General Rules

1) No unsportsmanlike conduct will be allowed. You may be disqualified or ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct.

2) No striking, biting, eye gouging, head butting, small joint manipulation (finger or toe locks), hair pulling, grabbing the windpipe, or ear pulling will be permitted.

3) No infectious skin diseases (such as ringworm, staph, and MRSA) or open wounds will be permitted. No lubricants, oils, or lotions of any kind will be permitted on any part of the body or clothing.

4) Competitors will be allowed to continue grappling anywhere on the matted area. If the competitors near the edge of the mat, they will be restarted from the same position, unless the referee is unable to duplicate the position for any reason. In case the referee is unable to duplicate the position, the competitors will restart from a standing position.

5) In Kids and Juvenile (ages 4-17) matches, the referee has the discretion to call a match if the referee believes that a submission will cause immediate damage or injury.

6) In Kids and Juvenile (ages 4-17) matches, no submissions below the waist will be allowed. No Slamming from Guard.

• Qualifying Rounds* = 6 Minutes / 3 Minutes referee’s decision if there is a draw.
• Finals** = 6 Minutes / 3 Minutes referee’s decision if there is a draw.
• If there is a draw, there will be a maximum of 2 Golden Score Over Time rounds. If there is still a draw after 2 OT rounds, the match will be decided by the Referee. The Golden Score Round is 2 minutes long and decided when either contestant scores a submission, a point or an advantage.*On the Qualifying Rounds (6 min), the first 3 minutes are without points. The points are starting after the first 3 minutes until the end of the fight.**On the Finals (8 min), the first 4 minutes are without positive points, but negative points start from the beginning of the fight until the end. The positive points are starting after the first 4 minutes until the end of the fight.

Legal Techniques:

• Any kind of choke (except for using the hand to close the windpipe).
• No use of T-Shirt and no holding the shorts allowed
• Any armbar or shoulder lock

Illegal Techniques:

• “Full Nelson” and “Crucifix”
• No slamming
• No striking of any kind
• 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 groin area
• No hands, knees or elbows on face
• No slippery substances allowed on body or clothing
• No Teepees 
• Kids and Teens 17 years old and younger are not allowed to jump guard

Points (Positive Points):Each position must be established for 3 seconds or more being out of any danger of submission in order for points to be awarded.

• Passing the guard = 3 points
• Knee on stomach = 2 points
• Mount position = 4 points
• Back mount with hooks = 4 pointsTakedown (ends Guard or Half Guard) = 2 points
• Sweeps (ends Guard or Half Guard) = 2 pointsSweep is considered when two fighters are facing each other, change the position from bottom to top and establish it for 3 sec. or more.
• When changing multiple positions, points will be awarded only for the position that has been established for 3 seconds or more.
• Every sweep has to be done in one continuous motion in order to be awarded with points.
• Points for a sweep will be awarded only if the fighter initiates the sweep, not if he is being attacked by his opponent and he ends up on top.
• When passing the guard going straight to mount or knee on the stomach in less than 3 seconds points will be given only for passing the guard.

Penalties (Negative Points):

• A competitor can pull guard only if he/she makes and keeps contact with their opponent.
• When a fighter disengages from contact and starts backing up and avoids engaging again he will be punished by minus point.
• A passive fighter will be warned twice and then will be punished by minus point. The referee will warn the passive player by the words “WARNING PASSIVITY” ? after the first minus given there are not going to be any more warnings and the minus points will be given right-away if the fighter continues to be passive.
• If a fighter is very passive during the first half of the regular fights when there are no minuses, the referees will still give him WARNINGs for passivity and will punish him with a negative point when the second half of the fight starts!
• If two fighters (team-mates) make a fixed fight, they will both be disqualified from the tournament.