Rulebook

Point Scoring – Women’s Division

1.2b  Each competitor’s highest scores at any three of the four UST sanctioned events will be counted.  Competitors may compete at more than three events to attain the highest scores possible.

The first place finisher in the women’s division shall earn 1000 points toward their UST total.  Each successive finisher shall receive 90% of the points of the finisher directly above them.  The full point allocation table will be the same as the Men use for events with 26 – 30 competitors.

Results Handling

1.3a If a contest director doesn’t deliver full pro results within 10 days, he/she risks his contest not being counted for that year and future years.

1.3b If a contest director does not deliver his contest results at all, his contest will definitively not be sanctioned by the UST for the following three years. A unanimous vote by the directors is required to waive this automatic three year penalty. After the three year penalty, there is no guarantee that the contest will be re-sanctioned by the UST.

1.3c No points will count for contests with incomplete results. In the case that full professional results are not delivered for whatever reason, partial points for the top placing competitors will not be counted.

Access and Transparency

1.4 Contest directors must grant authorized UST representatives full access at the event for monitoring purposes upon request.

Event Cancellation

1.5 If a contest is cancelled in a given year for any reason short of an Act of God, that contest will need to acquire unanimous support from UST directors to be allowed back on the tour.

Ties

1.6  If two or more competitors tie in the results at any particular event the tied riders shall evenly share the points allocated to the positions for which they tied.

If two or more competitors are tied in the final point tally at the end of the UST season, the UST shall attempt to break the tie by counting additional events (including dropped scores).  If the tie cannot be broken by this methodology, an actual tie will occur and the riders will share the UST placing and any prizes or awards, evenly. In the event two riders tie for 1st place at the end of the season, a tiebreaker heat will be run immediately after the final event to determine the UST title winner.

Standardized Practices and Procedures

1.7  Pursuant to the March 14th, 2014 Pro Rider Petition, the athletes would like event organizers to adhere to the following guidelines for professional heats at all UST sanctioned events to the maximum extent possible.

1.7(a) Pro division heat scoring should be based upon the top 3 waves.
1.7(b) Pro division ride scoring should be judged to the tenth of a point (in an effort to avoid ties).
1.7(c) The pro division should be seeded based upon previous year UST rankings for the first half of the events of the tour and seeded based upon current year UST rankings for the remaining events of the tour (the ‘UST system’).
1.7(d) The pro division should be fully bracketed, based on UST standings (the ‘UST system’).
1.7(e) Where possible within time constraints, we would like to reduce or eliminate 4 man heats. Man on man heats should be used to decide the top 8 (preferred) or top 4 (min). (the ‘UST system’). Please reference the official bracketing guidelines here.
1.7(f) Each UST event should pay a $20 per pro rider sanctioning/media fee to the UST.
1.7(g) In the interest of tour uniformity and making positive changes within professional skimboard competition, the pro riders would generally like the contest organizers to work with the UST to the maximum extent possible.

Priority and Interference

1.8 Contests will adhere to the priority and interference rules outlined in the video embedded below.

Event Selection & Sanctioning Process

1.9 Each season, the United Skim Tour (UST) Board reviews and selects a lineup of sanctioned events for the upcoming tour year. Event inclusion is not automatic and is evaluated annually to ensure the highest possible competitive standard and overall tour experience.

Event organizers interested in hosting a UST-sanctioned contest must submit an official application through the UST Event Submission Page.

When reviewing submissions, the UST Board weighs a variety of factors, including—but not limited to—the following:

• Quality & consistency of wave conditions
• Organizer experience and event execution history
• Event attendance history among professional entrants
• Rider feedback
• Ability to meet UST competitive standards, related to judging, priority, and bracketing guidelines
• Scheduling and geographic balance with overall tour calendar
• Timely delivery of official results

The UST Board reserves the right to adjust the tour schedule from year to year in order to support competitive integrity, athlete experience, and the long-term health of the tour.