mats and tumble tracks do not count, even folded or stacked, though any of them may be used in addition to a compliant mat. A pit pillow counts where it sits over high-density foam flooring.

Ground-based apparatus. If your act is ground-based — cyr wheel, lollipop, circus acro — you still need matting appropriate to the apparatus and to how your act travels. Email us before the event so we can agree what that looks like.

LIVE. Use the mat supplied, or bring an equivalent or better one. At Nationals, 4 mats are connected in a square to make 10' × 10' under the main point, with 10 mats available in total. A pit pillow is available at Nationals; if you plan to add, move or remove it during a performance, your coach or another designated professional must manage that — riggers do not handle mid-performance mat changes.

In the Wild. Show your mat measurements on camera with a measuring tape before recording begins. A team in the Team Program shows it once for the whole season — at the team’s first adjudicated performance, or by emailing a video beforehand — on the understanding that the same or better mats are used all season. Independent performers, and teams not in the Team Program, demonstrate it every time. A performance without a demonstrated measurement incurs a 10-point deduction, even where the adjudicator passed the mat on the call. Performers who ignore adjudicator instructions regarding crash mats will be disqualified and not judged.

Unsafe and restricted moves

Performing unsafe or restricted moves — including moves outside your category — carries a deduction, and in some cases disqualification and your music being stopped. Which applies to which is set out in the Rubric; it is not left to the judges' discretion on the day. Judges score what happened, not what might have happened. There is no deduction for a move a judge thought was risky if it came off cleanly — but a drop that ends in contact with the mat, or a move that takes you onto the rigging, carries the deduction set out for it. Rushing a move that would otherwise be safe usually shows up in Technical before it shows up as a deduction.

If you believe you must perform a skill outside the range normally considered safe for your level, consider competing at a higher level, or remove the restricted move and refocus on technique or showmanship.

Rigging safety

Rigging varies, and you should train for that. Every venue rigs differently, and the same venue can rig differently from one season to the next. Buildings have different structures and different rig points, the hardware is not identical, and how much a point gives under load — the bounce you feel at the bottom of a drop — varies with all of it. None of that means anything is wrong. It means the rig you compete on will not feel like the one in your home studio, and may not feel like the one you competed on last year in the same room.

Build a routine that survives the difference. An act that only works at one particular amount of stretch is an act that will surprise you. Train on more than one setup where you can — different silks, different tension, a different point — so the timing of your drops is something you adjust rather than something you rely on. Coaches: this is worth building into the season rather than the week before.

Nationals is a theater, and theaters are lower. The available height at the Nationals venue is lower than at some regionals. That is a consequence of performing on a stage rather than in a gym, and the stage is part of what makes the weekend what it is. It does mean that if your act depends on full regional height — a long drop, a sequence that needs every inch — work out before you travel how it adapts to less. Finding that out at stage testing leaves you very little time.

Use your stage test for this. It is short, but it is the moment to feel the rig and find what your routine needs. Where a host is running open gym, that is longer. And if something feels different from what you expected, say so to the head rigger — they would far rather hear it before you go up than after.

LIVE. All performers are expected to follow the head rigger's instructions. Failure to respond to instructions from the head rigger can result in disqualification.

You are welcome and encouraged to bring your own apparatus to meet specific needs. All apparatus is assessed by our head rigger before use. If equipment is deemed unsafe on inspection, we have the right to refuse to rig it. In no case will the event organizers or host studio be liable for issues you encounter using your own apparatus, even after a passing inspection.

Apparatus check-in. Apparatus is checked in before the section you perform in. Our riggers inspect it for safety and wear, and an apparatus that does not pass is not rigged — in that case you perform on the apparatus supplied by the host studio. Check-in opens at least ten minutes before the section begins, and apparatus is checked in the order it will be performed, so bring yours when your section is called rather than at the start of the day.

Come to apparatus check-in even if you are using the host studio's apparatus. Tell the riggers that is what you are doing. They are working out what has to be rigged and in what order, and knowing you need house equipment is as useful to them as inspecting something you brought.

Do not touch the rigging. Where touching the rigging is determined to have created an unsafe situation for a performer, staff member, or guest, Aerialympics staff will determine whether the performance is disqualified. Deductions for touching or gripping rigging during a performance are set out in the Rubric and follow the judge recommendation and oversight review process.

Our head rigger may raise a rigging concern with the Judge Oversight team after your performance — they see the hardware from a position no judge does. They do not score you and do not speak to judges; oversight reviews the concern alongside the recording and decides whether a deduction applies.

In the Wild. Performers, coaches, and studios are responsible for safe rigging at their own locations. If you need recommendations for riggers who work with aerial performers, contact us.

After a fall

Whether you carry on after a fall is your decision and your coach’s. We do not stop a performance for it, and nobody at the event is qualified to tell you whether you are hurt. If you are performing again that day, in another division or on another apparatus, that judgment is yours to make with your coach and, where you are under 18, your parent or guardian.

We recommend seeking the advice of a qualified health care provider after a fall, or after any impact to the head. A head impact does not always show itself in the first few minutes, and nobody at the event is in a position to tell you it has not happened.

Costume and equipment care

Test your costume before you perform. Children are in the audience, and our judges come from all over the world, so their view of family friendly may be stricter than you are used to. Spray glue helps keep a costume from shifting or riding up. Younger bodies change a lot over a season, so a costume that worked in October may not work in April.

Costumes must not damage apparatus, mats, floors or host studio property. Think about anything that could snag or tear. Damage to host studio property is the responsibility of the performer or parent and must be repaired or replaced. In the Wild, costumes and footwear must not damage apparatus in a way that makes it unsafe.

Secure your hair so that it cannot be caught in the apparatus, in rigging, or in a wrap. There is no deduction for this — it is a safety matter, and a wrap does not let go once it has hold.

Come to the apparatus clean. Wipe your feet before you go up, and keep lotion, oil, spray tan, and makeup off anything that touches the apparatus. Most of the equipment you perform on belongs to the host studio and is used by every performer after you. Residue transfers, and silks in particular do not come clean.

Grip aids are allowed. At LIVE events they must not damage apparatus or host studio equipment. In the Wild, use any grip aid permitted where you perform.

See the Rubric.

Emergency services

After extensive conversation with studio owners and performers, we take the common-sense approach of knowing when to call the professionals rather than keeping a dedicated medical individual on staff. As when you attend regular classes or other performance opportunities, we rely on local emergency response. If you are uncomfortable with this, the In the Wild option allows you to arrange your own medical support.

Communicable disease

Unless required by law, we do not enforce vaccine, masking, or social distancing recommendations. We support the personal decisions of each performer who attends, to the degree that it does not adversely affect how we run the event or others attending. Anyone uncomfortable with this approach is encouraged to perform In the Wild, which allows more control over your environment.

How your performance is judged

This is a summary. The full detail is split between the Rubric, which sets what is scored, and the Judging Manual, which governs how judges work.

What is scored

Performances are assessed on Difficulty, Technical, Artistry, and Composition, with deductions applied separately. Point totals differ by level.

Who judges you

Judges must be skilled and experienced in the apparatus they evaluate. Preference is given to those who have performed, competed, coached, or judged. Specialty judges are required to have broad experience across apparatuses.

Judges are assigned only to apparatus they know well. They may not judge any part of a division containing their own students, or any division containing a performer with whom they may have a conflict of interest.

Judges work in three tiers — provisional, certified and senior — and we fill panel slots from the most senior tier down. A performer can expect a mix of the three on their panel, and every tier’s scores count toward a result in the same way. Certification is a test on the season’s rules and criteria, taken fresh each season because the rules change.

A minimum of three judges evaluates every division. Judging is done from video on our judging platform, which lets us use highly qualified judges worldwide rather than whoever is locally available, reduces conflicts, and ensures judges know the apparatus they are scoring. Roughly 30 judges work each regional event, and about double that at Nationals. A sampling of our judges is at aerialympics.com/judges.

How we strive to make judging fair

Scores in an art form are never going to be objective, and we do not claim otherwise. No two judges see a performance in exactly the same way, and small differences are normal and healthy. Our job is to make sure those differences stay small, stay fair, and never quietly tilt a result.

Before judging starts

• Anyone can declare a conflict. Judges declare their own, and so can you — a team coach or an independent performer who knows of a conflict can tell us at [email protected] and we act on it. You do not need to prove anything or explain your reasoning; naming it is enough for us to reassign.
• A panel of three judges scores an entire division — every performer in it, never part of it. You are measured against the people in your division by the same three people.

While judging happens

• Judges score independently and do not confer. At LIVE events they may not discuss anything with each other in or around the judging area, because a conversation between two judges looks like agreement whatever it is actually about.
• They score against the Rubric — the same document you have, word for word. There is no separate judges' version.
• Every deduction must cite a rule from the published list and carry a timestamp. A judge may not invent a deduction that is not in the Rubric.
• Judges do not disqualify anyone. They can recommend it; they cannot decide it.

Every deduction is checked by hand

Every deduction is reviewed by the Judge Oversight team before that level's awards. Every deduction, every time. Not a sample, and not only the large ones. Each is checked against the published rules before results are finalized.

If a deduction does not fit the guidance, it comes off. If one was missed, it is added. If the point value does not match the rule, it is corrected. Disqualification recommendations get the same treatment — a disqualification only stands after oversight has reviewed it and agreed it is warranted.

The principle is simple: every deduction should trace back to a specific, published rule, never to one judge's interpretation on the day.

This is also why a placing is announced when it is, rather than the moment the last performer leaves the stage. The gap is the review.

We also review the scoring itself, across the season

After every event we examine the scoring data from two angles.

First, we look for patterns. Does a judge tend to score higher or lower than the rest of their panel? Do they bunch scores so tightly, or spread them so widely, that a placement could swing on a single opinion? Do they score a particular studio's athletes noticeably higher or lower than the rest of the panel scored those very same athletes?

Because each judge is compared against their own panel on the same performances, a judge who simply runs a little generous or a little strict is never mistaken for one showing favoritism. We are looking for genuine, studio-specific patterns, not personality.

Second, we ask whether it changed anything. When a pattern turns up we look at the closest divisions to see whether a placement truly depended on one judge's scoring, or would have held up regardless. Most results are robust and hold however you look at them. The handful that are close enough to warrant a second look get one.

This review is never about catching or punishing judges. Every judge receives a private, personalized summary after each event — not only the ones with something flagged — showing how their scoring compared to their panel, with practical guidance on staying calibrated. Judges never see one another's summaries, and coaches, studios, and athletes never see any individual judge's report.

No result is ever changed by a spreadsheet. Where a pattern is significant enough that it could have affected a placement, it goes to a person. Any adjustment is a deliberate human decision made with the full picture in view.

What this can and cannot do

We are honest about the limits, because that honesty is part of being fair.

These reviews can spot patterns and tell us where to look more closely. They cannot read a judge's mind, or declare on their own that a single score was wrong. A difference in scoring can come from bias — but it can just as easily come from experience, or a genuinely different and completely valid read of a performance. That is exactly why the data starts a conversation rather than ending one.

Nor does any of this make three judges agree. Two judges can watch the same routine and value it differently, and that is not an error. What the process does is make sure the disagreement is about the art, and not about one judge applying a rule the others did not.

When we get it wrong

These layers catch the large majority of issues before results go out. But we are human, and occasionally a mistake makes it through. When it does, we follow our published remediation process to review what happened, correct it, and tell the coaches and athletes affected. Getting a result right matters more to us than appearing flawless — we would always rather fix an error than defend one.

Feedback and questions

You receive points and narrative from three judges, the names of the first three performers to place in your division, your placing, and your total points.

