Tournament Point Policies

What are points?

 "Points" are awarded to all Black Belts competing in tournaments and are accumulated throughout the circuit year. The "Top Ten" is a listing of those competitors with the most points. At National Championships
 there is a separate competition for the Top Ten competitors in each Black Belt Top Ten division; they will be
 matched in head-to-head free sparring competition to decide who will be National Champions. In the event of
 a tie in the tenth place position, a match will be held to determine who will advance. Sparring will then continue
 as follows: 1st and 10th, 2nd and 9th, 3rd and 8th, 4th and 7th, 5th and 6th.

Junior Top 10
    The age of the child on May 30 will decide which division their Top Ten points will be awarded for the entire
 tournament year. If the child will turn 17 before May 30th, he/she should compete in the adult division all year
 if he/she is trying to make Top Ten. Junior points will not be carried over into an adult division. Please note,
 Top Ten children's categories are based on age, not rank. Points from one division cannot be carried over to
 another division.

Rank Change
     If a competitor is promoted to higher rank during the tournament year, he/she will not be allowed to carry
 over points to a higher rank division.
If a 16 year old is promoted to 3rd Degree, he must compete as an adult and not with 15 and 16 year old 2nd
 Degree juniors. If he is promoted to 3rd Degree and does not compete in the adult divisions and carries
 enough points to remain in the Top Ten, he can keep his points for year end recognition only if he does not
 compete at his new rank.

Adult & VIP Top 10
     The age of the competitor on May 30th will decide which division they may compete in. If the competitor is
 32 before May 30th, then they should compete in the VIP division for the entire year. Points from one
 division cannot be carried over into another division.

1st Degree Black Belt Recommended (Red/Black)
    A 1st Degree Recommended may compete as red belts if they wish. They will receive no Top Ten points in
the red belt division. If they wish to try for Top Ten points they must compete with the 1st Degree Black Belts.
 The choice of division will be made by the competitor and his/her instructor. However, they may only compete
 in one division per tournament. Either red or black, they cannot compete in both divisions at the same
tournament.

Point Distribution

Competition Points
All competitors will receive the following:
15 points for competing at a regional event.
30 points for competing at a national event.

Placement Points
Points are awarded for both forms and sparring.
1st place - 10 points, 2nd place - 8 points, 3rd place - 6 points, 4th place - 4 points
Double points are awarded at national events:
1st place - 20 points, 2nd place - 16 points, 3rd place - 12 points, 4th place - 8 points

Pro-rated points for smaller divisions
In the event that there are less than 5 competitors in a division, the following applies:

At national tournaments all points are doubled

Tabulation of points
Following each tournament, competition and placement points are added to reflect
the total number of points for each competitor. For example:
Competition                 15
2nd place in forms         8
3rd place in sparring     6
Total points                  29
29 points would then be added to that competitors Top Ten listing.