Rules

Stage 1 - Qualification

Same rules apply for qualification stage of National qualifiers, Women’s world qualifier and The Rest of the World qualifier.

1. General

  • You can participate in national qualifier of the country you are registered under in the WFFA app.
  • Athletes who are less than 16 years old on the first day of qualification cannot participate.
  • In the case of dual citizenship, an athlete is only allowed to represent 1 country
  • Follow the timeline and respect the deadlines. If you will miss registration process for your country within WFFA app, you will not be able to participate.
  • Every country has different month of competition. You can be upload videos only in the month your country is selected to participate in.
  • You have 60 seconds to show the best you can do with a ball.
  • Judges are looking for your all-round abilities - show as much as you can from all parts of Freestyle. Flow, tricks connection and style are also considered.
  • Avoid breaking your flow with unnecessary touches which are not tricks. Connect all tricks with the least amount of touches possible.
  • There is +/-5 seconds tolerance for the end of your set.
  • Time starts running when you touch the ball.
  • The video file can be maximum 80 seconds long to allow you to prepare for your set (minimum 55 seconds).
  • Video cannot be edited in any way – no cuts, no effects, no titles and NO MUSIC!
  • You must film HORIZONTALLY.
  • Video must be recorded in 2021. It must be new, unseen and not uploaded anywhere else (social media, web etc).
  • Just you and a ball - no hands, no accessories, no other people in shot.
  • Drops and mistakes are considered.
  • 3 judges will review your video. Regarding the number of participants your performance will be selected to enter Top 8, Top 16 or Top 32 online battles within your qualifier.


Stage 2 - Battle Zone

Same rules apply for qualification stage of National qualifiers, Women’s world qualifier, The Rest of the World qualifier.

2.1. General

  • Hands are NOT allowed (see point 2.4.)
  • Just you and a ball - no hands, no accessories, no other people in shot.
  • Judges will be picking the winner based on criteria (see point 2.6.1.)
  • Foreign objects cannot be integrated into the battles (E.g. bottles, rope etc.) and must not be displayed in the shot.
  • Participants must be constantly visible on the camera during their performance.
  • Dropped ball after trick attempt = mistake
  • Any action after the time limit will not be included as part of the performance.
  • No outside interference in holding the ball to body (E.g. glue, tape, laces)
  • Video cannot be edited in any way – no cuts, no effects, no titles and NO MUSIC!
  • You must film HORIZONTALLY.
  • Video must be recorded in 2021. It must be new, unseen and not uploaded anywhere else (social media, web etc).
  • Video cannot be used more than once. Each set must be original.

2.2. Tournament structure

  • Battle brackets schedule is based on ranking from qualification.
  • Whoever is ranked lower in the battle will start, this applies for the whole event.
  • Every athlete has 3 rounds of 30s sets within each battle.
  • Each athlete has 12 hours to upload his set. The clock start ticking after opponent uploads his set (push up notification in the app).
  • Each video needs to be verified by app team whether it is in correct format. Each athlete is responsible for his video to be uploaded in time.
  • The winner of the battle is announced after the last round is uploaded and overseen by judging panel.
    2.2.1 National qualifier
    • Battle zone (2nd stage of qualifications) is structured based on number of participants to Top 32, Top 16 or Top 8.
    • Classic battle event structure follows with small and big final at the end.
    • Winner of each qualifier proceeds to Battle Pools.
    2.2.2 The Rest of the World
    • Top 16 athletes are selected and ranked based on their qualification performance.
    • In case of more than 40 participants, Top 32 battle brackets are possibly formed.
    • Classic Top 16/32 event battle grid is structured.
    • Winners of quarter-final battles (4 athletes) proceed to Battle Pools
    2.2.3. Women’s World qualifier
    • Top 30 women from qualification stage advances to the Battle zone
    • Based on the ranking 15 battles are created
    • Winner of each battle proceeds to Top 16 battle grid – Melody Donchet is joining as reigning World champion.
    • Classic battle event structure follows with small and big final at the end.

2.3. Footballs

  • It is prohibited to use more than one ball in battle.
  • No modification to the ball is allowed.

2.4. Usage of hands

  • It is forbidden to touch the ball with hands in battle. No exceptions.
  • ‘Hand’ in this context is defined as “from shoulder to the tip of the fingers”

2.5. Judges

  • Panel of 3 judges chooses winner of each battle after all rounds are uploaded and verified within the app (they see the whole battle as 1 video).
  • Head judge is responsible for the whole panel regarding timing and proper briefing.
  • Each judge score the performance of the athlete based on all criteria.
  • Judges have 1-2 days (based on the round they are in) to score battles.
  • Judges must all have a short explanation detailing why they made the decision they did at the time they announce the winner of a battle. In case they are asked, they must be able to justify their decision.
  • Judges decisions are final and cannot be changed.
  • Judges are strictly not allowed to talk/chat at any time between start of battle and announcement of result of the same battle.
  • Judge is NOT allowed to use the so called “blank vote” or “X” in case he is not sure with result.