Each of the three judges writes a note on every scored category, and where a category did not receive full marks, says what would have earned more. They judge independently and do not confer, so where all three raise the same thing, that is the clearest signal about what to work on first.

A low score is not a deduction. Scoring 8 out of 12 on a criterion means the performance was assessed at 8, not that 4 points were taken away. Deductions are separate, are listed by name in the Rubric, and appear in your feedback with the rule and the reason. If no deduction is shown, none was applied.

Judging is final. No public discussion of judges' decisions is permitted, including on online forums and social media; violation can result in being banned from future competitions. Aerialympics staff will not respond to email requests for explanations of feedback or scoring, and questioning feedback or placings may result in individuals or schools being asked not to participate.

Where you believe there is an error in the judging system rather than a disagreement with a judge's opinion, follow the process in the Code of Conduct: wait 72 hours, reply by email to the message that sent your feedback, cite the rule or the feedback form supporting your concern, and allow 7–10 days for a response.

Remediation

While we make every effort to bring accurate results at the time of awards, mistakes may occur. If we discover errors that change placings after awards are announced, we will mail medals as necessary and update placings on the website. Previously placed performers are not asked to return medals. No additional compensation is made. Disagreements with judges are not mistakes and are not considered for remediation.

Performing In the Wild

The rules in this packet apply unless a variation is stated here. Questions to [email protected].

Adjudicated recordings

Entries recorded In the Wild are adjudicated to increase fairness and reduce the risk of injury from repeating a performance multiple times to get the best shot.

Scheduling. Use the Calendly link in your welcome email. Recordings are by appointment only within a designated window before the event, posted on the website. Recording days closest to the event fill quickly. Performers overseas can choose a reasonable local time rather than a 4am slot; if Calendly does not offer workable times, email us for special arrangements.

What you need. At least two devices: one to connect to the adjudicator over Google Meet, and a separate one to record your performance. You may need a third to play your music if your gym has no separate audio system. Use the device with the best view of the performance to record; the adjudicator's angle does not need to be perfect.

Your adjudicator is not a judge. They are closer to a stage manager. They never score you, and the recording they make is never sent to the judges — it exists only so Aerialympics staff can confirm that the recording you submit is the one they watched.

Recording. You are responsible for recording your own audio and video. To keep it fair — one shot, no second tries — you record your performance while an adjudicator watches live over Google Meet and records the call. There is one exception: where a private body part is exposed during the recording, you may record again in the same adjudicated way. See Costume.

The adjudicator's recording is not submitted for judging even if yours fails, so run at least one backup device.

What happens in the session. The adjudicator will ask you to:

1. Show your crash mat, so they can check it meets the minimum specification.
2. Confirm your camera, music, and performer are ready.
3. Start recording, and state the name clearly into the camera, exactly as it is listed in the official Entry Summary for the event. The name only — no division, no introduction, no title card, no additional information of any kind. For duets, parallels, and ensembles, announce whatever the Entry Summary lists.
4. Have the performer take their position, then start the music.
5. Repeat for each performer, where more than one is recording in the same session.

Judges must be able to see the full performance from your starting position until after your bow.

Trim your video. The file you send should contain the name announcement and the performance, and nothing else — no footage before the announcement, none after the bow. No other editing is permitted, except to overlay or improve the audio. A recording carrying extra information, or one that has not been trimmed, incurs a 2-point deduction.

Exceptions. In some cases Team Program members may record without an adjudicator — for example as part of a live recital. Coaches must request a recording waiver for consideration by competition staff.

Getting a usable recording

• Record a practice session and review it as if you were a judge. If quality is poor, adjust and test again before adjudication day.
• Make sure there are no people or obstructions between the performer and the recording device.
• Judges want to see facial expressions and controlled feet — difficult if the camera is too far away or the background is chaotic or patterned.
• Consider adding lights or hanging a neutral-colored drape.
• Hold cameras still or use a tripod. Some motion is allowed to keep the performance in frame — showing full use of the silks is the usual reason — but keep it minimal. Do not walk around or change your distance from the performer.
• Practice the Google Drive hand-off before recording day — share a test file to a second address of your own and check that what arrives is the same quality as what you sent.

Naming and sending your file

Naming the file. Name your file with the name exactly as it is listed in the official Entry Summary for the event, followed by the apparatus, so that it can be identified without being opened. This applies to duets, parallels, and ensembles too — use whatever the Entry Summary lists. A file not named this way incurs a 2-point deduction.

If the name in your Entry Summary is wrong, tell us before you record rather than after. The Entry Summary is what your announcement, your file name, your placings, and your medal all follow.

Sending the file. We accept recordings through Google Drive only.

• Team Program: drop your video into your team folder.
• Individual performers: email the file from a Google account. Gmail will send it via Google Drive automatically once the file is over the attachment size limit.

No other method is accepted. This is not a preference — several common sharing services silently reduce resolution, and a downgraded file loses you points when the judges cannot see detail clearly. Google Drive is the one route we can be confident arrives at the quality you sent.

Submission. Aerialympics staff review your recording against the adjudicator's recorded call to confirm it is the same performance. At an Invitational, where adjudication happens in person, your host studio confirms it instead.

• Individual performers send their recording within 24 hours of recording it.
• Team Program coaches submitting for a group have 48 hours from the last recording in the session, so a team recording together works to one deadline rather than a separate clock per performer.
• Neither clock extends past the Tuesday deadline. If you record on the final Monday, your recording is due the next day whether you are an individual or a team — so a team wanting the full 48 hours should record by the Sunday.
• If it does not arrive, the performer will be dropped from the event and will not receive a refund.

Once verified, your recording goes to the judging platform. All recordings are kept confidential until placings are announced.

Apparatus and audience

We recognize that not everyone will have apparatus at the exact height, size, or color specified. Judges are asked not to apply deductions in these cases. However, if apparatus limitations prevent you from performing some requirements, your Technical score may suffer.

You may have an audience when you record. Your recording does not need to be quiet — gather families and friends and let them cheer you on. The one thing to watch is the person holding the camera: cheering from across the room is welcome, but talking or reacting right next to the microphone drowns out the music the judges are scoring your musicality against.

Photography and videography are permitted In the Wild at the discretion of the venue. You may post videos of your training, performance routine, and competition performance at any time without restriction.

Performing LIVE

Which day you compete

If you compete on more than one apparatus, plan for more than one day. A performer entered on silks and lyra competes Saturday and Sunday. Book accordingly.

Saturday and Sunday are filled first. Friday is overflow. Where an event has a Friday, we schedule Saturday and Sunday to capacity before placing anyone on it.

Regionals rig single point throughout. Parallels may not perform LIVE at a regional; ensembles perform LIVE at some regionals but not all, and the event page says which. Both are rigging constraints, not scheduling ones, so a Friday does not change them. Either may enter In the Wild at any regional.

If you cannot compete on a Sunday, tell us when you register. Say so on the registration form and we will assign you a Friday or Saturday slot. We cannot do this after the schedule is built, so it has to come at registration rather than afterwards.

Tickets and badges

Ticketing is run either by the host studio or by us, and which it is varies from event to event. The event page says which, what a ticket costs, and where to buy one. Prices are set by whoever is running it, and the money goes to them. Read the event page rather than assuming this event works like the last one.

Where the host studio runs ticketing, the funds offset their costs of hosting, and we are not able to discount their tickets.

Tickets and badges for an event go on sale once its detailed schedule is published, so that nobody is buying days before they know which ones they need. The Nationals detailed schedule is published three days after the confirmation deadline.

At Nationals, awards need a ticket like any other section. Ceremonies are not held every day, and a level is not always awarded on a day it competes.

Advanced competes from Thursday and All Star from Friday, and both are awarded on Sunday. If your performer is at either level, plan to be there on the Sunday whatever day they perform.

Where your performer's awards fall on a day they do not compete, you do not need a ticket for that day to watch them receive it. Tell us the performer's name and you will be admitted to the awards ceremony. That is entry to awards, not to the day's competition.

Free entry is only permitted to badge holders whose badge indicates that the day they are attending is a permitted free day. Additional days require a ticket. All support persons, including coaches and family members, require a ticket. Children are ticketed at full price. Babes in arms are free.

Performers and coaches receive badges at check in, allowing free entry on the day of their performance. The badge carries the information; the lanyard just holds it. Coaches may receive free entry for each day they have a competitor performing.

• Official team coaches receive badges free, but you must tell us you plan to attend. Official means we already have you listed as a coach in the Team Program during the season. Coaches of independent performers do not receive free entry, and buy a ticket like any other attendee.
• Badges are not transferable, and additional badges are not issued on the event weekend. Request everything you need in advance.
• Coach badges scale with the size of your team. One badge for 1–5 competing team members, two for 6–10, three for 11–15, and so on — one more badge for every five competitors.
• Badges beyond that allowance cost the price of a ticket for the day they cover.
• Designated adult badges follow the same scale. One for 1–5 competing team members, two for 6–10, three for 11–15, and one more for every five after that, requested by the official team coach. Badges beyond that allowance cost the price of a ticket, as coach badges do.
• Adults traveling without a coach who want a support person backstage must contact us for special arrangements before the event.
• Minors traveling without a coach must have a designated adult with them backstage, declared before the event.

With a badge you may sit in the performer area at the back of the auditorium for free on the day indicated, but seating is not guaranteed. If the performer area fills, those without a seat will need to purchase reserved seating if available, or be asked to leave the building.

Volunteering at Nationals earns entry. Nationals runs on a volunteer crew, and your shift is your entry — you do not need a ticket for the sections you work.

• Crew must be 16 or over. No aerial experience is needed.
• Take as much or as little as you like — one shift, several, or a full day.
• Sign-ups open ahead of the event; the Nationals page carries the detail.
• Offered at Nationals only.

Check in

Expect to check in at two tables. Table one is the door table, handling ticket sales and studio waivers — run by the host studio at some events and by us at others; check in whenever you arrive. Table two is the competition table at front of house or backstage, where we check your music, give you your pin, and handle competition details. You must check in at table two at the time given in your detailed schedule.

Sign all waivers online before arriving, and in any case before stage testing. If you are the guardian of a minor you are responsible for checking them in and signing their waivers. If you are under 18, a legally responsible adult must sign your waivers.

Allow sufficient time to warm up. If you miss your stage testing time because of late arrival, additional time will not be possible.

Open gym and workshops

Some host studios run an open gym or workshops around the competition — on a non-competition day, or in the evening after the day's sections finish. Where it is offered, it is a chance to spend longer on the apparatus than a stage test allows, and to find the adjustments a routine needs in that space. It is up to the host studio, not us, so it is not offered at every event.

Check the event page. If a host is running open gym or workshops, that is where it will be listed, along with times and any cost. If nothing is listed, assume there is none and plan around your stage test.

Stage testing

Stage testing is required for every performer in every division — it is as much for our technical crew as for you. If you do not attend, you will be dropped from the event without a refund.

A coach or designated responsible adult must attend stage testing with any performer under 14. Coaches are encouraged to attend with all their performers.

Stage testing verifies your music, sets your apparatus height where needed, and covers last-minute details. Time is very limited — plan your stage test, and do not require the stage manager to ask you to leave the stage. If your apparatus requires additional rigger time, that time is not necessarily deducted from your allowance, at the head rigger's judgment. You will not have enough time to run your entire routine.

Setting height

Setting height is a safety issue. If you have never set height outside your own studio, tell the head rigger so their team can guide you in more detail. Memorize where your apparatus height sits against your body when you practice at home, to make it easier to find in a new space. Coaches are strongly encouraged to be part of the entire stage testing process, particularly this part.

