FORMAT
The World Spintop Champion will be decided by a 3-minute duration freestyle to music.
The number of finalist players will be limited by the venue. Qualification to the final freestyle will be determined by a 1-minute freestyle open to any player.
SPINTOPS
Any spinning top will be permitted, including fixed-tip, bearing-tip and one-way bearing tip, as well as over-sized tops.
The number of spintops used or available for back-up is not limited, but only tops pre-positioned on stage before the start are to be used and tops that leave the stage during the freestyle may not be returned. All tops used must be wound by the player, no assistance will be permitted.
TECHNICAL SCORE
Points are given for each completed trick, from 1 to 6 points depending on the difficulty, risk and originality.
Combination tricks may be considered as multiple tricks or as one trick of increased difficulty, at the criteria of the judges.
Tricks repeated more than 3 times during the freestyle or regeneration tricks repeated more than 5 consecutive times, will receive lower scoring.
Tricks performed after the extra initial spin from the throw is gone, may receive extra difficulty points.
PERFORMANCE SCORE
The judges will provide a separate score, from 1 to 20 points, to judge the interest of the performance for the audience. This will be by necessity a subjective score taking into account, for example, continuity, variety, and showmanship.
DEDUCTIONS
Drops of the top on the floor will incur in a 1 point deduction per instance. If the player places the top spinning on the floor on purpose, there is no deduction.
Winding a top during the freestyle will incur in a 1 point deduction per instance. Players are encouraged to have their back-up tops wound before the start of the freestyle.
Re-starting a top without winding will not incur in a deduction.
Replacing the top if it was not dropped will not incur in a deduction.
FINAL SCORE
The technical score of each judge will be normalized so their highest scoring player will have 80 points. The judges' normalized scores and performance scores for each player will be added. Finally, each deduction point will be subtracted to obtain the final scores which will determine the World Spintop Champion, as well as second and third place.
SPECIAL TRADITIONAL AWARD
The best score obtained using only traditional spinning tops will determine the TRADITIONAL SPINTOP CHAMPION.
A traditional top is defined as one with the body made of solid wood and has a fixed tip.
MUSIC
Each player will supply music for their performance. Music is not mandatory for the 1 minute qualification freestyle. All music must be considered G rated (appropriate for all audiences). Performers with inappropriate music (obscenities, ethnic or sexual slurs, etc.) may be disqualified. If you are unsure about your music, a judge will be available to listen to your music and make sure it is appropriate.