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Welcome to the US Tricking League

Introduced in 2023, the UST League is an annual series of Tricking Competitions held throughout the USA. We exist to grow the sport of tricking, grow the community across different regions and progress athletes' capabilities through friendly competition.

US Tricking League Tier Badges

2024 Top 3

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Leaderboard

Points are updated as soon as possible after each battle event! You can view the entire leaderboard for this year and past years on the rankings page.

How it works:

Event Tiers and Point System

League points will be awarded to the individual athletes placing 1st - 8th in any competition. The more events you compete at, the more league points you can earn for yourself. Finally, all the points you earn over the season will be added to your athlete score!

Athletes are encouraged to compete in as many battles as possible, giving them the best chance to qualify for the potential UST Season Finals and earn the title of the 2024 US Tricking Champion.

Vertigo Matus

League events are categorized into tiers 1, 2, and 3. The primary distinction between event tiers is the size and level of the competition. The UST League Committee may adjust an event tier based on the number of competitors to ensure a fair distribution of points.

Tier 1 - Large-bracket events showcasing the highest level of competition. Historically, bigger events with higher prize pools and a wider-reaching audience. Must have more than 16 trickers to qualify.

  • 1st Place - 20 pts

  • 2nd Place - 18 pts

  • 3rd Place - 15 pts

  • 4th Place - 12 pts

  • 5th-8th Place - 10 pts

Tier 2 - Mid-to-large size events geared towards more regionalized communities. Minimum-bracket requirement: 12 trickers.

  • 1st Place - 10 pts

  • 2nd Place - 8 pts

  • 3rd Place - 6 pts

  • 4th Place - 5 pts

  • 5th-8th Place - 3 pts

Tier 3 - First time, relatively new, and/or single-day battle events for local communities.

  • 1st Place - 5 pts

  • 2nd Place - 4 pts

  • 3rd Place - 3 pts

  • 4th Place - 2 pts

  • 5th-8th Place - 1 pt

1 V 1 BATTLE DIVISION

General 1 v 1 Rules

Each battle format pits two tricking athletes head-to-head in a single elimination battle. Regardless of the battle format, a single winner will be determined by a panel of 3 to 5 judges. In the case of a tie, competitors will each have a single pass to determine the battle's winner.

Preliminary Rounds and Seeding

Given sufficient athletes, all events must have a preliminary round to determine who will move on to the Top 16 1 v 1 bracket. Preliminary rounds should divide athletes into randomized groups of 5. Once prelims are completed, judges will independently rank their Top 16. The bracket will be seeded using the athletes' average rankings across all the judges, with the lowest average being placed as the top seed.

Ethan Turner at CATT 2023

Battle Order

The order of the athletes in a battle will be determined by their preliminary round seeding, if applicable. This means that the athlete with the higher seed will choose whether to go first or second in their battle. If there were no prelims, the battle order is determined by rock-paper-scissors.

Formats

The following battle formats and their accompanying prelim formats are valid for UST League events.

Timed Pass-by-Pass

The timed pass-by-pass battle format pits two tricking athletes head-to-head in a three-pass, single-round battle. Each competitor will be allotted three passes to complete, alternating between each competitor, with a time limit of 20 to 45 seconds between passes. The time limit is decided by the gathering host. This means that when Tricker A completes their first pass, Tricker B has the given time limit to start their next pass. If Tricker B does not start within that time limit, Tricker A is allowed to steal the pass. After each athlete has completed their three passes, the judges will decide on a winner.

Prelims

Timed: Athletes are to be given 2 to 3 minutes to showcase as many passes and tricks as they can.

Best of Three Passes

The best-of-three-passes format pits competitors against each other in a minimum best-of-three-rounds battle, where each round consists of a single pass performed by each tricker. After a round is completed, the judges will decide on a winner. The number of rounds can be as few as two if the same tricker wins both rounds and may exceed three in the event of ties. The winner of the battle is determined by whoever has won the most rounds.

Prelims

Passes: Athletes must get in a line, and showcase 2 passes each. No redos are allowed.

Time-Limited

The time-limited format consists of having two athletes facing off against each other in a 1-minute free-for-all round. The timer will start when the first athlete throws a trick. There are no restrictions on how many tricks or passes can be thrown. Aside from the starting tricker, there are no restrictions on who goes when. For example, it is valid if tricker A completes a pass and throws another trick before tricker B moves or even simultaneously as long as tricker A is not purposefully impeding tricker B's ability to trick. Note physical contact must be avoided; deliberate physical contact can disqualify an athlete.