1. Indicate where you think the apparatus should be for your performance.
2. When told to do so by the rigger, pull down firmly a few times without mounting, to settle the apparatus.
3. Ask for a height adjustment if needed.
4. After being given permission by the rigger, mount the apparatus and run through segments that give you a feel for it.
5. Ask for another adjustment if needed, and ask permission to re-mount if you got out for one.
6. Finally and most importantly: tell the rigger you are going to perform the hang, drop, or move that brings your head closest to the ground. This is your final chance to get your height right. Do not skip this step.

The head rigger decides whether your clearance is acceptable, and that decision is final. Where they judge your height too low, you raise it or remove the move. There is no appeal and no negotiation on the day. The rigger's only concern in that moment is your safety, and they are watching your clearance from a position you cannot see it from yourself.

If you perform at a height the rigger has called too low, they may pull your rigging up mid-drop.

Because rigging settles, you are permitted to re-check your apparatus height on your standby call, when you go out to set your props. See Your performance for the full sequence.

Your performance

When your performance time nears, listen for your name as you did for stage testing. The sequence is the same for every performer:

1. You hear the standby call: “Standby [your name]. [Your name] will be competing in [your division]. After [your name] we will have…” and the next two performers. Go to the stage. Set your props, if you have any — you have 20 seconds — and re-check your apparatus height if you need to. Then return to the standby area.
2. The announcer says “Please welcome to the stage, [your name]!” Take the stage and assume your opening position. There is a short pause between the two calls while our riggers and A/V confirm everything is ready — wait for the second call rather than the gap.
3. Hold still. Your music starts when you are still. Nothing happens until you settle, so take the moment you need.
4. After your performance, clear your props within 20 seconds.

Anyone may help with your props — coach, teammates, family — with no limit on how many people or how many trips. Aerialympics and host studio stage crew do not handle props. At Nationals anyone helping needs a backstage badge, so include them when you request badges. Twenty seconds is not long: if your act needs more setting than that, simplify it, or agree who carries what before you are called.

Your performance time is measured from the start of your music. See the Rubric.

Backstage

• All performers under 14 must have a coach or officially designated adult with them backstage — expected to be their coach. Performers aged 14–17 may be backstage with a teammate. No performer under 18 is permitted backstage alone.
• Removal of clothing must take place only in bathrooms or designated changing areas, regardless of age or gender. Changing tents are supplied at all events.
• Everyone backstage requires a badge. Performers receive a badge allowing backstage access on the day they perform.
• Performers are only permitted backstage during the section directly before their performance section. Backstage is not a place to socialize.
• Follow instructions given by Aerialympics staff and volunteers backstage.
• No food is permitted backstage or in the audience area. Water with a lid may be brought backstage.
• Keep walkways, doorways, and exits clear. Bags, prop tables, apparatus cases and costume rails belong in the space you are given, not in a route someone needs. Some of those routes are fire exits, and that is the venue's license rather than ours. Where the host studio has rules of their own, they are on the event page.
• Wipe your feet before you go on. Silks hold dirt, the apparatus is shared with everyone after you, and your own grip depends on it. It is also not a good look on stage, and it can affect your Artistry score.

How backstage rules are enforced. Backstage rules are enforced by Aerialympics staff, not by judges. Judges are not asked to assess backstage conduct and cannot deduct for it. A first violation is a verbal correction; a further violation, or a first one that creates a safety risk, carries a deduction against the associated performance. Any deduction applied by Aerialympics staff is recorded with the reason and appears in the performer's feedback.

Photography and videography at LIVE events

Please film only your own performers. Whether a performance is recorded, and whether it goes online, is the performer's decision and their family's. Some families keep a child's image off the internet, and they do not owe anyone a reason. Filming somebody else's performer takes that decision out of their hands, however much you admired the routine.

You do not need to film anyone else's act to see it again. After the event we send a viewing link that gives you every performance from the event, free — including the one you wanted to record. Your own performances can be downloaded for $20. So put the phone down and watch: the routine that just caught your eye will still be there next week.

Only official photo and video cameras are permitted. Audience members may take pictures and video using phones only. Purchased video arrives within about a week after the event; photo packages are as described on the event page, and photos may not be available at regional events.

Please do not block the professional photographer or videographer, and do not enter or leave the audience area during a performance — it is disrespectful to the performer and can affect their photos and video. There is ample time between performances and divisions to change position.

Awards on the day

Placing medals. If you place and cannot stay for the awards ceremony, arrange for someone staying to collect your medal, or email us after the event to request that it be mailed. Medals are mailed to remote performers within the timeframe listed on our website. If you supply an incorrect mailing address and we need to resend, we may ask you to pay an additional fee.

Champion awards are different, and they exist only at Nationals. Regional events award medals and pins; trophies are awarded at Nationals alone. Being at the awards ceremony is part of what makes you eligible for a trophy. A performer who is not there is not eligible, and the award passes to the next eligible performer in line. Trophies are not mailed, held, or given to someone collecting on your behalf. If you are in contention for a champion award, be at awards.

Awards

Regional awards, LIVE and In the Wild

Competitors must perform to be eligible for any medal or pin.

• First, second, and third-place performances receive custom Aerialympics-branded medals.
• All Star first, second, and third-place performances receive larger custom medals that include the words “All Star.”
• All competitors who perform receive an Aerialympics-branded pin customized for the event — one pin per performer per event, not per performance.
• Separate medals are given to each person in a winning duet or parallel performance. Ensemble medals are given to each performer in the ensemble.
• All performers receive judge feedback from a panel of 3 judges. Some events include collectible badges. All events offer free viewing access to available performance videos, the option to purchase the competition video for download, merchandise, and photos at select events.
• We do not issue certificates of participation.

Performers who compete LIVE but do not stay for awards must arrange to have their medal mailed by emailing us after the event. Performers and teams are responsible for ensuring we have the correct mailing address; if we have to re-mail any item we will charge for shipping.

Nationals awards

The same medal and pin structure applies at Nationals, with Nationals or Championships branding. Note one difference: at Nationals, ensemble medals are given to the coach only, where at regionals they are given to each performer in the ensemble.

Awards are mailed to the address on file. If you cannot receive an award by mail we may allow other arrangements at your own cost and at Aerialympics staff discretion. If we do not have the correct address and must resend, you are responsible for mailing costs.

National Championship trophies

Level champions — awarded to the solo performance scoring the highest points in any single division at Nationals LIVE, regardless of age or apparatus: Advanced Champion, Competitive Champion, Intermediate Champion, Novice Champion.

All Star champions — awarded to the All Star solo performance scoring the highest points in any division at Nationals LIVE, regardless of age: All Star Lyra, All Star Hammock, All Star Silks, All Star Specialty.

High Point champions — awarded to the individual and the team scoring the highest total points at Nationals LIVE. Individual totals count solo, duet, and parallel points. Team totals count solo, duet, parallel, and ensemble points across all performances.

All-Around champions — awarded to the individual and the team scoring the highest points at Nationals LIVE across 3 different apparatus as a solo, duet, or parallel performer. Different apparatus within Specialty count separately — straps, tippy lyra, and cube would meet the criteria. Only a performer's or team's top 3 scores are considered. Ensemble points do not count toward this award.

Special awards

Special awards are not part of the scored competition and are not governed by the rule-change commitment above: they may be added, withdrawn, or left ungiven at any event, without notice. They are about moments that catch the eye of the judges, staff, or host studios.

• Cirque du Aerialympics — bring that old-school circus vibe to your performance.
• Best Aesthetic — costume, makeup, props. Give us the visual flash-and-dash.
• Make it Theater — did your character knock our socks off? Did you tell us a great story?
• Wild Heart — recognizes people who make a difference in the aerial community. Requires a nomination, because I don't know everything about everyone.
• Powerhouse — performances packed full of strength.
• Studio awards — some host studios add awards that are special to them.

Viewing performances

All performances are recorded, LIVE and In the Wild, and uploaded to the judging platform. Coaches, and individuals not in the Team Program, receive a link to view all available performances on the date listed on the event page. Viewing links go to the email addresses submitted during registration and may be shared. Performances are viewable for approximately 6 weeks after the event, after which videos are archived. A video may be withheld where the recording failed, where a performance was disqualified for an exposure, or where a privacy request applies. A recording that contains an exposure is deleted rather than withheld.

Anyone else can buy viewing access to an event for $20. Access is to the whole event; we do not sell access to a single performance or division.

Your own performances are available for download at $20 each. Videos are judging quality, not production quality, as reflected in the price. The charge covers administrative time.

Qualifying for the National Championships

You do not need to be from the USA to compete at Nationals, but you do need to qualify. Because of the number of people who want to compete, participation is by invitation only.

• Competitors competing LIVE, In the Wild, or at an Invitational can qualify if they score the necessary points.
• Winning a regional qualifier does not guarantee an invitation.
• Invitations are largely, but not solely, based on points earned throughout the season.
• Performers scoring the minimum points in their division receive an automatic invitation, announced during regional awards ceremonies, written on placings announcements, and posted on the Leaderboard page.
• Additional invitations may be extended at the discretion of Aerialympics staff, related to scores or to a performance's special medal potential.

Your invitation tells you which day of the week you will compete. It is not the detailed schedule — that is published three days after the confirmation deadline — but it is enough for family and friends to book travel and time off well ahead.

Accepting an invitation. You accept by submitting the confirmation form linked in your invitation. There is no acceptance fee this season. Accepting commits you to nothing financially — you will be invoiced for your registration afterwards.

The acceptance deadline is one week after the final regional of the season. For Season 14 that is Sunday 13 June 2027, one week after the Ontario Regional. By that date every invitation of the season has been issued and every qualifier has had at least a week to decide.

You may confirm at any point from the moment your invitation is issued, so an invitation earned at the first regional can be confirmed in October. Nationals has no ordinary registration window and no registration button on the event page.

What happens after you confirm depends on how you compete.

• Team Program. Your coach handles your Nationals registration, as they do for every other event, and we invoice the team.
• Competing independently. We email you a registration link. Complete it and we will invoice you.

An invitation not confirmed by the deadline lapses.

If your plans change after you confirm, tell us as soon as you know. We build the Nationals schedule around who has confirmed, and an early message is far more useful to us than an apology later. Injuries happen; we would rather know.

Transfers. Solo invitations are non-transferable. Where a performer in a duet or ensemble is unable to attend, they may be replaced by another performer at the same or lower level of ability, at the discretion of Aerialympics staff. Requests must be made by email.

Ensembles. Team Program members may register 2 non-qualified ensemble acts, so that teams can travel and perform together even where not everyone qualifies for a solo. Ensembles are confirmed on the same form and by the same deadline, Sunday 13 June 2027. There is no reservation fee this season.

Coaches receive a separate email about ensembles each season with the detail their teams need.

In the Wild is not offered at Nationals

Season 14 Nationals is a LIVE event only. There is no In the Wild entry, and no adjudicated recordings are accepted for it. Nationals is the one event in the season where competing means being in the room.

In the Wild remains available at every regional and at Invitationals, and In the Wild results count toward a Nationals invitation in exactly the same way as LIVE results.

Bringing new work each season

We expect performers to compete with new routines each season. A routine that competed last season should not compete again this one.

Reproducing someone else's act is a different matter

Individual skills belong to everybody. Nobody invented the star drop, and two acts at the same level on the same apparatus will share vocabulary — that is the sport, not a problem.

Taking another performer's sequence, concept, or act and presenting it as your own is not permitted, and it carries a consequence.

Judges do not assess this; a judge sees one performance and cannot know it reproduces another. Anyone may report it, and Aerialympics leadership reviews the report against the recordings of both acts. Reproducing a section of another act carries a deduction; reproducing an act substantially or in whole carries a deduction and disqualification.