2.6. Judging criteria

Judge is picking the winner based on all criteria.

  • Difficulty
    • Technical difficulty of tricks and combinations
    • Dynamics – strength and speed of movements
    • Difficult moves – how difficult in general it is to reach the perfection of the trick
    • Combinations – ability to create difficult connection between tricks
  • Originality
    • Performing with individual style, creativity and variety
    • Variety within battle – ability to not repeat tricks within the battle
    • Variety in general – ability to not repeat tricks in competition
    • Original move – unusual tricks or signature moves
  • Execution
    • Clean and controlled demonstration of each trick
    • Cleanness – clean execution of tricks
    • Control – general control of the ball on stage
    • Flow – ability to move the ball around body with no hesitation
  • Performance
    • Ability to bring entertaining factor into the game
    • Response – reaction to opponents’ round
    • Attitude – creating battle vibe and adding the value to performance
    • Style – the way trick are performed
  • Overall
    • Technical difficulty of tricks and combinations
    • All-round ability – complete freestyler should control all aspects
    • Element of surprise - surprising move which is unexpected due to circumstances
    • Mistakes – dropping the ball or creating mistake

2.7. Additional regulations

All addition regulations such as Protesting, Disrespecting opponent and Penalties are regulated in WFFA official rulebook visible on www.thewffa.org.



Stage 3 - Battle Pools

3.1. General

  • Hands are NOT allowed (see point 2.4.)
  • Just you and a ball - no hands, no accessories, no other people in shot.
  • Judges will be picking the winner based on criteria (see point 2.6.1.)
  • Foreign objects cannot be integrated into the battles (E.g. bottles, rope etc.) and must not be displayed in the shot.
  • Participants must be constantly visible on the camera during their performance.
  • Dropped ball after trick attempt = mistake
  • Any action after the time limit will not be included as part of the performance.
  • No outside interference in holding the ball to body (E.g. glue, tape, laces)
  • Video cannot be edited in any way – no cuts, no effects, no titles and NO MUSIC!
  • You must film HORIZONTALLY.
  • Video must be recorded in 2021. It must be new, unseen and not uploaded anywhere else (social media, web etc).
  • Video cannot be used more than once. Each set must be original.

3.2. Battle Pools structure

  • Online national champions together with Live national champions and top 4 athletes from The Rest of the World are spread into 16 groups by 4 athletes.
  • Ranking within the group is based on their performance through the competition (the level of the athlete is recognized by judges)
  • Athletes battle each other within the group in Battle Zone format.
  • There is 1 point for win, 0 points for loose.
  • Whoever is ranked lower in the battle will start, this applies for the whole event.
  • Every athlete has 3 rounds of 30s sets within each battle.
  • Each athlete has 12 hours to upload his set. The clock start ticking after opponent uploads his set (push up notification in the app).
  • Each video needs to be verified by app team whether it is in correct format. Each athlete is responsible for his video to be uploaded in time.
  • The winner of the battle is announced after the last round is uploaded and overseen by judging panel.
  • Athlete with the most amount of points is advancing to Top 16 live final.
  • In case of same amount of points between 2 or more athletes, second decisive factor is number of votes from judges, third factor is battle result of these 2 athletes.

3.3. Footballs

  • It is prohibited to use more than one ball in battle.
  • No modification to the ball is allowed.

3.4. Usage of hands

  • It is forbidden to touch the ball with hands in battle. No exceptions.
  • ‘Hand’ in this context is defined as “from shoulder to the tip of the fingers”

3.5. Judges

  • Panel of 3 judges chooses winner of each battle after all rounds are uploaded and verified within the app (they see the whole battle as 1 video).
  • Head judge is responsible for the whole panel regarding timing and proper briefing.
  • Each judge score the performance of the athlete based on all criteria.
  • Judges have 1-2 days (based on the round they are in) to score battles.
  • Judges must all have a short explanation detailing why they made the decision they did at the time they announce the winner of a battle. In case they are asked, they must be able to justify their decision.
  • Judges decisions are final and cannot be changed.
  • Judges are strictly not allowed to talk/chat at any time between start of battle and announcement of result of the same battle.
  • Judge is NOT allowed to use the so called “blank vote” or “X” in case he is not sure with result.

3.6. Judging criteria

Each judge is picking the winner based on all criteria.

  • Difficulty
    • Technical difficulty of tricks and combinations
    • Dynamics – strength and speed of movements
    • Difficult moves – how difficult in general it is to reach the perfection of the trick
    • Combinations – ability to create difficult connection between tricks
  • Originality
    • Performing with individual style, creativity and variety
    • Variety within battle – ability to not repeat tricks within the battle
    • Variety in general – ability to not repeat tricks in competition
    • Original move – unusual tricks or signature moves
  • Execution
    • Clean and controlled demonstration of each trick
    • Cleanness – clean execution of tricks
    • Control – general control of the ball on stage
    • Flow – ability to move the ball around body with no hesitation
  • Performance
    • Ability to bring entertaining factor into the game
    • Response – reaction to opponents’ round
    • Attitude – creating battle vibe and adding the value to performance
    • Style – the way trick are performed
  • Overall
    • Technical difficulty of tricks and combinations
    • All-round ability – complete freestyler should control all aspects
    • Element of surprise - surprising move which is unexpected due to circumstances
    • Mistakes – dropping the ball or creating mistake

3.7. Additional regulations

All addition regulations such as Protesting, Disrespecting opponent and Penalties are regulated in WFFA official rulebook visible on www.thewffa.org.



