Freestyle rules

• A battle runs four rounds of one minute in total — except the final.
• In a 1-on-1 battle, each athlete gets two rounds of one minute.
• In the final, each athlete gets three rounds of one minute.
• After each round there is a 30-second break, used to chalk the bar.
• If you start early, your time begins the moment you touch the bar.

• Four judges, each responsible for one category: Statics, Dynamics, Power Dynamics, Combinations.
• Every judge scores their own category only, not all four.
• A judge has three options: athlete 1, athlete 2, or draw.
• The majority of votes decides the battle.
• On a 2–2 tie, both athletes get one extra round.
• If it is still tied, Statics and Power Dynamics are counted together and the decision is made over three categories: Dynamics, Combinations, and Statics/Power Dynamics combined.
• A final cannot end in a tie.

The battle system means judges compare the two athletes directly, which keeps judging straightforward and fast. It also lets athletes plan: you can build combos against the opponent in front of you.

• A static element counts once it is held for at least two seconds. Under two seconds scores zero in this category.
• The clock starts when you are still in the skill, not while you are getting into it.
• No leg movement during the hold. Legs sinking in slow motion does not count as a hold.
• Form decides the rating: better form scores higher than your opponent.
• The apparatus matters — p-bars, straight bar and floor are rated differently.

Example: Two athletes both show a full planche. One holds a straight line from shoulders to toes with fully extended arms, the other has slightly bent arms and an incomplete line. The first athlete gets the higher rating.

These do not count as static holds:

• A one-arm back lever performed by twisting the body and resting on shoulder support instead of strength. A one-arm back lever has to keep a horizontal body line, not a vertical one.
• A planche in a tucked or advanced tucked position.
• A tuck, advanced tuck, or 45-degree straddle front lever.
• A tucked V-sit.
• A one-leg back lever.

• No momentum. The skill has to be performed from strength.
• Stop in the hold for at least 0.5 seconds before you perform the skill.
• Rating is based on form and difficulty.

Example: An athlete hangs on the straight bar, pulls up into a front lever and goes straight into a front lever pull-up with momentum. That is not a power dynamic move. Pausing in the hold for 0.5 to 1 second first makes it one.

These do not count as power dynamics:

• A 45-degree straddle front lever pull-up.
• A one-leg back lever pull-up.
• A tuck back lever pull-up.
• Any move without full range of motion, meaning the arms bend less than 45 degrees.

Not every skill allows a clean pause, but the ones that matter here do — planche push-ups, front lever pull-ups and handstand push-ups among them.

• Dynamics are skills such as swing 360, swing 540 or shrimp flip.
• Transitions between skills improve the overall performance but are not dynamics.
• Difficulty and form decide the rating.

Telling transitions and dynamics apart matters. Baby giants, normal giants and front rolls are transitions: they carry the flow of a combo, and they are judged as part of the combination category, not as dynamics.

• A combo pulls elements from all categories together.
• It needs at least three dynamic or power dynamic skills and two static skills to be judged in this category.
• The most hybrid combination gets the higher rating.
• Difficulty, order and transitions all affect the rating.

Judgement is based on the difficulty and the sequence of the combined skills, and only against the opponent in front of you — not against earlier battles or other athletes.

Example: Swing 360 into shrimp flip into swing 540 into planche into front lever is harder than shrimp flip into swing 540 into swing 360 into planche into front lever. Same moves, different order, higher difficulty.

If you fail before completing three dynamic or power dynamic and two static moves, the combo breaks. Failing the first move does not count against the combination; failing the second or any later move does. Failing at the very end, even after a complete combo, still affects the combination judge’s decision.

Versatility usually wins. An athlete showing solid dynamics, statics and power dynamics is generally preferred over one showing only power dynamics and statics. But if the first athlete’s dynamics stay basic — a swing 360 or a single 540 — and the second shows high-level statics and power dynamics, the second can take the category.

Our recommendation: show one complete combination on the high bar, then a combination or single skills on the dip bars, floor or another apparatus in the competition.