A report must reach us within three weeks of the event. We act on it whenever it arrives inside that window, including after placings have been announced; after three weeks the result stands. Where the outcome changes a placing, placings are corrected, the website is updated, and medals are sent to the performers who move up.

We do not recall a medal — that is not enforceable and we will not pretend otherwise. But where a Nationals invitation was earned on the strength of a disqualified performance, that invitation is revoked.

Rules of the road

What we are for, how we expect people to behave, and when these documents can change. The Code of Conduct below carries deductions and, in the most serious cases, affects a team’s eligibility — so it is a rule rather than a statement of intent.

Mission

We bring the aerial community together.

Values

• Provide constructive, meaningful feedback that allows performers to grow and improve.
• Appreciate historical traditions in the aerial arts that set the foundation for future creativity.
• Foster positive relationships that support and strengthen coaches, performers, and other members of the aerial community.

Rule modification and clarification

Rules are set before the season opens and do not change during it, with one exception: where a rule creates a safety risk we did not anticipate, we will change it and notify every registered team directly. Clarifications that explain an existing rule without changing what it requires may be published at any time. Everything else waits for the next season.

This matters for choreography. Once you have registered for a season, the rules your act is built against are fixed, and you should not need to re-check them between events.

When the documents are published

The Competitor Packet, the Rubric, and the Judging Manual for a season are published no later than four weeks before the first event of that season. For Season 14 that is 19 September 2026.

Four weeks is the minimum, not the target — where they are ready sooner they go out sooner. What the commitment guarantees is that you have a month with the final rules before anyone competes, which is enough time to adjust choreography if something has changed.

The season retrospective

Rule modification requests are made through the season retrospective, and only through the season retrospective. We email you a link to a Google form, and the form is the only route. Replying to the email does not submit anything, and requests are not accepted through social media, at an event, or by phone.

For Season 14 it is sent on 3 May 2027 and stays open for two weeks, closing on 17 May 2027. It goes out near the end of the season rather than after it, so that there is time to act on what comes back before the following season's documents are written. Anything arriving after it closes is held for the next one rather than discarded.

Judges, coaches, and competitors are all welcome to respond. Tell us what is working as well as what is not — a rule that quietly does its job is easy for us to change by accident.

We include detailed information in these documents and do not typically offer additional clarification through competition staff. If you have questions about your competition level, whether a move is acceptable, joining a virtual team, or interpreting rules, email [email protected] and ask about our fee-based options; we can put you in touch with experienced coaches who offer these services. Questions are not accepted through social media or by phone.

Privacy

As described in our Waiver and Release, we may post and share information gathered during our events, including photos, videos, names, studios, placings, and points. If you want increased privacy for yourself or your minor child, consider using a stage name; where one is provided we will default to using only the stage name in public spaces. Use one stage name per season so that all points are assigned to the correct person. Additional privacy may be requested by emailing [email protected]. Participation in a competition requires others to view and judge your performance, so certain sharing activities are required.

Code of Conduct

This single Code of Conduct applies to everyone taking part in an Aerialympics event: performers, coaches, and the families and support people who come with them. Judges are covered by a separate Code of Conduct in the Judging Manual.

Developing aerial performers is a privilege we do not take lightly. We recognize that the values, rules, and guidelines set by this organization carry real-world impact for the aerial community. We recognize that scores are subjective and that not everyone will place where they hoped. We support the idea that feedback has value as a tool for improvement in the pursuit of individual goals. More importantly, we promote the understanding that aerial circus performance can be pursued well into adulthood, and that friendships and reputations built through competition can lead to long-term opportunities regardless of placings in any single event or season.

Each section below states what is expected of everyone, followed by anything specific to a particular role.

Health, safety, and longevity

Everyone is expected to:

• Hold the physical and mental health of the performer as a key value.
• Be aware of the effect certain moves and techniques may have on a performer's health and longevity, and take steps to support both immediate and long-term functionality.
• Use appropriate safety equipment at all times, in training and in competition.
• Read and understand the safety requirements described in this packet and the Rubric.

Coaches also

• Support the mental and physical health of the performer.
• Teach aerial skills in a progressive manner with benchmark requirements at each level.

Families also

• Do not prompt your child to engage in reckless or unnecessarily risky behavior — training skills outside their capabilities, using unsafe or inadequate equipment, ignoring the coach.
• Do not force your child to participate in any Aerialympics event.
• Never yell at or ridicule your child for making a mistake or losing a competition.
• Promote the emotional and physical well-being of your child ahead of your own desire for them to win.
• Recognize that you are ultimately responsible for your child's well-being, and take steps to protect and support them.

Performers also

• Take an active part in ensuring your own health, safety, and longevity by listening to coaches, parents, and other trusted advisors.
• Use a mat and other recommended safety equipment in practice and in competition.
• Do not perform under the influence of alcohol or drugs that could affect your ability to safely execute your routine, including prescription drugs.

Rules and regulations

Everyone is expected to:

• Familiarize themselves with this packet and the Rubric.
• Respect the authority of the judges and Aerialympics staff during competitions, and not question, confront, challenge, or complain about their decisions at Aerialympics events.
• Adhere to our commitment to family-friendly, positive language and comportment in music, costuming, choreography, props, and clothing.

Coaches also

• Understand and follow the rules regarding skills for each division you coach.
• Instruct performers in the rules, and coach them so that they are motivated to perform within the rules at all times rather than looking for loopholes.
• Review the Rubric regularly to ensure performers are in appropriate divisions.
• Choreograph within the rules of the division the performer is entered in.
• Immediately adjust a performer's level for the next competition when instructed to do so by Aerialympics leadership or the Judge Oversight team.
• Thoroughly review all lyrics before submitting music, to ensure it supports our values and does not promote adult content in minor performers.

Performers also

• Compete honestly. Compete in the correct category. Learn and follow the rules of your category.

Positive interactions

Everyone is expected to:

• Be kind. Treat all performers, coaches, parents, staff, and judges as you would want to be treated.
• Model respect, courtesy, and a positive attitude toward everyone involved.
• Promote positive interactions between performers and other participants — making new friends, renewing relationships during the competition.
• Refrain from abusive, offensive, belittling, or obscene comments or gestures directed toward anyone involved in Aerialympics.
• Refrain from complaining about placings or other judge decisions during the competition.
• Never engage in bullying, harassment, or other threatening behavior, in person or online, toward performers, judges, coaches, production staff, or anyone else connected to this event. This includes smack talk and other verbal intimidation.
• Be respectful during the event. Do not talk, create distractions, or move around during performances, announcements, or awards. If you need a moment to yourself or a conversation during those times, move to a more private area.
• Do not post or share footage in which another studio's performer under 18 is the subject. Incidental capture is understood — a wide shot of the stage includes whoever is on it. Deliberately making somebody else's child the subject of a post is not.
• Competition videos received through a viewing link may be shared within your team for review. They may not be posted publicly.
• Do not stream a performance. We do not live stream, and neither should anyone in the room.

If you find a post that makes another studio's child the subject, tell us rather than approaching the family. Reach out to Aerialympics and we will ask for it to come down. Most cases are an admiring clip put up without thinking, and taking it down resolves it.

There is no deduction, and nobody's score is affected. The person who posted is usually not the person who would lose the points.

Where someone refuses, or it happens again, it goes to Aerialympics leadership rather than onto a scoresheet. The consequences there fall on the team: not being invited to future events, or being limited to In the Wild for a period. Those decisions are made after the event and given in writing.

Coaches also

• Help performers receive any placing decision with a positive response, even when it is disappointing.
• Encourage performers to celebrate wins by other performers, including direct competitors.
• Focus on performers bringing their best to the stage rather than tearing down the competition.
• Educate parents and other supporters in the positive culture of Aerialympics and their role in it.

Families also

• Remember that children participate in aerial arts to have fun, grow their skills, and make friends, and that competition is for the benefit of the performer, not the parent or coach.
• Praise your child for their effort and character, and teach them that doing their best matters more than winning.
• Do not coach your child or other performers during competition, rehearsals, or affiliated events unless you are a designated coach for their team.
• Do not go backstage unless you are a designated adult whose access was established before the event.

Performers also

• Support others. Clap and cheer for other performers whether or not they are on your team or in your category.
• Remember that everyone has gone through struggles to get where they are, and assume everyone is doing their best. Be generous when you win and gracious when you lose.
• Be a team player. Cooperate with your coaches, parents, teammates, and opponents. Without them, we would not be here.

Communication with the competition

We value your thoughts on every aspect of this competition and provide a number of ways to share them so we can keep improving. As participation grows, we need to manage the times and ways we can make available to communicate.

Everyone is expected to:

• Use email as the only channel for questions about rules, judging, or other concerns.
• Not use personal cell phone numbers, emails, or social media to contact Aerialympics staff or judges about the competition, placings, complaints, or concerns.
• Allow 7–10 days for a response.

Performers Speak to your coach first. If your coach does not have answers, they should reach out to us and bring answers back to you. If you do not have a coach, email us at [email protected].

Families Use your performer's coach as the primary means of communication with Aerialympics, and only contact us directly if that fails.

Coaches Understand that aerial circus arts are subject to interpretation. Although you may disagree with a judge, model respect and courtesy, and do not contact Aerialympics staff simply because you disagree with how a judge valued performances in your program. Understand that we continue to expand judge oversight, and that inconsistencies you notice are also seen by senior judges who address them through real-time oversight, ongoing education, and rule clarification.

Where you believe there is an error in the judging system rather than a difference of opinion, follow the formal review process:

1. Wait a minimum of 72 hours after receiving feedback, so you can consider your initial response from a thoughtful standpoint.
2. Email only, as a reply to the message that sent out the feedback, to [email protected].
3. Supply evidence within the rules, results, or feedback forms to support your concern.
4. Allow 7–10 days for a response from Aerialympics leadership.

Consequences

A first lapse in courtesy is a verbal correction, recorded but not penalized. A further lapse after a correction carries a deduction. An abusive, offensive, belittling, or obscene comment or gesture directed at anyone involved in the event carries a larger deduction, and bullying, harassment, or threatening behavior — in person or online — carries a deduction and disqualification of the associated performance.

Some conduct is too serious to be settled by points.

• Where a deduction for bullying, harassment, or threatening behavior is applied, Aerialympics leadership reviews your team's LIVE eligibility.
• Where that review finds against the team, the team is not permitted to participate LIVE for the remainder of the season. That restriction is never lifted mid-season.
• Your team remains eligible to compete In the Wild throughout.
• Before registering for LIVE events the following season, the team must submit a written plan setting out how the behavior will be corrected, which Aerialympics leadership must accept.

Conduct that continues across a season, or that makes an event unsafe, may also result in a performer or team being limited to In the Wild for a probationary period, or not being invited to future events. These decisions are made by Aerialympics leadership after the event and given in writing.

Glossary of event terms

Terms that affect scoring — drops, rotations, hangs, inversions, floorwork, and similar — are defined in the Rubric.

Adjudicator

The person who watches an In the Wild recording as it happens, over a video call, to confirm the performance was recorded in one take and that the crash mat meets specification. An adjudicator is not a judge and does not score. At an Invitational the host studio adjudicates in person instead.

Duet

A performance by two performers at the same time on the same apparatus.

Entry Summary

The list we send back after processing your registration, showing every performer, division and apparatus you have entered. It is the authoritative record: your announcement, your file name, your placings and your medal all follow it. Check it when it arrives and tell us straight away if anything is wrong.

Flight

A variation available in Advanced, All Star and Elite divisions on any apparatus, in which the height of the apparatus changes during the performance. Moving the rig point while a performer is on the apparatus is permitted in Flight and in no other category.

