USA Ninja Challenge 2025 Championships

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Competition Rules & Guidelines

League Membership

  • As of 10/1/24:
    • Age: 6-17 years-old
    • Gym Membership (registered and enrolled in class at any USANC location)
    • Level: 1+
  • League members may register and compete in any Local competitions

Divisions

  • Just for fun
    • Any enrolled USANC students allowed
    • Contact gym directly to register
  • 8U
    • Novice (Level 1-2)
    • Elite (Level 3-6)
  • 12U
    • Novice (Level 1-2)
    • Intermediate (Level 3-4)
    • Elite (Level 5-6)
  • 17U
    • Novice (Level 1-2)
    • Elite (Level 3-6)

Policies

  • Qualification
    • If a ninja in the top 3 has already qualified at a previous Local, the qualification will bump down to the first un-qualified athlete
    • There will be a designated registration window for each Regional
    • If a qualified ninja is not registered by the end of that window, the qualification will bump down to the first un-qualified athlete
  • Dress Code
    • All typical USANC dress code requirements apply
    • At Regionals & Nationals, all participating ninjas will be required to wear shirts that display the USANC logo as well as their location
  • Division
    • If a ninja achieves Level 1 during season and wants to compete, special request must be sent in to USANC for review, and they still must qualify at a local comp
    • Ninjas may compete UP a division, either in Level or Age (or both), but never down
    • Once you compete in a certain division, you are locked in to that division for the rest of the season
      • Ex.  A Level 2, 8 year-old ninja may compete in the U12 Advanced division, but if they find it to be too difficult at their first competition, they cannot switch back down
  • Staff
    • Coaches who fit into the membership qualifications MAY compete in competitions at their own gym, but they MUST run FIRST in their own competition AND must NOT test or be involved in design of course
  • Transgender Policy
    • Transgender athletes are welcome in USANC competitions.  Any transgender athlete competing in USANC Competitions must compete in their gender assigned at birth and follow The Fairness in Women's Sports Act: 461 (US Federal Act)
    • The Act requires that athletic teams or sports be expressly designated as for males, men or boys; females, women or girls, or coed or mixed.  It also requires that teams or sports designated for females must not be open to “students of the male sex.”  
    • Competitions hosted in any state whose guidelines, acts or laws supersede The Fairness in Women's Sports Act: 461, will conform to that state's guidelines, acts or laws concerning the eligibility and class registration of transgender athletes.

Course Requirements

  • 10-15 obstacles
  • Time limit between 2:30-3:00
  • 1 & 2 pt obstacles
  • At least 3 USANC Level obstacles
    • Beginner course = Level 2,  Advanced course = Level 4,  Expert course = Level 6
  • At least 3 of these advanced obstacles
    • Spinning disk, Fidget spinner, Mega / mini throwback, Splat, Stationary lache, Trapeze bars, Clock hands, Lumberjack doors
    • Other obstacles MAY be added to this list upon request & review

Judging

Host gyms are required to have 4 officials for each run

  • Head Judge
    • The lead referee who runs with each athlete and makes the ‘Clear,’ ‘Fall,’ and ‘1 point’ calls
    • The Head Judge makes the final call on all points
  • Assistant Judge
    • A secondary ref with a backup timer, in case the head judge misses any calls or the main ninja master timer fails
  • Points Keeper
    • Person in charge of running the Ninja Master app on the day of the event, where the time & points are recorded for each athlete
  • Video Recorder
    • Person in charge or recording every run for review purposes
    • Advice: make sure whatever device they are recording on has enough storage

A walk through must be completed at the beginning of each wave, including a clear explanation and complete demonstration of each obstacle
An awards ceremony must be held at the completion of each division

Coaching

  • Only USANC certified Lead Instructors are allowed on the gym floor, unless otherwise approved by USANC
  • They will be required to display their badge to the host gym upon arrival

Scoring

We follow the UNAA point system for scoring:

  • There will be a maximum of 3 Fails per course. After 3 Fails, the athlete’s run is over. They may finish the course but will not receive a score for the remaining obstacles. Their time will end with the last Obstacle Completed. Each Obstacle will be worth 1 point for full completion. For more difficult obstacles, each obstacle can be worth 2 points and have a halfway point, which must be clearly marked with a tape mark or other. Completion of halfway is worth 1 point and is NOT considered a Fail. But a 1 point Completion.
  • Score is then determined by points gained, and time of full run. Points are the highest priority when determining final score with time being a second priority. Most points, with the fastest time wins. We no longer will offer a RETRY. Finish or fail an obstacle and move on to the next.
  • Some examples of halfway mark: worth 1 point.
    • Salmon ladder – 3 rungs out of 6 rungs
    • Peg Board – Peg in the 10th hole out of 20 holes
    • 16 ft Rope Climb – hand goes past 8ft mark
  • It is up to the discretion of the gym to determine 2-point obstacles, but we Highly recommend trying to incorporate as Many as possible, up to 50% of the course. This is to create boundaries of Fair Play and more opportunities to incorporate harder obstacles without worry of all athletes failing it…. But to push those athletes to attempt those more difficult obstacles. This deters athletes that want to Skip the difficult obstacles but will reward those that at least TRY to get one point.
  • If an athlete times out before completing the last obstacle, time is reverted to the last obstacle completed.
  • ALL athletes must begin at the starting point of each obstacle (i.e. trampoline; box; platform; starting line) before moving on to the next obstacle.
  • What is a Fail?
    • If it is a 1-point obstacle, and they do NOT complete the obstacle, it is a FAIL.
    • If it is a 2-point obstacle, and they do NOT get to the Halfway Mark, it is a FAIL, but if they get to or surpass the halfway mark and fall before completing the obstacle, it is NOT a fail. It is awarded as a 1-point completion. Complete obstacle, 2 points.