CHAMPIONSHIP FREESTYLE RULES:
Off-String Division

General Rules:

• Each contestant shall have 3-minutes to perform a freestyle routine.
• The 3-minute time period starts when the music starts.
• No points shall be scored for either Technical Execution or Performance Style for any reason before the music starts, or after the 3-minutes have elapsed.
• Music must be provided at least 24 hours before the start of each division in the format prescribed by the 2008 World Yo-Yo Contest.
• All music must be considered G-rated (appropriate for all audiences) by the 2008 World Yo-Yo Contest. The music shall not contain offensive lyrics including but not limited to: obscenities, ethnic or sexual slurs, violence advocacy, etc. With the concurrence of the Contest Director and the Head Judge, use of inappropriate music by a contestant shall result in their disqualification.
• All actions of a performer must be G-rated and take into account the safety of the audience, facility, and the contestant himself. With the concurrence of the Contest Director and the Head Judge, dangerous or inappropriate behavior by a contestant shall result in their disqualification.
• No assistants are allowed on stage while a contestant is performing.
• All extra yo-yos that are to be used by a contestant shall be ready to use and must be brought on stage, before their freestyle starts on a tray supplied by the Contest.
• Yo-yos that leave the stage during a freestyle shall not be returned to the stage and no others shall be accepted by the contestant from the audience or an assistant. If a contestant uses a yo-yo in violation of this rule, the judges will not award any points for Technical Execution or Performance Style while that yo-yo is in play, but shall deduct points for any mistakes, loss of control restarts, yo-yo replacements, etc...
• No props are allowed without the prior approval of the Contest Director and the Head Judge. Hats are the only pre-approved prop.
• Yo-Yos with Hub Stacks (hub bearings) and similar spinning pog devices are allowed.

Specific Rules for “Off-String” Freestyles:

• Any number of “off-string” yo-yos may be in play at the same time.
• Typical scoring elements include but are not limited to: 1A type string tricks,
• Typical scoring elements include but are not limited to: launches, tosses, catches, regenerations, grinds, intentional bounces off body parts or the stage back to a catch, boingys or other types of bounces between strings.
• Trick elements “performed with a pinched string” or those that are at “less risk” may be scored at a lower value than elements where the yo-yo is launched off the string.
• Similarly, trick elements where the yo-yo is rolling along the string may be scored at a lower value than elements where the yo-yo is launched off the string.