Prelims

Timed: Athletes are to be given 2 to 3 minutes to showcase as many passes and tricks as they can.

Judging Criteria

Difficulty: How difficult are the skills performed?

Execution: How well are the skills performed?

Creativity: How were the combos composed?

Performance: How was the athlete's floor presence?

Volume: How many tricks did the athlete do?

Loopkicks 2023 Judges

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Further Details

What qualifies an event to be ranked?

Equipment

A standard spring floor or foam block floor size of 30' x 20' at minimum is required. Floor surfaces can be puzzle mats, carpets, tatami mats, or any similar type of surface. For athlete safety, the floor must be level and free of debris.

Preliminary Qualifier Round

Given sufficient athletes, all events must have a preliminary round to determine who will move on to the Top 16 or Top 8 1 v 1 bracket. Preliminary rounds should divide athletes into randomized groups of 5. Athletes will demonstrate their ability to battle in either of the following formats:

Athletes will demonstrate their ability to battle in either of the following formats, determined by the event organizer:

  1. For the best of three passes, athletes must get in a line and showcase 2 passes each.
  2. For timed pass-by-pass and time-limited battles, athletes are to be given 2 to 3 minutes to showcase as many passes and tricks as they can.

From there, the judges select the Top 16 or 8 to move on to the 1 v 1 bracket.

1 v 1 Battle Format

Event organizers will decide upon one of the following battle formats to follow:

  1. Timed Pass by Pass
  2. Best of Three Passes
  3. Time-Limited
As an event host, you should disclose to attendees ahead of time which battle format you will be following so that competitors can prepare for the battles.

Team Battles

As of the 2024 season, we will not be tracking the results of any team battle formats. However, we encourage event organizers to still conduct team battles as they'e a fun way to encourage friendly competition and training together!

Judging Criteria

The five categories of judging, difficulty, execution, creativity, performance, and volume are further divided into primary and secondary.

Primary Criteria

These two categories are the primary factors that will determine the winner of a battle.

Difficulty This category only considers WHAT was done and does not consider the execution, style, or cleanliness. Difficulty can be assessed by, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Number of Flips (i.e. Double Back Tuck > Back Tuck)

  2. Number of Rotations (i.e., Double Full Twist > Full Twist)

  3. Number of Variations (i.e., Shuriken Cutter > Boxcutter)

  4. Technicality of Variation (i.e., Gainer Helicoptero > Gainer Mega)

  5. Technicality of Transitions & Stances (Aerial Semi frontswing Raiz > Aerial redirect Raiz)

  6. Quantity of Difficult Tricks within the Combo (i.e. Cheat 1260 - Hook - TDR - Triple Corkscrew > TDR - Triple Corkscrew)

Execution This category only considers HOW the tricks were done, not the difficulty of each trick. Execution can be assessed by, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Kick Height

  2. Power of Kicks

  3. Overall Posture & Positioning

  4. Leg Extension

  5. Speed

  6. Consistency & Flow

  7. Height of Tricks (when applicable)

  8. Overall Aesthetics

Secondary Criteria

Judges should consider these categories as secondary conditions if the primary criteria are insufficient to determine a winner.

Creativity Creativity will be judged on an overall-division basis. An athlete performing the same tricks early on could affect their scoring in later rounds. It also considers the variety of skills, transitions, and variations among the current tricking “meta.” Creativity can be assessed by, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Variety through Base Tricks, Transitions, Stances, and Variations

  2. Rarity of Tricks

  3. Athlete's unique performance of a trick

  4. Uniqueness across combos: does the athlete show excessive repetition of tricks?

Performance This category focuses on the overall battle presence of the athlete. Performance can be assessed by, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Floor Presence

  2. Confidence

  3. Audience engagement

  4. Reaction to opponent's pass

Output/Volume This category focuses on the overall “quantity” of tricks being done. Longer combos will be scored higher than shorter combos (assuming similar difficulty of tricks). Output can be assessed by, but is not limited to, the following:

  1. Number of Tricks in the combo

  2. Stamina & Flow

  3. Overall Energy Expenditure: does the combo start strong but end weakly?

Have an event you want to add?

Fill out the form below to submit your event. Once approved, it will be categorized as a tier 1, 2, or 3 event and added to the calendar!

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