Freeze

The point after which no change of any kind is accepted — not music, not divisions, not names, not ensemble rosters. LIVE entries freeze the Wednesday before an event; In the Wild entries freeze on the Tuesday your video is due.

In the Wild

Remote or virtual performance via adjudicated recording, from anywhere you wish to record.

Invitational

A special type of In the Wild performance managed by a studio that wishes to host other performers or studios for a performance event.

LIVE

In-person performance.

Nationals

The final event of the season.

Parallel

A performance by two performers at the same time on two apparatus of the same kind.

Regional

A competition event taking place during the season, before Nationals.

Rig point

The single anchor an apparatus is suspended from. An apparatus may have two attachment points of its own, provided they join above the apparatus and clip into one rig point. A double-point lyra or a hammock gathered into two loops is still a single-rig-point apparatus. Double-point static trapeze, rigged from two points, is available at Nationals only. Dance trapeze and any other single-point trapeze remain single point. An act performed on two separate apparatus, each on its own rig point, is a Specialty entry.

Solo

A performance by one performer on one apparatus.

Standby call

The call backstage that sends you out to set your props and re-check your apparatus height, shortly before you perform. You return to the standby area afterwards and are not on stage again until the announcer welcomes you.

Team Folder

The shared folder we set up for a Team Program studio, where entries, music and video live for the season.

Version history

All three Season 14 documents carry the same version number and are reissued together. A clarification to any one of them produces a new version of all three, so that a coach, a judge, and a competitor comparing documents can confirm at a glance that they hold the same edition.

The full revision history is published in What’s changed for Season 14, alongside an account of what changed this season and why. If you competed with us last season, start there — it is written for you, and it will tell you in a few minutes what would otherwise take a careful reading of this packet to find.

If this is your first season, you do not need it. Everything you need is here.

The Rubric

Everything that affects a score: what is assessed, how many points are available, what each level is expected to demonstrate, which movements are restricted at each level, and every deduction that may be applied. Judges and competitors read the same text.

Scoring criteria

Every solo, duet, and parallel performance is assessed against four scored criteria, with deductions applied separately. Ensembles are assessed against a different set of five criteria, set out after these.

Difficulty

• Difficulty of individual moves
• Difficulty of combinations
• Difficulty and uniqueness of transitions

Assessed against the expected execution of moves on that apparatus at that level.

Difficulty is what the act attempted. Technical is how it went. Score here on the demand of the content — the moves chosen, how they are combined, and what the transitions ask for. A hard sequence performed shakily is still hard: reflect the shakiness in Technical rather than marking the difficulty down. Scoring the same wobble in both places charges a performer twice for it.

Difficulty is always graded against the expectations of the level entered, never against the hardest thing anyone has ever done.

Technical

• Intentional lines
• Controlled toes, pointed or flexed
• Control of the apparatus

Neatness, control of feet and legs, and intentional movement throughout.

Intentionality. Technical assesses whether the shapes in an act are chosen and held, not whether they match one aesthetic. Aerial covers every genre. A pointed foot and a long straight line are right in a lyrical piece; a flexed foot and a deliberate angle are right in a clown piece, a character piece, or a contemporary one. Neither is worth more than the other.

What is assessed is whether the shape was chosen. A flexed foot that is flexed the same way each time, and that serves the piece, is controlled. A foot that is flexed because nobody was thinking about it is not, and the difference is usually visible in whether it repeats. The same applies to lines: an angle held with intent is a line; a limb that drifts is not.

Score what the act is reaching for, and how consistently it gets there.

Artistry

• Flow between tricks, spins, and floor-to-apparatus movement, and musicality
• Stage presence throughout, with character, story, and emotion

A story does not have to be a narrative. A plot with a beginning, middle and end is one way to do this and not the only one. A consistent character, a single sustained emotion, or a clear quality of movement carried from beginning to end all count. What is assessed is whether something holds the act together beyond the order of the skills.

Novice is the exception, deliberately. A Novice act is not expected to carry a storyline or an arc, and is not scored down for lacking one. At that level, assess flow and whether the act holds a consistent mood.

Composition

• Balance of the program across tricks, spins, strength, and flexibility
• Variety of movement
• Effectiveness of the interpretation of the music

The program as a whole: how it is built, how it is paced, and how it uses its music.

Composition is not a second Difficulty score. Whether the act contains hard enough skills belongs in Difficulty. What belongs here is the MIX — whether the act spreads across tricks, spins, strength, and flexibility or leans on one — whether it repeats itself, and what it does with the music it chose.

Two of these sub-elements are performance judgments, not structural ones. The balance and arc of an act, and its interpretation of the music, are as much about the show as anything scored under Artistry.

Elite

Elite uses three of the four criteria used everywhere else — Difficulty, Technical, and Composition — with Artistry replaced by Impact, and with the weightings redistributed. Difficulty carries the most.

What separates acts at Elite is technical ambition and spectacle, not story and character. A visually electric, high-difficulty act should place above a beautifully told story. That is the whole point of the division, and it is why it exists alongside All Star rather than above it.

The total is 135 points per judge, the same as All Star, so the two are directly comparable.

Elite runs on All Star's rules. Performance time, floorwork allowance, restricted moves, required content, and every deduction are the same as All Star. Only the judging criteria differ.

Impact — Elite only

• Command of the space
• Use of height and amplitude
• Moments that land

Whether the act creates moments an audience remembers. This is not story or character — it is physical presence, the use of the full vertical space, and genuine wow. A technically clean act that stays small scores low here whatever its execution.

Impact is never a reward for taking risk. A spectacular act and a safe act are not opposites, and nothing in this division asks a performer to attempt anything they are not ready for. Score the effect on the room, not the danger to the performer.

Deductions

Deductions are separate from points not awarded. Every deduction must cite the applicable rule and include an explanation of why it was applied. The full deduction schedule appears later in this document.

Points not awarded are not a deduction

A score reflects what the performance showed against a criterion. A performer who scores 8 out of 12 on Difficulty was assessed at 8. Nothing was taken away from them.

A deduction is a separate subtraction from the total, applied for a specific named infraction from the schedule below, after the criteria have been scored. Every deduction cites a rule and appears in the performer's feedback with a reason.

If your feedback shows no deduction, none was applied — however low a criterion scored.

Points available

A Flight act scores on the same points as the level it belongs to. Elite totals the same 135 as All Star, so an Elite score and an All Star score are directly comparable.

Every division is evaluated by a panel of at least three judges.

Judging is normally done from video, remotely. That lets us draw on the most knowledgeable judges wherever they are, so every performance is scored by people who know the apparatus well rather than by whoever happens to be in the building. The only exception is Nationals, where some judging may take place in person.

Level expectations

Level should represent both the difficulty of the skills chosen and how well they are performed.

Flight

Flight is a variation, not an apparatus. The height of the apparatus changes during the performance, using a motor or hand-operated pulley. It may be applied to any apparatus, and is available at Advanced, All Star and Elite only — at every other level the height may be changed only while the performer is off the apparatus.

Operation. At LIVE events a rigger operates the height change from verbal cues, which are not rehearsed. Never the performer, never a team member. At regionals the host studio’s riggers operate their own rigs and nobody else does. At Nationals a coach may operate the motor for their own act where the head rigger is satisfied they can; there is a set demonstration time, a coach demonstrates once and that carries across seasons, and the decision is final with no appeal on the day. Qualifying costs $30, charged once. A coach operating may work from the performance directly or from cues given by someone else.

Cues. The act designates one person to give them, and that person is expected to be at the motor in time. At Nationals they require backstage access.

Scoring. Flight acts are judged against the standard criteria and point totals for their level, in their own division, never against non-Flight acts. There is no minimum number of height changes.

Duets, parallels, and ensembles

Duets and parallels

A duet is two performers sharing one apparatus. A parallel is two performers on separate apparatus of the same kind. The expectations below apply to both; the apparatus rules that follow differ.

In addition to the expectations above, both are expected to demonstrate:

• Both synchronized movement and movement that is not synchronized — together in a duet, complementary or coordinated in a parallel
• Unique and smooth transitions appropriate for the level
• A mix of strength and flexibility moves

Mixed levels. Performers of different skill levels may compete in a division reflecting their combined ability, but no lower than one level below the more competent performer's solo level on that apparatus. For example, if one performer is All Star and the other is Competitive, the act must compete in either Advanced or All Star.

Duets — base and flyer work

A duet may include base and flyer skills in which the performers take each other’s weight or work in sustained contact, and one performer may be primarily base and the other primarily flyer. This is not required at any level. A duet built on synchronized and complementary work without base and flyer content is not penalised for it, and is scored against the same criteria as any other duet.

Parallels — shared apparatus

Parallels are evaluated against the apparatus criteria above. Performers may swap apparatus during the performance but may not share a single apparatus for longer than the time shown for their level.

Ensembles

Every ensemble, whatever its size, competes at Level 1 or Level 2. More than half the performers at Novice, Intermediate, or Competitive makes it Level 1; half or more at Advanced or All Star makes it Level 2. Both levels are scored on the same 100 points, so you do not need to know which level you are looking at in order to score it.

Everyone performing on stage is part of the ensemble, whether or not they ever mount an apparatus. There are no human props in an ensemble — a cast member whose whole role is on the ground is a performer, counts toward the ensemble size, and appears on the roster. Coaches and other functional helpers are unaffected: spotting, handling props, throwing a mat, assisting a mount or dismount, managing Spanish web or spinning a performer are work rather than performance, and do not make someone part of the cast — unless those activities are worked into the choreography in a performing way, in which case that person is performing and counts as cast.

Score the piece, not the people. An ensemble is judged as a whole. Consider the effectiveness of the piece rather than tracking breaks in technique performer by performer. Featured performers may be weighted more heavily than chorus performers when you assign points, because their work is what the piece is built around.

Ensembles are scored on five criteria of their own rather than the four used for solos, and feedback is written on all five, as it would be on the four for a solo. Three of the five have no equivalent in the solo rubric, so read them before your first ensemble.

Floorwork works differently for ensembles. Individual performers have no floorwork limit; the limit is on the group. See Floorwork.

Scoring criteria for ensembles

An ensemble is not a group of solos happening at the same time, and it is not scored as one. The four solo criteria were written for a single performer on a single apparatus: they ask about that performer's lines, their toes, the difficulty of their individual moves. Applied to a cast of twelve, they measure the wrong things — and they reward giving the hardest work to your strongest performer rather than building a piece for everyone in it.

Ensembles are therefore scored against five criteria of their own, out of 100 points per judge. Each criterion is worth 20 points, made up of two sub-elements worth 10 each. Level 1 and Level 2 ensembles are scored on the same 100 points; the level decides who an ensemble is placed against, not how it is scored.

The total of 100 is deliberate. An ensemble score is not comparable to a solo score and should not look as though it is.

Cohesion

• Synchronization and unison where intended
• Reads as one piece rather than several solos

Whether the act holds together. Where performers are meant to move as one, are they together — in timing, in shape, in quality of movement? Where they are deliberately doing different things, does that read as a choice rather than as drift?

Judge what the piece is reaching for, not a single standard of uniformity. An ensemble built on canon, counterpoint, or deliberate contrast is not less cohesive than one built on unison; it is cohesive in a different way. What loses points is a cast that looks like it is not in the same piece.

Use of the stage

• Formations, levels, and depth
• Entrances, exits, and coverage of the space

Whether the whole space is used, and used with intent. Look for shape and change in the formations, for performers working at different heights rather than all at the same one, and for depth as well as width — an ensemble that lives in a single line across the front of the stage is using a fraction of what it has.

Entrances and exits are part of this. How performers arrive and leave, and whether the stage empties and fills with purpose, is composition rather than housekeeping.

