Rules, Divisions, and Coaching Information (please check back for updates)

First of all, thank you for your interest in The Spokane Invitational.  We are very excited to have your participation and support.  The rules of play we have chosen to use are based upon the same rules created and used by Sub League.  We feel Sub league is one of the premier tournaments in the state.  Their rules afford the highest level of safety for the competitor and create an environment for great competition.  Many of us here in Spokane have competed in the Sub League Tournament and had such a positive experience, we wanted to have a similar event on this side of the mountains.  We chose dates for this event that do not conflict with those of Sub League or The Revolution. All that being said, here are the rules of engagement. Thank you to all of you who paved the way for a great submission grappling tournement by coming up with a set of rules that are hands down the fairest around!   

 

Schedule:  

The weigh-ins run a little different since we have adopted the SubLeague rules system. Weigh ins are done just prior (about 20-30 minutes) to the athletes going to the "bull pen" and getting ready to compete. That being said, we are anticipating the following schedule:

 

0830 Doors open and kids weigh-in begins

0900 Kids division starts and Teen division prep begins

1000 Teens Weigh-in begins

1030 Teens division starts and Adults division prep begins

1200 Adult Weigh-in starts

1230 Adult division begins

 

The time line will undoubtedly have to be adjusted somewhat to accommodate day of athletes. In future events we will be doing early registration only, so in those events the times will be locked in stone. But for now, this should give you a guideline. The kids and teens should end about 2 hours after starting. Our system allows us to have multiple matches at the same time and to have matches as rapidly as possible. We really appreciate your interest in this grappling tournament. Thank you for your participation.

 

Rules:

 

Matches take place on a 20ft by 20ft mat ring. Matches start from standing. Competitors who move onto or outside the ring border when standing can (at the discretion of the referee) be restarted standing in the center of the mat. If competitors move outside the ring while engaged on the ground the action may be frozen and  moved back to the center of the mat, in position. Deliberately or repeatedly moving outside the area will be considered as stalling and penalized accordingly.

Ways to win:

Submission (physical and verbal), referees stoppage (medical or rule infringement), corner stops fight.

Time limit:

A match consists of one 4 minute round.

The number of matches in a day that an athlete will have is determined by the number of competitors in the entire division and how that breaks down into pools. It is our goal to get an athlete three to five matches in a day.

Legal Techniques
Beginner, Intermediate , and Youth Divisions

* For youth and teen divisions, chokes and leg locks depend on age and ability. * Leg locks depend on ability level.  Beginners may do a straight ankle / achilles lock only.

Legal Techniques
Advanced Adults

• Any kind of choke (except for using the hand to close the wind pipe)
• Any armbar, shoulder lock, or wrist lock (calf and bicep cutters are legal)
• Only straight ankle / achilles lock, knee bars.
• Twister body locks / Spinal locks are legal .

 *Heel Hooks are still illegal , even in Advanced division*

Illegal Techniques
(unless explicitly stated for that division)

• No twisting leg locks (heel hooks or toe locks)
• No neck cranks
• No "Full Nelson" and "Crucifix"
• No twister body locks / spinal cranks
• No muscle destructions submission -- calf cutters and bicep cutters
• No striking of any kind
• No deliberate slamming of an opponent
• No spiking an opponent onto their head
• No eye gouging or fish hooking
• No grabbing the ears
• No hair pulling
• No finger or toe holds 
• No thumbing
• No scratching and pinching
• No kicking
• No biting
• No touching the groin area
• No knees or elbows on face
• No slippery substances allowed on body or clothing
• No use of T-Shirt in the applying of a submission.
• No passivity or fleeing the mat: deliberately or repeatedly moving outside the designated mat area, stalling or refusing to engage with an opponent. Committing 3 fouls in a match results in an automatic disqualification

 

Good sportsmanship is expected at all times: no spitting, swearing, or disobeying of a referee's verbal command.

The referee has FULL discretion to disqualify a competitor immediately after a serious, dangerous or deliberate foul.


Blood stoppage:

Two minutes will be allowed for a cut to stop bleeding. Medical staff can stop a fight immediately if the injury is determined to be too serious.

Referees:

The referee can stop or restart a match at any time if he considers it necessary for safety reasons. The referee’s decision is final and non-negotiable.

Scoring system:

The tournament runs using a pool format - competitors will face every competitor in his/her pool. There are no points awarded within a match ... points are only awarded based on the outcome of a match: 3 points for a win (submission), 1 point for a draw (1 point goes to each competitor), and 0 for a loss. At the end of the competition the "per match average points" are tallied for each competitor and entered into the table.

T-Shirt Policy
It is preferred that athletes go without a shirt or wear a rashguard. If, however, an athlete chooses to wear a shirt, it must be tight / snug fitting. Loose fitting t-shirts are a health hazard due to the potential of fingers and toes to get wrapped up in the excess material and will not be allowed.

Decision regarding a t-shirts degree of appropriate tightness will be made by the judge and / or a ring referee.

No-Contest (NC) Policy
An athlete must compete in more than 50% of his / her matches for a Per Match Average (PMA) to be calculated and count for placement in a division.

For example, if an athlete is an a pool of 5 competitors, is suppose to compete in 4 matches for the day, wins his two match but gets injured to the point where he can't compete, he is disqualified from placing. His days performs will be calculated as follows:

Match 1: 3 points
Match 2: 3 points
Match 3: NC
Match 4: NC

PMA: 6 / 2 = 3. However, athlete is disqualified for not competing in over 50% of his matches

Same situation, but the athlete wins his first three matches, but is injured to the point where he can't compete in match #4, his days performs will be calculated as follows:

Match 1: 3 points
Match 2: 3 points
Match 3: 3 points
Match 4: NC

PMA: 9 / 3 = 3

If an athlete chooses not to compete, that is not a No-Contest (NC). That is a forfeit and is recorded as a zero (0). A No-Contest (NC) is only recorded when an athlete is physically unable to continue competition.

