8. Policies and Procedures
8.1 Equipment and Clothing
8.1.1 Each competitor is responsible for outfitting himself or herself with safe and acceptable gear, normal associated equipment, and clothing necessary for the performance required in each competitive discipline.
8.1.2 The harness and container system and parachutes must meet all current FAA and USPA regulations and standards.
8.1.3 All skydiving gear must be inspected and approved by an inspector designated by the host in order for a competitor to be registered for the competition.
8.1.4 The Meet Director, whose decision will be final, will settle any controversy concerning the suitability of a competitor’s equipment.
8.2 Aircraft
8.2.1 The type of aircraft for each event in each discipline will be as advertised before the competition.
8.2.2 The airspeed at time of exit for each event in each discipline will be as specified in the rules governing that discipline.
8.2.2.1 It is the pilot’s responsibility to maintain airspeed and altitude using the manifold pressure, rpm, etc., set by the Chief Pilot or Meet Director to assure equal conditions for all teams and individuals on exit from all aircraft.
8.2.2.2 It is the responsibility of the individual competitor or team captain to confirm airspeed and altitude.
8.2.2.3 An individual competitor or team captain may request a second pass if aircraft speed or altitude is suspect (not within specified limits at time of intended exit).
8.2.3 Aircraft pass limits
8.2.3.1 No more than two aircraft passes over the target per competitor or team will be permitted for any jump.
8.2.3.2 A team or competitor that does not exit the aircraft on the second pass will be considered to have made the jump and scored the maximum penalty except:
- When the pilot or Chief Judge authorized another run because of unusual circumstances
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When it is apparent to the Chief/Event judge that a competitor or team exhibited good safety practices or common sense in making additional passes or landing with the aircraft.
8.3 Weather
8.3.1 For all competitive disciplines, any weather limitations affecting the competition are explicitly defined in the chapter of the Skydiver’s Competition Manual governing that discipline.
8.3.2 The maximum wind limit for all events shall be 11 m/s unless otherwise specified in the section of the Skydiver’s Competition Manual governing that discipline.
8.4 Protests
8.4.1 At any time during the event, a competitor or a team that is dissatisfied on any matter should first ask the appropriate official for assistance and, if still dissatisfied, may file a written protest to the Meet Director, who must give the protest to the Jury President and advise the Chief Judge of its contents without delay.
8.4.2 A protest must be filed within three hours of the knowledge of the grounds for protest.
8.4.2.1 The timing of the three hours will only be done during the time that the competitors in the event are required to be at the competition site.
8.4.2.2 The protest must state the particular rule or rules about which the protest is being made and contain a description of the situation, reasons for the protest, names of pertinent witnesses, and the availability of the witnesses to provide information if called by the Jury.
8.4.2.3 No protest may be made nor may one be accepted by the Meet Director that deals with the evaluation of a jump or a score given by the judges.
8.4.2.4 A protest may be withdrawn at any time before the final decision of the Jury.
8.4.3 The issue must be addressed by the Jury as soon as possible.
8.4.4 A $50 fee must accompany the protest. This fee applies to each competitor/team.
8.4.4.1 If a decision regarding the protest is granted in favor of the competitor or team, all protest fees will be refunded.
8.4.4.2 Kept fees will be donated to the U.S. Parachute Team Trust Fund in the name of the protesting individual or team when possible.
8.4.5 Procedures
8.4.5.1 The Jury President will convene a hearing with all applicable parties present during and aware of the protested incident to discuss pertinent information.
8.4.5.2 The Jury President will inform the competitor or team of the protest decision by public written posting, noting the competitor or team number, event, round, and disposition of the protest.
8.5 Rejumps
8.5.1 Except as provided in the video review panel paragraph of this section, any principal judge observing a circumstance that obviously merits a rejump for a competitor or team will inform the Event/Chief Judge.
8.5.1.1 The competitor or team will be immediately informed of an awarded rejump after a favorable decision by the Event/Chief Judge.
8.5.1.2 Individual competitors or teams may refuse a rejump and take the original score.
8.5.1.3 Officially awarded rejumps, if not declined, must be made as soon as possible after the incident causing the rejump.
8.5.1.4 rejumps assigned by the Chief Judge for “UJ” in the Canopy Piloting event are not optional.
8.5.2 The cost of all officially awarded rejumps will be borne by the competitor or the team.
8.5.3 Excessive wind speed during a jump is not grounds for a rejump, except in the Accuracy Landing and Canopy Piloting events.
8.5.4 Problems with a competitor’s equipment, including video equipment, are not grounds for a rejump.
8.5.4.1 Contact or other means of interference between the team and videographer are not grounds for a rejump unless specified in a specific chapter of these rules.