Stage 4 - Live Battles

4.1. General

  • Athletes are meeting on the stage in 1 vs 1 battle format.
  • Hands are NOT allowed (see point 2.4.)
  • Participants can use their own ball (see point 2.2.2)
  • Judges will be picking the winner based on criteria they are representing (see point 2.6.1.).
  • Foreign objects cannot be integrated into the battles (E.g. bottles, rope etc.) and must not be displayed in the shot.
  • Participants must not leave the stage at any time during the battle.
  • No other people are allowed to be brought into the battle.
  • Whilst one participant is performing, the opponent must not perform any moves or infringe upon their show.
  • Dropped ball after trick attempt = mistake.
  • Any action after the time limit will not be included as part of the performance.
  • Changing equipment (shoes, ball) is not allowed during battle.
  • Impersonating of the opponent is allowed, but disrespecting is strictly forbidden. There is a very fine line here and collectively the judges shall decide if anyone is acting inappropriately.

4.2. World Final structure

  • From 16 online Battle Pools by 4 male athletes only the one with the most points gained during the battles is advancing to top 16 Live Battles.
  • From 4 online Battle Pools by 4 female athletes only the one with the most points gained during the battles is advancing to top 8 Live Battles.
  • Ranking of athletes is based on their results from online Battle pools and their performance though the whole online qualifiers.
  • Classic battle event structure follows with small and big final at the end.

4.3. Footballs

  • Every freestyler is allowed to use his/her own football.
  • It is strictly prohibited to use more than one ball in battle.
  • Surface of the ball and tricks performed with it are considered by judges.
  • No outside interference in holding the ball to body (E.g. glue, tape, laces).
  • No modification to ball is allowed.

4.4. Usage of hands

  • It is forbidden to touch the ball with hands in battle with no exception.
  • Every use of hand is considered as mistake.
  • By hand understand “from shoulder to end of fingers”.

4.5. Timing

  • Each battle lasts 3 minutes.
  • Athletes take turns every 30 seconds which means both athletes will have the ball 3 times during every battle.
  • Athlete is announced by host (or sound system) that his round is ending at least 5 seconds in advance.
  • There are additional 2-3 seconds between single rounds for athlete to finish his round and free the space to his opponent.
  • If athlete ends his round earlier opponent has advantage of using this time in his round.

4.6. Judges

  • Panel of 4 judges chooses winner right at the end of each battle based on the criteria they are given. (see point 1.6.1.)
  • There is 1 additional celebrity judge taking care of “Overall” criteria.
  • Head judge is responsible for the whole panel regarding timing and proper briefing.
  • Head judge is responsible for the whole panel regarding timing, distribution of sheets and proper briefing. He is the middle man of event director towards the judging panel.
  • Judges must all have a short explanation detailing why they made the decision they did at the time they announce the winner of a battle. In case they are asked, they must be able to justify their decision.
  • Judges decisions are final and cannot be changed.
  • Judges are strictly not allowed to talk at any time between start of battle and announcement of result of the same battle.
  • Judge is NOT allowed to use the so called “blank vote” or “X” in case he is not sure with result.

4.7. Judging criteria

Each judge is picking the winner based on individual criteria.

  • Difficulty
    • Technical difficulty of tricks and combinations
    • Dynamics – strength and speed of movements
    • Difficult moves – how difficult in general it is to reach the perfection of the trick
    • Combinations – ability to create difficult connection between tricks
  • Originality
    • Performing with individual style, creativity and variety
    • Variety within battle – ability to not repeat tricks within the battle
    • Variety in general – ability to not repeat tricks in competition
    • Original move – unusual tricks or signature moves
  • Execution
    • Clean and controlled demonstration of each trick
    • Cleanness – clean execution of tricks
    • Control – general control of the ball on stage
    • Flow – ability to move the ball around body with no hesitation
  • Performance
    • Ability to bring entertaining factor into the game
    • Response – reaction to opponents’ round
    • Attitude – creating battle vibe and adding the value to performance
    • Style – the way trick are performed
  • Overall
    • Technical difficulty of tricks and combinations
    • All-round ability – complete freestyler should control all aspects
    • Element of surprise - surprising move which is unexpected due to circumstances
    • Mistakes – dropping the ball or creating mistake

4.8. Additional regulations

All addition regulations such as Protesting, Disrespecting opponent and Penalties are regulated in WFFA official rulebook visible on www.thewffa.org.