Athlete Application

IN-DEPTH RULE SET:

Teams and Athletes: The league comprises 20 athletes, divided into four teams with five players each.

Match Frequency: Each athlete competes in 12 grappling matches throughout the week. The matches are 6 minutes long.

Scoring System: The scoring system in the PGF is designed to reward individual skill and team strategy. Points are awarded only for wins achieved via submission. Different points are allocated for chokes (6 points), or joint locks (3 points), and an additional point is awarded for submissions achieved in under a minute. Draws earn zero points. During the season athletes score for their team. The team with the highest score wins the Grand Prize ($100,000) However, the 8 highest scoring athletes (regardless of which teams they are on) are eligible to participate in the playoffs and win the PGF Belt and an additional $20,000

Playoff Qualification: The top eight athletes from the regular season (the team competition) advance to the playoffs. The playoffs consist of an eight-man, single-elimination tournament. Playoff matches are 10 minutes long.

Team Scoring During Regular Season:

  • Match Blocks: Each night of the regular season features 3 blocks of matches.

  • Collective Team Points: In each block, the points scored by individual athletes contribute to their team’s total score. For example, if player “A” scores 6 points through a submission victory, these 6 points are added to the team's total for that block.

  • Winning a Block: The team that accumulates the most points in a block is declared the winner of that block.

  • Bonus Points for Team Victory: When a team wins a block, every member of that team receives an additional point towards their individual tally for playoff qualification. This system incentivizes not only individual performance but also team strategy and collaboration. This scoring structure ensures a dynamic and competitive regular season, with athletes striving for personal success and contributing to their team’s performance.

Anti-Stalling Rules: The PGF is committed to promoting an active, engaging, and competitive grappling environment. The following rules are established to discourage stalling:

  • The Shot Clock: ** A 20 Second Shot Clock is implemented** Athletes must engage in a deep shot attempt within 20 seconds. A deep shot is defined as an offensive maneuver aiming to take the opponent to the ground. This includes initiating contact, securing a grip or hold, and attempting to off-balance the opponent with the goal of bringing them to the ground.

  • Excessive Avoidance Penalty: Athletes must actively attempt to escape, advance, or submit. Merely surviving is insufficient. If an athlete is called for Excessive Avoidance, he will be placed on the bottom of “Referee Position” and the match will resume.

Specific Anti-Stalling Criteria:

  • 1. Engagement Avoidance: Athletes must not deliberately avoid engaging with their opponent. This includes consistently maintaining a distance, and 3 or more steps backwards will qualify as engagement avoidance.

  • 2. Progressive Action: Athletes are required to actively seek positional advancement, submission attempts, or attempt escapes, rather than maintaining a static or purely defensive posture.

  • 3. Continuous Combativity: Athletes must demonstrate an ongoing effort to create and engage in offensive maneuvers. Prolonged periods of inactivity or non-engagement are not permitted.

Penalties for Stalling: If an athlete incurs 3 or more penalties and the match results in a draw, the athlete without penalties is awarded 2 points. Accumulation of 5 penalties by an athlete results in immediate disqualification and awards the other athlete 2 points.

THE PLAYOFFS:

The playoffs consist of an eight-man, single-elimination tournament. (The top eight athletes from the regular season) Playoff matches are 10 minutes long.

Playoff Overtime Rules: In the event of a tie after the regulation time limit during playoff matches, the PGF will use a specific set of overtime rules tailored to our competition format.

Playoffs Overtime Format:

  • Rounds: 1 round minimum, 3 rounds maximum.

  • Structure: Each competitor gets a chance to submit their opponent as fast as they can, alternating between offense and defense.

  • Coin Toss: Determines who chooses to start on offense or defense.

  • Winning in Overtime: **Via Submission**: Submit your opponent faster than they can submit you. **Via Escape Time**: If there is no submission by the end of the 3rd round, the competitor with the fastest combined escape time across all rounds wins.

  • Overtime Rounds: Each overtime round consists of two segments: one with Competitor A on offense and Competitor B on defense, and another with the roles reversed. Each segment has a maximum duration of two minutes. If no submission or escape occurs within this time, the round progresses to the next segment.

  • Offense and Defense Positions:
    * Offense Options: Only back control with a seatbelt grip is allowed. The grip must be in the middle of the opponent’s chest.
    *Defense Posture:: The defensive competitor must maintain a proper posture and may not lean forward or sideways until the round officially starts.

  • Transition to Submissions: Competitors may transition from back control to any other submission (except leg lock positions) once the overtime round starts, provided the transition is directly into a fully locked submission.

  • Submission and Escape and Submission Timing: If there is a submission, the competitor who was submitted in the previous segment must secure a submission faster to win.

  • Escape: An escape is declared when a competitor is fully free from the submission position as determined by the referee.

  • Escape Rules: Competitors must continue attempting to escape until the referee declares an escape is complete. Premature gestures indicating escape will not be recognized. (Only the back position is allowed for offense during overtime) Other positions, such as the spiderweb, are not used in our overtime format.

  • Application of Stalling Rules in Playoffs: The anti-stalling rules established for the regular season are also fully applicable during the playoffs. This ensures consistency in the enforcement of rules and maintains the standard of active grappling throughout the federation's events.

  • Stalling Penalties in Playoffs are the Same Penalties: The penalties for stalling, as detailed in the regular season rules, apply identically in the playoffs.

  • Disqualification and Match Termination: **Disqualification for Stalling** Accumulating a significant number of stalling penalties in a playoff match can lead to disqualification.

  • Immediate Match Termination: If a competitor is disqualified for stalling by receiving 5 Excessive Avoidance penalties, the match is terminated immediately, and the match does not proceed to overtime.

  • The Outcome for Excessive Penalties: (Three or More Penalties) If a playoff match ends with one player having three or more penalties, the match will not go to overtime. In such cases, the opposing athlete who has fewer penalties will be declared the winner.

  • Consistency Across All Matches - The enforcement of stalling rules remains consistent across all PGF matches, whether in the regular season or the playoffs, to ensure fairness and encourage a dynamic and engaging grappling style.