Sling Slam 2019 – Open Begleri Contest

Event Overview

Sling Slam 2019 is slated to be the first ever full-fledged worldwide open begleri freestyle contest. The contest is scheduled to run August 11-17, in an online format modelled after the successful Single Grip Open (SGO) contest that we have run annually since 2016, but without the restrictions of “single grip” play. Participants will submit conforming freestyle clips online, showcasing their best tricks, flow, and video production skills. As with the SGO, the majority of the contest is expected to take place on Instagram, but contestants are welcome to submit clips on other platforms as well. Full details and rules are presented below.

Our focus is on getting maximum participation for this event, and to encourage this, we’ve got tons of draw prizes and other goodies lined up. We’ve also decided to run two tiers of competition for the event, an “amateur” tier for players that just want to participate and show their stuff in a pressure free context, and an “open” tier for competitive players, sponsored or unsponsored, who want to make a run for the podium and other prizes.

Judging

Sling Slam will be a judged competition. There will be several judges, and a criteria-based scoring rubric which will be used to determine the winning clips. This year’s judges will be:

• Mitch @musclebones
• Gary @jorgomli
• Ilya @slingthe0ry
• Matt @aroundsquare

Scoring Rubric

How to Participate

Sling Slam 2019 will run August 11^thto 17^th, 2019. All you have to do to participate is to prepare a freestyle begleri clip or edit, compliant with the rules below, and post it publicly to one of the designated platforms listed below. Please be sure to tag your entry appropriately so that the judges will know which tier you are competing in, either amateur, or open.

• Instagram:Post a public clip to your own account, and tag it with the hashtags #slingslam2019, AND #ss2019open or #ss2019amateurto indicate which tier you’re competing in
• Facebook:Post a public clip to the page: https://www.facebook.com/begleriworldcup/
• Reddit:Post a public clip to the sub: https://www.reddit.com/r/SingleGripOpen/
• If you want to submit via an alternative platform, please email a link to info@aroundsquare.com

All clips must be submitted prior to 11:59pm Pacific time on August 17^th, 2019. Clips will be reviewed by the judges, and winners will be announced after the closing of the contest.

Rules

• This is an “open” freestyle competition, meaning there are no restrictions on play. Multiple grip changes, aerials, two-handed play, and so on, are all allowable. Players are limited to one set of begleri.
• Any begleri can be used (i.e., it does not need to be an AO2 set).
• Clip must be continuous, and must be 20s to 30s in length
• Clip may contain slow motion segments, zooming, and other editing, provided the continuity of the clip is not interrupted (freeze frames are allowed, but no reversal of clip direction)
• Clip editing should not detract from the clear depiction of the freestyle begleri performance (text and drawn animations are allowed, but should be used sparingly; additional windows within main window should not be used)
• Minimize introductions (title screens are allowed, but will count as part of the max 30s clip length)
• Clips must be tagged appropriately (see above)
• Players self-select which tier they are competing in, but the judges reserve the right to bump any player from the amateur tier up to the open tier if they feel the submission is more appropriate there
• Notwithstanding the rules and clarifications above, the clip must reflect the intent of this contest as a pure freestyle begleri contest. If the judges feel there are excessive deviations from that intent, the clip may be disqualified at the judges’ discretion, regardless of whether they are explicitly breaking the rules.
• Anything not explicitly allowed in the rules, and anything falling into a grey area, will be subject to judges’ decision, which will be final. If you’re unsure of something you can contact AO2 for clarification prior to the competition.
• Please only submit one clip. Participants posting more than one clip will be disqualified.

Suggestions

• Use the best lighting available. In general, the more light you flood into your filming space, the better the quality of your clip.
• Use a clean background such as a blank wall, a hanging backdrop or sheet, a clean floor, or if all else fails, a clean patch of pavement or grass outdoors etc.
• Minimize fancy editing that creates visual clutter and detracts from following the flow of the begleri
• Add a tune to your clip (it makes it more entertaining for viewers)
• Use editing sparingly to accentuate key tricks or highlight sync with your selected music

Prizes

Lots of great prizes are planned for this year’s contest, including draw prizes that will go to randomly selected participants. There will be designated prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the main contest. Draw prizes will be given to randomly selected participants from both the main and exhibition division. There will also be a “most innovative” award which will go to the most innovative entry from either of the divisions.

Draw prizes will be awarded on each day of the contest, from August 11^thto 17^th, meaning that participants who submit a clip earlier will have more chances to win. There will be one draw prize winner per day, randomly selected from clips as of that day.