• Participants can only have one role (coach, judge, or competitor) for each competition unless prior approval has been arranged with the competition coordinator. Requests should be submitted to the competition coordinator at least three weeks in advance of the competition.

• All participants must have a current USAWGF membership. You can register for membership here (website under construction – link coming soon!) at any time, or you can register as part of the registration for a competition.

  • Memberships are valid for the remainder of the calendar year in which they were purchased. (For example, if you purchase a membership in August 2018, it will be valid through December 31, 2018.)

• In general, USAWGF competitions will follow IRV competition regulations. See rhoenrad.com for details. However, in certain circumstances, we will make adjustments to the regulations while preserving the spirit of the competition.

  • We may sanction USAWGF competitions in gyms that are smaller than regulation size. We have sanctioned the following dimensions for USAWGF competitions:

    • Spiral: 11m x 11m competition zone / 1m on each side security zone

    • Straight-line: 23m x 3m competition zone / 1m on each side security zone

  • For the first qualifying competition, USAWGF judges will not deduct for coaches entering the competition zone more than once in a straight-line routine. For subsequent qualifying competitions, this policy may be enforced at the discretion of the head judge. Coaches can check with the head judge in advance of each event.

  • The head judge may choose to allow competitors to complete a routine even after three falls when the competitor would normally be stopped. In this case, the judges will continue judging for the full duration of the routine. For the final qualifying competition to build a Team USA, the head judge should enforce the IRV rule.

Competition Categories

Additional descriptions of each competition category are outlined in the handbook

• Explorer (Gym Wheel)

• Compulsory (Gym Wheel)

• Free Program (Gym Wheel

• Duo (Gym Wheel

• Performer (Gym Wheel)

• Level Testing (Cyr Wheel

• Elite per IRV Standards (Gym and Cyr Wheel): Straight Line, Spiral, Vault, Cyr Technical, Cyr Artistic

 

Athlete Categorization

Additional descriptions of each competition category are outlined in the handbook

• Amateur

• Masters 

• Inclusion

• Novice

• Junior

• Senior

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Athlete Registration

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National Athletes

• USAWGF Membership: All athletes must have a USAWGF Membership for the year in which they are competing. 

  • Registration Due: Prior to the athlete’s first competition of the calendar year

  • Link: Memberships | USA Wheel Gymnastics (USAWGF Website)

  • Fee: $60 (Year 2025)

• Competition Registration: All athletes must complete online registration at least two weeks prior to the date of a national competition. Athletes who register past this deadline risk an increased registration fee up to double the initial entry fee.

  • Registration Due: 2 weeks prior to date of competition

  • Link: 2025 Chicago March Wheel Weekend (Cirques Experience Website)

  • Fee: $200 competition only, $100 if booked with athlete workshops (March 2025)

• Competitive attire: Clothing must be form fitting such that the judging panel can evaluate body alignment. Competitors must show their costumes to the head judge during warm ups if requested

• Music (Senior Gym Wheel STL, Cyr Wheel Technical and Artistic): Music must be submitted minimum 24 hours in advance to either a USA Coach, USA Head Judge, or USA Judge Coordinator. An earlier due date may be assigned at the discretion of competition organizers. Only one piece of music is allowed during the competition (edited versions are allowed). Lyrics are not allowed in Gym Wheel Routines. Lyrics are allowed in Cyr wheel routines and must be appropriate. Music must be checked by the sound technician before the competition.

  • Submission Due: 24 hours prior to date of competition, or earlier 

  • Link: Comp Music: March 2025 (Google Drive Folder)

• Pocket Card: Pocket cards must be submitted minimum 24 hours in advance to either a USA Coach, USA Head Judge, or USA Judge Coordinator. An earlier due date may be assigned at the discretion of competition organizers. Pocket cards must be typed or written legibly. Missing pocket cards will result in a score of 0 for difficulty score, and only receive an execution score. 

  • Submission Due: 24 hours prior to date of competition, or earlier

  • Link: Pocket Cards: March 2025 (Google Drive Folder)

• National Judge and Volunteer Policy: Every national athlete is responsible for securing one judge or volunteer position for each competition. All judges and volunteers must complete registration. Failure to make such arrangements by the time of registration will incur a penalty fee. Athletes who are unable to bring judges or volunteers from their own network may reach out to the USA judging coordinator, who may be able to facilitate matchmaking with available judges from other places. This is on a first come first serve basis and may not be an available option pending availability of local judges. Volunteer roles are also available and will not be filled until all judging panel roles have been filled. All judges and volunteers must comply with the Code of Conduct.

  • Registration Due: 2 weeks prior to date of competition

  • Link: https://forms.gle/6KfbdzyAhq1uvQ6C9 (Google Form)

  • Fee: $0 if a judge/volunteer is registered, otherwise a $180 judge fee will be invoiced. (March 2025).

 

National Judges and Volunteers

• Judge Education: Judges should be educated through USAWGF in each discipline that they will be judging. In general, only educated judges are permitted to judge national and qualifying competitions. However, the competition coordinator may approve non-certified judges as needed to ensure that a competition is fully staffed. We strongly encourage judges to remain active in the wheel community, read all official judging materials, and periodically take a refresher judging course to stay up to date on competition requirements. The refresher course is recommended every 2 years. 

  • Fee: No fee for enrolling in Judge Education Workshops through USAWG (2025)

  • Link: https://forms.gle/6KfbdzyAhq1uvQ6C9 (Google Form)

• Code of Conduct: All judges and volunteers must sign and comply with the code of conduct.

  • Link: USAWGF Judge and Volunteer Code of Conduct

• Competition Registration: 

  • Link: https://forms.gle/6KfbdzyAhq1uvQ6C9 (Google Form)

 

National Coaches

• Certification: Only certified Level 2 coaches are permitted to coach at USAWGF events, unless prior approval has been arranged with the competition coordinator.

• Attire: At the discretion of the competition coordinator, we may allow for more leniency on coaches’ attire. (For example, instead of the regulation zipped-up tracksuit jacket, we may allow a T-shirt/polo.)​​​