2017 single grip open contest details

Event Overview

The 2017 Single Grip Open Begleri Contest will take place during the second full week of November (Nov. 13-19). Like the 2016 SGO, the 2017 competition will take place online, with contestants submitting continuous clips showing off their best “single grip” begleri flow. Clips can be submitted via Instagram, Facebook, or Reddit (details below). The 2017 contest will have some significant changes. First, there will be some greater flexibility in the definition of single-grip play, allowing for more advanced tricks. See details below. Second, the focus of the event is participation—the whole point of this is to get the community involved. To encourage broad participation, the main contest will be for unsponsored players. Sponsored players and those representing begleri companies are invited participate in an exhibition division, and will still be eligible for some of the prizes up for grabs. Third, rather than a “like-based” voting system, which can be heavily biased by the profile and popularity of contestants, the 2017 contest will use a “criteria-based” scoring system, with clips being rated on the basis of relevant criteria. There will be several judges, and a criteria-based rubric which will be used to determine the winning clips.

This year’s judges will be:

• Mitch @musclebones
• Gary @jorgomli
• Colton @colton_begleri
• Joe @monkeyfistbegleri
• And yours truly Matt @aroundsquare

How to Participate

The 2017 Single Grip Open will run from November 13th to 19th, 2017. All you have to do to participate is to prepare a “single grip” begleri clip or edit, compliant with the rules below, and post it publicly to one of the designated platforms, as below:

• Instagram: Post a public clip to your own account, and tag it with the hashtag #2017singlegripopen
• Facebook: Post a public clip to the page: https://www.facebook.com/singlegripopen/
• Reddit: Post a public clip to the sub: https://www.reddit.com/r/SingleGripOpen/

All clips must be submitted prior to 11:59pm Pacific time on November 19, 2017. Clips will be reviewed by the judges, and winners will be announced after the closing of the contest, likely November 20th.

Draw prizes will be awarded on each day of the contest, from November 13th to November 19th, 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. 

Rules

UPDATE (2017-11-10):  Embrace the spirit of the contest: the Single Grip Open is about being creative within the constraint of a single grip, and using that constraint to challenge yourself and your play style. Thinking inside the box can lead you to be creative in new and different ways. Strive to push what is possible within a single grip, rather than looking for loopholes in the rules. If you have to ask, "is this allowable?" you're probably pushing it, but by all means, get in touch with the judges if you have question in advance. Below are the rules for the contest, but please bear in mind that the judges reserve final right to disqualify a clip that is deemed to be not in the spirit of the contest, regardless of whether or not it is in direct violation of any rules.  

• 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)
• Any begleri can be used (i.e., it does not need to be an AO2 set)
• Please only submit one clip. Participants posting more than one clip will be disqualified.
• Clip must be performed from a single grip, with the following clarifications:
  • Players are allowed to switch between grip variants (i.e., standard to fakie or back, within the same grip)
  • “Additional” grips are allowed on top of the primary grip (i.e., wraps, where the free bead is trapped in a secondary grip; tension grips, where the free bead is caught to create string tension). However, the secondary grip must be released before the primary grip, otherwise it will be considered a grip change, resulting in disqualification.
  • Aerials are allowed, provided the begleri launches from and lands in the same grip (please note the exemption below)
  • Momentary lapses in the grip are allowed, for example, to perform an aerial or a rolling stop, provided there is a continuous motion of the begleri during the entire lapse, meaning that it is not paused in any other grip during the motion. In such lapses, the begleri may pass through a maximum of one other grip (without stopping). 
  • Switching hands is considered a grip change, and is not allowed (i.e., high grip with the right hand considered a different grip from high grip with left hand); however, the other hand can be used in wraps, rebounds, and tension grips etc., as long as the use of the off hand is in line with the other rules and clarifications.
• Notwithstanding the rules and clarifications above, the clip must reflect the intent of this contest as a “single grip” contest. If the judges feel there are excessive deviations from that intent, the clip may be disqualified at the judges sole 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.

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.