Use of the cast

• Collective standard of execution
• Purposeful use of the whole cast

The standard of the work across the cast as a whole, not the standard of its strongest member. Assess what the group achieves together: the general quality of line, control, and cleanliness across everyone on stage.

Whether the piece uses everyone in it. A featured performer is not a fault, and neither is a chorus — both are choices, and a well-used chorus is meaningful work. What loses points is a cast where some performers have nothing to do: standing in place waiting for their turn on an apparatus, or filling space without contributing to the piece.

This is not a demand that every performer does the same thing, or the hardest thing. A less experienced performer given work that suits them is being used well. What is assessed is whether the act was built for the cast it has, rather than around one or two of them with the rest arranged behind.

Composition and transitions

• Structure and build of the piece
• Transitions between apparatus, formations, and sections

Whether the piece is built, and whether it goes somewhere. Does it have a shape — an opening, development, and an ending that lands — or is it a sequence of things that happen in an order?

Transitions carry more weight in an ensemble than in a solo, because there are more of them and they are harder. Moving twelve people between formations, or a cast between apparatus, is choreography in its own right. Assess whether transitions are covered and intentional or whether the piece visibly stops while people reposition.

Show

• Theme and character carried by the whole cast
• Musicality as a group

The thing an audience is actually watching. Is there an idea, a mood, or a story, and is it carried by everyone on stage rather than by one performer while the rest execute?

Musicality as a group is more than being on the beat together. It is whether the ensemble responds to the music as one body — whether the phrasing of the piece follows the phrasing of the score, and whether changes in the music are visible in what the cast does.

How an ensemble score is built

Each of the ten sub-elements is scored out of 10, decimal to one place, using the ratings below. The ten scores are summed to a total of 100 per judge.

Deductions apply to ensembles exactly as they apply to every other performance, at their stated values, and are taken after the criteria are scored.

Assigning points consistently

This guidance sets the standard a score is measured against.

Judging against the level

Performers are judged against the expectations of their level.

• A performer who belongs in their level is expected to score in the Excellent range.
• A performer who appears ready to advance to a higher level soon should score Superior.
• Good or Fair applies only where the performer did not demonstrate the rubric elements throughout the performance.

All Star judging

At All Star, trick difficulty is not the most important factor. That is easy to say and easy to lose sight of with a score sheet in front of you, so here is where it actually shows up.

Story, character, and musicality are scored in four of the eleven sub-elements, across two criteria — not one.

That is 50 points. An All Star act without a story does not simply lose a little Artistry — it loses points in four places at once.

The corresponding truth about difficulty: at All Star, Difficulty is graded against All Star expectations, not against the hardest thing anyone has ever done in All Star. A performer whose skills are genuinely All Star should not score low there for choosing a slightly less demanding sequence that serves the piece because the focus should be on storytelling and character.

The error is most visible when a highly skilled performer's music does not drive the act and could be swapped for any currently popular song. Before finalizing Artistry and Composition at this level, ask:

• Does this performance include a story?
• Does it include a character beyond a single emotion or facial expression?
• Does the choreography reflect and emphasize musical moments?
• Would I expect to see this performance as part of a choreographed professional or pre-professional event?

Deductions and disqualification

The following deductions and grounds for disqualification apply. This list is exhaustive: a judge may not apply a deduction that does not appear here.

How to read this section

• Deduct means the deduction is mandatory once the circumstance applies. The judge decides whether it applies; they do not decide whether to apply it.
• Every deduction is a single figure. No category offers a choice between two numbers. Where a category lists several circumstances, find the one that describes what you saw and apply the figure attached to it. If two circumstances both apply, apply the higher one only — do not add them together.
• Recommend disqualification is used only where this section says so. A judge does not recommend disqualification on their own initiative for a circumstance not listed here.
• Maximum per performance. Where a category states a maximum, that ceiling applies to the whole performance, not to each occurrence.

Safety and the apparatus

Restricted moves

Two tables. The first is the checklist a coach needs: what may not be performed at each level, on each apparatus, and nothing else. The second is what a performance at each level must contain.

Table 1 — Restricted moves

What may not be performed at each level, by apparatus. This table is prohibitions only. A movement not restricted here is permitted, subject to the moves restricted at every level above.

Table 2 — What a performance must contain

Requirements, not restrictions. Nothing here prohibits a movement.

A missing requirement is not a deduction. Nothing in this table has points attached to it, and none of it appears in the deduction schedule. Where a requirement is missing, the performance simply does not earn what it would have earned had the requirement been met — it shows in the score for the category the requirement belongs to, and nowhere else. See Points not awarded are not a deduction.

Where each requirement shows. A missing strength, balance, or flexibility skill shows in Difficulty, and in Composition, which assesses the balance of the program across skill types. An act without a fully composed story shows in Artistry, where character and story are scored, and in Composition, where the interpretation of the music is. An act that does not use the whole apparatus, or that omits a required drop count, shows in Difficulty and in Composition, where variety of movement is assessed.

Some moves are restricted for all performers. Others are restricted by age or level. Moves are restricted for safety reasons and should be taken very seriously.

• Kamikaze drops at any level
• Any drops at the Novice level
• Deadman drop (also known as fish flop or ankle drop) in Novice, Intermediate, or Competitive
• Open drops in Novice, Intermediate, or Competitive
• Neck hangs at any level except performers 18 and over in All Star divisions
• Any other move restricted under a specific division

Deduction guidance. Deduct 5 points per restricted move and recommend disqualification.

Falls and major slips

A fall is when the performer moves from the apparatus to the mat unintentionally and without control. It does not matter whether the performer maintains contact with the apparatus.

Deliberate contact within the choreography is not deducted. A hand placed on the floor to drive a spin or begin a dismount is a choreographic choice, not a slip, and does not incur a deduction. The rows above are for contact the performer did not intend.

Assistance after the performance has ended

Assistance provided after the performance has ended, including a coach helping the performer down from or out of the apparatus, is outside the judged performance and carries no deduction. When a performance ends is defined under Performance time.

Assistance required to exit the apparatus before the performance has ended is assessed under the fall and slip guidance above. There is no separate deduction for a performer requiring assistance, and none may be created.

Crash mat

A crash mat is mandatory for all performers, all ages, all levels, LIVE and In the Wild, without exception. Whenever a performer is suspended in an aerial apparatus and not touching the ground, they must be over a crash mat. On multiple points that means a mat under every point, and under any space the act travels through between them.

The minimum specification is 4' × 4' and 8" deep, and the mat must be intended for or sold as a landing mat or crash mat.

These do not count: inflatables, coil mattresses, panel mats, circular pole mats, and tumble tracks, including when folded or stacked. Any of them may be used in addition to a compliant mat. A pit pillow counts where it sits over high-density foam flooring, and a fully integrated crash mat floor may count but must be demonstrated to competition staff before the first recording.

A mat approved in a previous season remains approved. Approval is decided by the Judge Oversight team, not by an adjudicator or a host studio. Where oversight has further concerns, the submitted video may be shared with subject matter experts outside Aerialympics, who are bound by the same confidentiality as judges.

In the Wild, measurements must be shown on camera with a measuring tape. A team in the Team Program shows it once for the whole season — at the team’s first adjudicated performance, or by emailing us a separate video beforehand — on the understanding that the same or better mats are used all season. Independent performers, and teams not in the Team Program, demonstrate it every time.

Ground-based apparatus. The rules above are written for a performer suspended in an aerial apparatus. A ground-based specialty act must still have matting appropriate to the apparatus and to how the act travels.

Deduction guidance. A performance without a demonstrated mat measurement incurs a 10-point administrative deduction, even where the adjudicator passed the mat during the call. Where the mat does not meet specification, judges are directed to assess deductions. A performer who ignores adjudicator instructions regarding crash mats is disqualified and not judged.

Judges: where you have a concern about a mat, say so in the deduction field. That triggers a Judge Oversight review. Do not apply a deduction for it yourself.

Passing beyond the crash mat

A performer may perform swings, orbital moves, or anything else that travels beyond the standard crash mat, provided additional mats have been arranged in advance and the performer stays over them. A performer over arranged mats has not passed beyond the mat, however far they travel.

A misjudged swing is the first row. An act that repeatedly and predictably leaves the matted area — choreography that only works by travelling past it — is the second, whether it happens once or several times.

Rigging-related issues

Here, rigging means the hardware at the rigging point — typically everything from the swivel up, or from the carabiner up where no swivel is used.

The test is what the performer did, not what might have happened as a result. Gripping rigging hardware or taking weight on it can unscrew a gate, unthread a rescue 8, or cross-load a connector; brushing past it does not. Judge what you can see.

The performer's apparatus and rigging are ultimately their responsibility, and riggers may not be aware of a fault until after the performance.

Non-standard equipment

An apparatus that does not meet the specification for the division entered is judged where it was entered and may incur a deduction under Non-standard equipment. Remote performers are expected to meet these specifications so that performances can be judged consistently.

• Silks. Tied to a single point, connected to a single swivel if desired, attached to a single rig point.
• Hammock (sling). Single point. The fabric may be gathered into two loops that clip into one point above the apparatus; it may not be hung from two separate rig points. Connected to a single swivel if desired.
• Lyra. Single point, double point, or tabless. A double-point lyra has two tabs on the hoop and rigs through a spanset or triangle into one rig point. Connected vertically to a single swivel if desired. Size should be appropriate to the performer's height; mini, giant, and tippy lyras belong in Specialty.
• Specialty, aerial. Must connect to a single terminal rig point, except static trapeze, which may be rigged from two points at Nationals and In the Wild.
• Specialty, ground-based. Must be apparatus-focused or acrobatic in nature, not dance-focused, and circus inspired — for example lollipop, cyr wheel, or circus acro.

Motors and pulleys. Motors and hand-operated pulleys are interchangeable for these rules. What matters is whether the rig point moves while a performer is on the apparatus: if it does, the act is Flight, and Flight is available in Advanced, All Star, and Elite only. Setting a static height before a performance begins is permitted in every category by either method, as is changing height between performances. At many venues, including Nationals, the motor is the standard rig point.

The deduction. Equipment that does not meet the specifications above. The specification determines whether equipment is standard; the deduction below turns on whether the difference was unfair to others in the category.

Deduction guidance. Deduct once for the performance. Because a performance cannot be moved to another division once judging has begun, non-standard equipment is addressed by deduction rather than by recategorizing the entry.

The judgment here is binary: either the difference was unfair to other competitors in the category, or it was not. Where it was, the deduction is 5 points regardless of how far outside the specification the apparatus sat.

Time

Performance time

Performers are not required to use the full time allotted, but the entire act must fit within it.

Time begins when the music starts, and ends when the performer takes a final standing bow, leaves the stage, or the music ends — whichever most clearly indicates the end of the performance. Judges primarily evaluate what happens between the start of the music and the end of the performance, including the bow. The whole act is what is on stage, however, so how the performer enters and exits can be taken into account. An act that ends in the air must come down from the final pose and bow. The descent, the bow and leaving the stage are part of the act even though they fall outside the performance, so a catch, slip or fall on the way down is assessed under Falls and major slips and may be a disqualification. Where something happens on the way on or off, apply the deduction it belongs to rather than a time deduction: a dangerous exit from the apparatus where the act ends in the air is assessed under Falls and major slips, and a costume failure while leaving the stage under Family-Friendly: Costume.

There is a five-second grace period. A performance that runs up to 4 seconds over its allowance incurs no deduction. After that, judges deduct 1 whole point for every 5 seconds over, and a performance that extends 15 seconds or more beyond the allowance is disqualified. For example, a Novice performing 3:00–3:04 incurs nothing; 3:05–3:09 incurs 1 point per judge; 3:10–3:14 incurs 2 points per judge; 3:15 or longer is disqualified.