8.5.4.2 Once the team leaves the aircraft, the jump will be scored unless video evidence is insufficient.
8.5.5 Specific conditions or situations warranting rejumps will be described in the section of this Manual governing the competitive discipline.
8.5.6 Video Review Panel
8.5.6.1 A Video Review Panel, consisting of the Chief Judge of the event, the President of the Jury, and the Video Controller, will be
established prior to the competition.
8.5.6.2 In the event that the Video Review Panel determines that the team’s video has been deliberately tampered with, the team will
receive the maximum penalty for the jumps in question.
8.5.6.3 In a case where part of a team’s performance is not able to be judged from lack of video evidence, or where the quality of video
image is considered insufficient for judging purposes, the Video Review Panel will assess the conditions and circumstances
and may award a rejump.
8.5.6.4 The Video Review Panel’ decisions are final and are not subject to protest or appeal to the Jury.
8.6 Transgender Athlete Policy
8.6.1 USPA seeks to establish and maintain an inclusive environment that fosters fair and equitable competition for any member. For the purposes of competition and record setting, gender is determined by the athlete’s government-issued ID.
8.6.2 Should an athlete have a concern that another athlete is misusing this policy to gain a competitive advantage, that athlete may file a formal complaint as described in 8.4 or Chapter 3 - 2.11. Any such complaints will be treated confidentially to protect the privacy of the athlete(s).
8.6.3 For sporting purposes, gender can only be changed once per 24-month period.
8.6.4 This policy should not be construed to supersede the policy of another organizing body when athletes compete in an event that is not under the auspices of the USPA.
8.7 Competitors with disabilities
8.7.1 In the event of one or more competitor(s)/team(s) have a physical disability which would, under normal circumstances, preclude their participation in an event due to an inherent conflict with the rules (e.g. amputee(s) entering Formation Skydiving), the competitor/team shall present to the Chief Judge a declaration of the method they intend to use to overcome the conflict to provide an equitable demonstration of their abilities.
8.7.2 This/these plan(s) may be the basis for amended judging criteria for this competitor(s)/team(s) performance.
8.7.3 This/these plan(s) must be submitted with sufficient time to allow for examination and approval.
8.7.4 The President of the Jury and Chief Judge will exercise due diligence in examining the team/competitor’s plan(s) and shall approve any such plan that they believe is consistently applicable and falls within the Spirit of the Rules.
8.8 Completion of the Competition
8.8.1 Should circumstances require, the Meet Director may employ an elimination cut to ensure completion of a valid championships.
8.8.2 Minimum requirements for a valid event or championships are enforced according to the section of this Manual governing each discipline.
8.8.3 At the conclusion of the competition, the Jury meets to declare the championships complete and valid, and to officially certify the results.
8.8.4 At the conclusion of the championships, the host must provide the USPA Controller with suitable electronic data files/scoresheets and any other pertinent data (participant lists to compute sanction fees, etc.).
8.9 Classification of Final Results
8.9.1 Classification of final results for each competitive discipline is described in the appropriate section of the governing Skydiver’s Competition Manual.
8.9.2 A competitor must complete a jump and be scored in one round in order to be listed in the official standings.
8.9.3 Guest teams/competitors will be listed in the standings. Such guests will not be given a rank. Instead, they will be marked (G). Under no circumstances will guest scores be allowed to have an effect on other scores in the standings.
8.10 Recognition of Winners
8.10.1 For all USPA competitive disciplines, appropriate medals or other suitable recognition are presented annually for places first through third to each individual titlist in the individual events and each team member in the team events, not including guest competitors, except:
8.10.1.1 If only one competitor enters the event, no medals will be awarded unless they achieve a performance that is 50 percent or higher relative to the performance achieved by the first place in the event at the USPA National Skydiving Championships held the previous year; if this is the first time the event has been held at a USPA National Skydiving Championships, medal(s) will be awarded.
8.10.1.2 If only two enter the event, only first place will be awarded unless second place achieves a performance that is 50 percent or higher relative to the performance achieved by first place.
8.10.1.3 If only three enter the event, only first and second place will be awarded unless third place achieves a performance that is 50 percent or higher relative to the performance achieved by first place.
8.10.2 Guest competitors invited by USPA may be given separate awards.
8.10.3 Ted Strong Award for Extraordinary Sportsmanship
8.10.3.1 May be awarded from time to time for extraordinary sportsmanship displayed by teams or individuals at the USPA National Skydiving Championships.
8.10.3.2 Awarded by unanimous agreement of the Meet Director, Chief Judge and USPA Controller or by unanimous agreement of the USPA Competition Committee.