Coaches credentials (we are allowing day of registration for the May 8th event)
Only coaches that register with the tournament by the time registration closes and sign the coaches responsibilities agreement will receive coaching credentials to the competition floor. For clubs with less than 10 athletes competing, we will only allow 2 formal coaching credentials. For clubs with greater than 10 athletes, we will allow for more credentialed coaches.

See the Coach's Section for more details.

Coaches on the competition floor
A coach is only permitted on the competition floor while actively coaching an athlete who is competing. Only one coach per athlete.

Upon the conclusion of the match, the coach is expected to leave the competition floor area and return to the competitors' warm up area or to the spectators' bleachers. Refusal to do so will result in being escorted out of the event.

Registration - Athletes

All competitors MUST register for the correct ability level and weight categories. At weigh-ins competitors will be given (1) chances to make the weight. It is the competitor's responsibility to show up within their declared weight class.

All pools / brackets will be posted (with a rough schedule) in the main training facility.

Team Competition - Team Points

Athletes will earn team points for their club under the following system:

1 point	Per athlete who competes
2 points	Per athlete earning a submission
3 points	Per athlete earning a 1st place in his / her division

 

 

Divisions

Adult

Experience Levels

Weight Divisions

Weigh-ins occur just prior to the competitors going out to the mat to compete. Scales will be available all day long at the venue as a courtesy to allow athletes to check their weight. However, the ONLY weigh-in that counts is the one in the bullpen, just prior to walking out to the mat to compete.

I	Feather Weight	up to 149
II	Light Weight	150 - 169
III	Middle Weight	170 - 189
IV	Light Heavy Weight	190 - 209
V	Heavy Weight	210 - 229
VI	Super Heavy Weight	230 and up

Female

Class A	up to 134
Class B	135 and 164
Class C	165 and up

* Female and junior weight categories to be confirmed. Females and juniors proposing to enter, please email me with your name and weight (and age for juniors) so appropriate categories can be drawn up.

 

Youth (4 - 13) and Teen (14 - 17)

Youth Division Rules
For safety reasons once a correct position for an arm lock or choke has been achieved, the referee will immediately stop the fight without waiting for the lock to be applied fully. This allows young competitors to learn the basics of submission grappling in a safe environment.

 

• NO twisting leg locks of any kind are allowed.
• No foul tactics will be allowed.

Experience Levels

Division	Experience Level	Legal Techniques
Novice	Under 6 months of training in wrestling or submission wrestling, no wrestlers	arm locks only
Beginner	6 - 12 months experience	arm locks and chokes
Intermediate	12 - 24 months of experience	arm locks, chokes, and straight achilles leg lock
Advanced	2 years or more experience	arm locks, chokes, straight achilles leg lock and straight knee bar

Youth (4 - 13 years old)

Weight Divisions

Weigh-ins occur just prior to the competitors going out to the mat to compete. Scales will be available all day long at the venue as a courtesy to allow athletes to check their weight. However, the ONLY weigh-in that counts is the one in the bullpen, just prior to walking out to the mat to compete.

I	Feather Weight	up to 49
II	Light Weight	50 - 59
III	Welter Weight	60 - 69
IV	Middle Weight	70 - 79
V	Cruiser Weight	80 - 89
VI	Light Heavy Weight	90 - 99
VII	Heavy Weight	100 - 109
VIII	Super Heavy Weight	110 - 124
IX	Super Super Heavy Weight	125 - 139

1. We will match kids based on weight and age to make each division as fair as possible.

2. All children 13 or under that weight over 140 pounds will need to compete in the teens division.

3. We reserve the right to either subdivide or combine the above weight classes the day of the event depending on the turnout.

* We do this to ensure the competitor as many matches as possible.*

 

Teens (14 - 17 years old)

Weight Divisions

Weigh-ins occur just prior to the competitors going out to the mat to compete. Scales will be available all day long at the venue as a courtesy to allow athletes to check their weight. However, the ONLY weigh-in that counts is the one in the bullpen, just prior to walking out to the mat to compete.

I	Feather Weight	up to 114
II	Light Weight	115 - 129
III	Middle Weight	130 - 149
IV	Light Heavy Weight	150 - 169
V	Heavy Weight	170 - 189
VI	Super Heavy Weight	190 and up

1. We will match kids based on weight and age to make each division as fair as possible.

2. We reserve the right to either subdivide or combine the above weight classes the day of the event depending on the turnout.

 * We do this to ensure the competitor as many matches as possible.*

 

Coach's Section

 

Attention Coaches:

Thank you for being the best part of The Spokane Invitational. We hope to provide a competitve and safe atmosphere for you and your athletes to compete.  Please familiarize yourself with the following coaching rules.  We look forward to seeing you at this event.

1. All coaches must complete the coach registration by the event registration deadline. Upon check-in at the event, the coach will be asked to complete a Coach’s Agreement and will receive a special wristband.
2. Unfortunately, after the registration date closes, we won’t be able to provide any additional wristbands.
3. Each team is entitled to one coach. Multiple coaches are allowed for teams with five or more athletes competing (one coach for every five athletes – for example: a team of 17 would be entitled to three coaches). Each coach must still pre-register before the event.
4. Coaches that have a wristband will be allowed in the warm up area, bull pen, and ringside during their athlete’s competition.
5. All coaches, athletes, and attendees are required to conduct themselves in a professional, courteous, and sportsmanlike manner at all times. No negative comments or heckling allowed. The Spokane Invitational Staff will perform their duty to remove negative influences without warning at any time.

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