Excessive floorwork

Floorwork is not required, and no deduction is made for a performance that includes none. Floorwork is any time spent on the ground while not suspended by the apparatus.

All Star is allowed a larger share of floorwork than the levels below it.

In duets and parallels, the allowance applies to each performer separately — each may take the full time.

Ensembles are measured as a group, not performer by performer. There is no individual floorwork allowance in an ensemble: any one performer may spend the entire act on the ground, and a performer who never goes up at all is fine.

What the group must do is keep at least one performer suspended by an apparatus. The whole cast may be on the ground at the same time for no more than 30 seconds in total across the performance. For as long as somebody is in the air, nothing is counting against that 30 seconds, however many others are on the floor.

Suspended means suspended. A performer standing, sitting, or balancing on the ground while holding an apparatus is doing floorwork, not hanging in one. This is the same test used everywhere else in this document, and it applies in every division, not only ensembles.

An act may use a ground apparatus and a rigged apparatus together. A performer competing on both in the same act — a cyr wheel and silks, a rolling globe and lyra, handstand canes and hammock — enters Specialty, ground-based. That is true however much of the act is in the air: mixing in a ground apparatus places the act there.

In every other division, work of that kind on the ground counts as floorwork against the level’s allowance rather than as a second apparatus.

There is a five-second grace period. A performance that exceeds its floorwork allowance by up to 4 seconds incurs no deduction. After that, judges deduct 1 point for every 5 seconds exceeded, and a performance exceeding the allowance by 15 seconds or more is disqualified. For example, exceeding by 0–4 seconds incurs nothing; 5–9 seconds incurs 1 point per judge; 10–14 seconds incurs 2 points per judge; 15 seconds or more is disqualified.

Presentation and eligibility

Family-friendly standards

Three things are assessed against one standard: the music, the costume, and the choreography. Our audiences include children, and our judges come from all over the world, so the standard sits where the strictest reasonable audience member would still be comfortable.

Two tiers apply to all three. A general standard applies to every performer. An additional, stricter standard applies to performers under 18, regardless of level and regardless of coach or parental permission.

Suggestion counts as much as explicit statement in all three. Content that is implied rather than shown still falls outside the standard.

Each of the three is a separate deduction category, capped at 5 points for the performance:

• Family-Friendly: Music and Lyrics
• Family-Friendly: Costume
• Family-Friendly: Choreography

They are separate because they are usually different decisions by different people. A performer's song, their costume, and their choreography can fail independently, and fixing one should not make another free.

Music and lyrics

A bleeped or radio-edit version still counts where the word is well known or can be discerned.

Applies to every performer:

• Profanity
• Derogatory language
• Explicit or suggestive content

Additional standard for performers under 18:

This divides into two weights.

• Not permitted in any degree: sexual content or innuendo, drug use, self-harm.
• Not permitted, and deducted according to how far the song goes: alcohol, cigarette use, violence.

Deduction guidance. Recorded under Family-Friendly: Music and Lyrics. Deduct once for the performance, to a maximum of 5 points.

A time stamp and a quotation of the lyrics in question are required when applying a deduction or a disqualification recommendation.

Costume

Stripping is not permitted in any division. Where clothing is removed in a family-friendly way as part of a storyline, the remaining clothing must meet the minimum requirements below.

• No private part may be visible at any point.
• Bottoms must cover from the navel to the hip crease, front and back, and must not sit lower than the pelvic bones at the start of the routine.
• Tops must cover at least as much as a standard sports bra.
• Costumes must be lined so that the outline of a private part is not visible through the fabric. Check this under stage lighting, not in a mirror at home.
• Performers under 18 must cover the midriff, and may not wear off-the-shoulder styles.

Normal riding up of clothing is understood and is not deducted. A deduction applies where the coverage standard is not met at the start of the routine, or where clothing moves out of the standard during it.

Deduction guidance. Recorded under Family-Friendly: Costume. Deduct once for the performance, to a maximum of 5 points.

Exposure of a private body part is reported and confirmed after the performance. Where it is confirmed as accidental, no deduction applies — the coverage rows above cover a costume that fails the standard, and an accident on top of that is not charged twice.

An exposure judged deliberate is not a costume matter. It is a Code of Conduct violation, the performance is disqualified, and it is not judged.

In the Wild. A performer may record again in the same adjudicated way — in the same session where there is time, or by rescheduling with the adjudicator. Catching it is the performer’s and coach’s responsibility — the adjudicator is watching over a video call and may not have the clearest view.

Costume deductions must include a time stamp in the description.

Exposure of a private body part

Costumes that fit at the start of a season do not always fit later in it, particularly for young performers whose bodies change quickly. An accidental exposure is treated as a problem to be fixed, not as misconduct, and carries no deduction where it is remedied.

In the Wild, catching an exposure is the coach's and the performer's responsibility, not the adjudicator's. The adjudicator is watching over a video call and may not have the clearest view of the performer.

Choreography

Choreography falls outside the standard where it:

• simulates sexual activity, or presents the performer's body sexually — for example grinding, pelvic thrusting, or hands tracing the body in a sexualized way;
• simulates violence against another person, or self-harm;
• depicts drug or alcohol use.

Additional standard for performers under 18: any romantic or sexual framing of a minor performer is outside the standard, including romantic partnering in duets.

Deduction guidance. Recorded under Family-Friendly: Choreography. Deduct once for the performance, to a maximum of 5 points. A costume issue and a choreography issue are deducted separately; a movement is not deducted twice because the costume made it read worse.

Wrong division entered

A performance cannot be moved to another division once judging has begun. An entry in the wrong division is therefore judged where it was entered, and the error is addressed by deduction.

Competing at a level below the performer's evident ability is not covered here; see Sandbagging.

In the Wild only

In the Wild video quality

The recording must show everything from the opening position through the bow, including the descent where the act ends in the air. Where there is no clear ending and the recording simply stops, we can only assume something went wrong that was not meant to be seen.

Judges score what the recording shows them. A performance that cannot be seen clearly cannot be scored fairly, however good it was in the room.

What a usable recording must do

These are requirements. The deductions below map onto them.

• Record horizontally. Judges view on a horizontal screen; a vertical recording wastes most of it.
• Keep the whole performer in frame throughout, from the starting position through the bow.
• Be close enough to see the performer's face, hands, and feet. Judges score expression, grip and line through the hands, and controlled toes; none of that reads from a distant shot.
• Light the performer well enough to read their lines against whatever is behind them.
• Hold the camera still, on a tripod or steady support. Small movements to keep the performer in frame are fine. Do not walk around, and do not change your distance from the performer.
• Keep the music audible, and keep whoever is holding the camera from talking or reacting close to the microphone. An audience cheering from a distance is welcome and does not affect this.
• Perform to the camera as you would to a judge sitting in front of you.

What the recording may contain

A submission contains the performer's name spoken to camera, then the performance through the bow. Nothing else. This is a separate fault from picture quality, and is deducted separately from the table below.

Picture and sound quality

Deduction guidance. Deduct once for the performance.

Directed by others, not applied by judges

Sandbagging

The administrative rules — when a performer is required to move up, when they may drop down, and how to request a level change — are in the Competitor Packet.

Sandbagging is competing at a level below the performer's evident ability. Judges do not apply this deduction. A judge sees one performance in one division; whether a performer belongs at a higher level is a judgment about their ability across divisions, apparatus, and seasons, and only the Judge Oversight team has that view.

What a judge does. Score the performance against the level entered, and record in the deduction field that the performer appears to be competing below their level, with what you saw that led you there. Enter no points with it. Record it in the deduction field, not in the Composition comments.

What Judge Oversight does. Review the performer's record and direct a deduction where one applies. This deduction is applied only where Judge Oversight directs it.

It is directed with care: many performers new to aerial arts have a dance or acrobatic background that gives the appearance of expertise while their familiarity with the apparatus is genuinely limited.

Reproducing another performer's act

Individual skills belong to everybody, and two acts at the same level on the same apparatus will share vocabulary. That is not what this covers. This covers taking another performer's sequence, concept, or act and presenting it as your own.

This is not a judge's call. A judge sees one performance and cannot know it reproduces another. Anyone may report it — a coach, a competitor, a judge, or a member of the public. Aerialympics leadership reviews the report against the recordings of both acts and directs the outcome.

A report must reach us within three weeks of the event. We act on it whenever it arrives inside that window, including after placings have been announced. After three weeks the result stands.

Where the outcome changes a placing, placings are corrected, the website is updated, and medals are sent to the performers who move up.

Repeating your own routine is permitted. There is no requirement that a routine be new to each event, or new to each season. You may compete the same piece at every regional and again at Nationals if you want to, and bringing an act back stronger is a legitimate way to compete rather than something we discourage.

What is not permitted is presenting someone else's work as your own, which is what this deduction covers.

We do not recall a medal. Asking for one back is not enforceable and we will not pretend otherwise. What does change: where a Nationals invitation was earned on the strength of the disqualified performance, that invitation is revoked.

Deductions applied by Aerialympics staff

Most deductions in this document are applied by judges from the recording. A small number are applied by Aerialympics staff or leadership — from what they observe at a LIVE event, or from what they find when a submission is processed. Judges are not asked to assess backstage, conduct, or submission matters and cannot deduct for them.

An administrative deduction is taken once, not once per judge. A judge's deduction is applied by each judge to their own score, so a 2-point judge deduction removes 6 points across a panel of three. An administrative deduction is applied a single time to the final total. Every deduction in this section, and every other deduction applied by Aerialympics staff or leadership rather than by a judge, works that way.

A deduction applied by Aerialympics staff is recorded with the reason and appears in the performer's feedback alongside judge deductions, so the performer and coach can see what it was for. These deductions are included in the oversight audit.

Submissions

Backstage

Props

A prop is anything that is not a permanent part of a costume. Knee pads and shoes are not props.

These are prohibited at LIVE events and may not be used at all: glitter, confetti, shredded paper, feathers, sharp objects, liquid of any kind, and fire. They are prohibited for what they leave behind or the risk they carry, and the prohibition does not depend on how carefully an act uses them.

Anything else is permitted if it can be set within 20 seconds of the standby call, cleared within 20 seconds of the performance ending, and leaves the stage and apparatus as they were found.

The test for cleaning is the clear window. If the stage and apparatus can be returned to performance-ready by hand inside those 20 seconds, nothing is deducted. If they need a broom, a mop, or more time than that, cleaning was required. Torn paper scattered deliberately and gathered up in time is fine; the same paper left in the wings is not.

A costume that sheds is judged on cleaning alone. Stones, sequins, trim or feathers that come off during a performance are treated as anything else left on the stage: if it can be cleared by hand inside the window, nothing is deducted. Shedding is not a prohibited prop, whatever the material.

A costume built to release material is a prop. Where prohibited material is loaded into a costume so that it comes off during the act — glitter, confetti or feathers released by design — that is a prohibited prop, and the fact that it was attached to a costume does not change it.

Code of Conduct

Sanctions beyond a deduction

Some conduct is too serious to be settled by points. These sanctions are decided by Aerialympics leadership after the event and given in writing. They are not deductions and are not applied on the day.

Bullying, harassment, or threatening behavior. Where this deduction is applied, leadership reviews the team's LIVE eligibility. The review is not optional; its outcome is leadership's decision.

Where the review finds against the team, the team is not permitted to participate LIVE for the remainder of the season. A LIVE restriction is never lifted mid-season. It runs to the end of the season regardless of a corrective plan being submitted, accepted, or acted on in the meantime. The team remains eligible to compete In the Wild throughout.

Before the team may register for LIVE events in the following season, it must submit a written plan setting out how the behavior will be corrected, and that plan must be accepted by Aerialympics leadership.

Conduct that continues across a season, or that makes an event unsafe. A performer or team may be limited to In the Wild for a probationary period, or not invited to future events.

Ratings by level

How a score is built

Each of the four criteria is scored once per sub-element, using the ratings below, and the results are summed. The sub-elements are the bullets listed under Scoring criteria above:

• Difficulty — 3 sub-elements: individual moves, combinations, transitions
• Technical — 3 sub-elements: intentional lines, controlled toes, control of the apparatus
• Artistry — 2 sub-elements: flow and musicality, stage presence with character and emotion
• Composition — 3 sub-elements: balance of program, variety of movement, interpretation of the music

So a Novice score of 5.0 in each Difficulty sub-element contributes 15 points, and the four criteria sum to the per-level totals in the Points available section.

Ensembles are scored differently. They use five criteria of their own, out of 100 points per judge, on the same 100 whether the ensemble is Level 1 or Level 2. The ratings and criteria are set out in Scoring criteria for ensembles.

Novice — 58 points per judge

Difficulty — 5.0 per sub-element × 3 = 15 points

Technical — 5.0 per sub-element × 3 = 15 points

Artistry — 5.0 per sub-element × 2 = 10 points

Composition — 6.0 per sub-element × 3 = 18 points

Intermediate — 80 points per judge

Difficulty — 7.0 per sub-element × 3 = 21 points

Technical — 7.0 per sub-element × 3 = 21 points

Artistry — 7.0 per sub-element × 2 = 14 points

Composition — 8.0 per sub-element × 3 = 24 points

Competitive — 80 points per judge

Difficulty — 7.0 per sub-element × 3 = 21 points

Technical — 7.0 per sub-element × 3 = 21 points

Artistry — 7.0 per sub-element × 2 = 14 points

Composition — 8.0 per sub-element × 3 = 24 points

Advanced — 102 points per judge

Difficulty — 9.0 per sub-element × 3 = 27 points

Technical — 9.0 per sub-element × 3 = 27 points

Artistry — 9.0 per sub-element × 2 = 18 points

Composition — 10.0 per sub-element × 3 = 30 points

All Star — 135 points per judge

Difficulty — 12.0 per sub-element × 3 = 36 points

Technical — 12.0 per sub-element × 3 = 36 points

Artistry — 12.0 per sub-element × 2 = 24 points

Composition — 13.0 per sub-element × 3 = 39 points

Elite — 135 points per judge

Elite is All Star with Artistry replaced by Impact and the weightings redistributed. Everything else — performance time, floorwork, restricted moves, required content, and every deduction — is the same as All Star.

Difficulty — 15.0 per sub-element × 3 = 45 points

Scored on what is in front of you rather than against a fixed skill table. All Star’s restricted moves still apply; a restricted move is a deduction, as everywhere else.

Technical — 12.0 per sub-element × 3 = 36 points

Impact — 9.0 per sub-element × 3 = 27 points

Composition — 9.0 per sub-element × 3 = 27 points

A performer who attempts a demanding skill and lands it with a minor imperfection in form should not be marked down as heavily as one who executes modest skills cleanly. Reflect the imperfection in Technical. Do not suppress the Difficulty score for a skill that was hard and mostly clean. This is the same separation stated for every other level — Difficulty is what the act attempted, Technical is how it went — and it matters most here, because Elite is where the hardest work is attempted.

Deductions apply at Elite exactly as they apply everywhere else, at their stated values.

Glossary of scored terms

Ankle drop, Beat, Belay, Dive, Footlock, Knee/ankle/heel/toe hangs, Low bar, Multi-directional drop, Roll, Slide, Spanset, Spanset inversion, Strength/balance/flexibility skills, and Wrap are defined here for the first time. Each was already used in the restriction tables without ever being defined.

These definitions govern the tables and deduction categories above. Terms relating to events, formats, and registration are defined in the Competitor Packet.

Ankle drop

A drop caught by the ankles, also known as a deadman drop or fish flop.

Beat

A movement in which the performer swings the body to generate momentum, then uses that momentum to travel, rotate, or change position on the apparatus. For judging purposes, a beat must be repeated at least once. A single swing used to achieve a movement — a kip, for example — is momentum used to complete a skill rather than a choreographed element, and does not count as a beat.

Belay

A wrap that takes the performer's weight around the body, at the torso, hips, or waist, so that they are held by the tension of the fabric rather than by grip. A performer in a belay can rest, let go with both hands, or hold a shaped pose. The belay loop is the part of the fabric bearing the weight.

Direction change

A move from forward to backward, forward or backward to sideways or rolling, including stacked drops as in a bomb over a star drop. It does not include sitting up after a drop's momentum has ended, which requires different muscle engagement.

Dive

A dynamic movement in which the performer deliberately exits a secured wrap, traveling forwards or backwards, turns over in the air, and re-catches the apparatus on the far side. Also called a salto or a dive roll. Roll ups and controlled unrolls are not dives.

Double drop

A drop containing two or more drop elements, whether they run together or with a pause between them. A second element means the descent is arrested and then resumed, whether or not the performer re-wraps or changes grip. A drop that descends as a single sequence is a single drop however far it travels. Also called a stacked drop, a stacking drop, or a layered drop. A pause between the elements does not make a double drop into two single drops and does not lift the restriction: where a level restricts double drops, the paused version is restricted too. The pause asks the performer to stop at a set point under pressure rather than progress through the drop, which is a harder demand and not a safer one.

Drop

A movement that includes an element of downward acceleration due to gravity. Roll ups and controlled unrolls are not drops or dives. An intentional dismount is not a drop.

Fall

When a performer moves from the apparatus to the mat or floor unintentionally and without control. It does not matter whether the performer maintains contact with the apparatus.

Floorwork

Any time spent on the ground while not suspended by the apparatus.

Footlock

A wrap of the apparatus around the foot and ankle that takes the performer's weight, leaving the hands free. Used on silks, hammock, and rope. Where a restriction names a footlock as an exception, it means the performer's weight is being carried there rather than by the restricted position.

Hang

The performer's weight is on a specific body part such that if that body part came off the apparatus it would likely result in a fall. Being suspended by a wrap does not count as a hang.

Human props

People who appear onstage in an act without being aerialists in it. Everyone on stage is part of the act and is expected to behave in a way consistent with their role. There are two roles:

• Human props take part in the act. They should be in costume and have defined choreography.
• Coaches and other functional helpers work rather than perform — spotting, handling props, throwing a mat, assisting a mount or dismount, managing Spanish web, or spinning a performer.

The line is the apparatus: a helper does not get on it. Anyone who does is a performer, and the act belongs in a duet, parallel, or ensemble division. Ensembles are the exception: everyone performing on stage in an ensemble is part of the cast whether they mount or not, so an ensemble has no human props. Functional helpers remain functional helpers. A helper on the ground does not change the division entered, is not the performer doing floorwork, does not count toward the floorwork allowance, and is not scored.

Inversion

The action of lifting the hips over the head under the performer's own support. Being carried into an inverted position while fully supported by the apparatus — for example, seated in a backpack or similar wrap in hammock — is not an inversion, and is not restricted at any level. A performer can be in an inverted shape without having performed an inversion.

Kamikaze drop

Entirely restricted at all levels and under all circumstances. Performing one incurs 5 points and a disqualification recommendation, as set out under Restricted moves.

Knee, ankle, heel, and toe hangs

Hangs named for the body part carrying the weight, and read against the definition of Hang above. A knee hang holds at the back of the knee; an ankle hang at the ankle; a heel hang at the back of the heel; a toe hang at the toes or the top of the foot. Each is restricted only where the tables say so, and by name — a restriction on one is not a restriction on the others.

Low bar

The bottom of the lyra hoop, opposite the top bar. Standing on the low bar means supporting body weight on the feet there, whether upright, squatting, or crouching.

Multi-directional drop

A drop containing more than one direction change. See Direction change.

Neck hang

A hang in which all or almost all of the performer's weight is supported by the neck. Neck hangs are permitted only for performers aged 18 and over, in All Star divisions. They are restricted at every other level and at every age below 18. Neck hangs supported by hands on silks or a similar apparatus are restricted because of unsafe practices observed in performance.

Open drop

A drop where no wrap catches the performer at the bottom, so that nothing but the performer's own grip stops them and, if the drop is not executed properly, nothing stops them but the mat. This includes a 360 with thigh wraps, whether or not the performer starts with the tails in their hands, because the performer comes completely out of the thigh wraps over the course of the drop. It also includes inlocates.

Props

Anything that is not a permanent part of the competitor's costume. This does not include knee pads and shoes.

Release

A drop in which the performer intentionally lets go of the apparatus entirely and must catch it again, so that the drop depends on hand-eye coordination rather than on grip. Every release is an open drop; not every open drop is a release. A drop that ends without a wrap but with the performer's hands never leaving the apparatus is an open drop and not a release.

Roll

A movement in which the performer rotates around the apparatus, or around their own axis while in contact with it, remaining in contact throughout.

Rotation

A 360 movement that stays on the same plane. For example, head-up diving or dropping to a head-up position to finish a skill, or rolling from a face-up to a face-up position.

Secured

Held to the apparatus by something that would arrest a fall if the feet came off the point — a wrap of fabric, a limb hooked through or around the apparatus, or a closed grip on a bar. Contact that would not hold the performer's weight is not being secured — a hand resting on a surface, or fingertips steadying a balance.

Single rotation

A drop or dive that moves through no more than 360 degrees without moving or twisting through another axis of movement.

Slack drop

Performed on soft or flexible apparatuses, involving gathering material in the hands, with wraps, or by blocking with a body part, then dropping or quickly sliding into the bottom of the apparatus or wrap. An inverted slack drop involves the performer being upside down during the downward portion of the skill.

Slide

A descent in which the performer travels down the apparatus while maintaining contact with it, controlled by friction or grip rather than by a wrap.

Spanset

The webbing sling or rope above a lyra, connecting the hoop to the rig point. Where the tables require or restrict use of the spanset, they mean work performed on that webbing sling above the hoop rather than on the hoop itself.

Spanset inversion

On lyra, an inversion performed using the spanset or rope above the hoop as one would on silks or rope. Restricted where the tables say so. An inversion performed inside the spanset, as in hammock, is not a spanset inversion and is permitted.

Standing on the top bar

Supporting body weight on the feet on the upper bar of the lyra, whether upright, squatting, or crouching. Contact with the top bar that does not involve standing on it — touching it, gripping it, hanging from it, or hanging by the knees — is permitted at any level, unless that level's apparatus guidelines restrict it specifically.

Strength, balance, and flexibility skills

The three skill types a performance is required to demonstrate where the tables say so. A strength skill is achieved or held by muscular effort against gravity — a press, a lever, a slow controlled lift. A balance skill is held by controlling the body's position over its point of support rather than by grip or wrap. A flexibility skill shows range of motion held under control, such as a split or a backbend. One movement may demonstrate more than one of the three; where it clearly does, it counts for each.

Stripping

Removal of clothing with sexually implied intent.

Wrap

Apparatus material passed around part of the body so that it holds the performer's weight by tension rather than by grip. A performer is in a wrap for as long as that material would arrest a fall if the hands let go, and out of it once it would not. This is the test behind the falls table, the definition of an open drop, and the rule that being suspended by a wrap is not a hang.

Revision history

All three Season 14 documents carry the same version number and are reissued together. A clarification to any one of them produces a new version of all three, so that a coach, a judge, and a competitor comparing documents can confirm at a glance that they hold the same edition.