General considerations
The rules of ZA Kettlebell Challenge are based on the StrongFirst technical standards.
We encourage the participants to explore their limits, but we do not want them to take useless risks and to put themselves in harm’s way. This is why every validated rep with a given bell will give to the participant:
- Three times more points than if it was done with a one-size lighter bell (- 4 kg; for gentlemen)
- Two times more points than if it was done with a one-size lighter bell (- 2 kg; for ladies)
In other words, to obtain the same amount of points as with a 32 kg bell, a gentleman would have to do three times more reps with a 28, but three times less with a 36: 28 x 9 = 32 x 3 = 36 x 1.
And for ladies, to obtain the same amount of points as with a 20 kg bell, a lady would have to do two times more reps with an 18 kg, but two times less with a 22: 18 x 4 = 20 x 2 = 22 x 1.
How the points are scored
ZA Kettlebell Challenge is composed of six events:
- Double Swing
- Get-up
- Double Clean
- Military Press
- Double Front Squat
- Snatch
All the participants are competing together, whatever their gender, age, or bodyweight. A universal formula takes into account all those parameters, as well as the Kettlebell sizes to calculate the total score.
Points by rep
In double exercises (Swing, Clean, Front Squat), the participant is allowed to chose two Kettlebells of different sizes. The number of validated reps will be multiplied by the sum of points gathered for each bell.
Same goes for the one-arm exercises (Get-up, Military Press, Snatch; in other words, the participant is allowed to use a different bell for each arm), but the total of gathered points will be doubled, so as the contribution of those exercises to the total score equals that of the double exercises.
To take into account the participant’s age, the total score (the sum of the totals for each exercise) will be multiplied by a factor equal to (2 + age/100). For example, for a 45-year-old participant, the total score will be multiplied by 2.45, while for a 28-year-old, it will be multiplied by 2.28. Thus, for the same total score, the older participant has a slight advantage.
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Judging
Depending on logistics, in each event the participant will be judged by a team of two or three certified instructors.
To be validated, a rep will have to respect the StrongFirst technical standard. If not, the central judge will declare a no-count. Three no-counts terminate the event for the participant.
The judge will stop the event if he/she believes the participant is no longer able to control the load and puts himself/herself in danger. The points acquired will be taken into account.
Before each event, the participant will declare the bell(s) he/she has decided to use in this event. He/she is not allowed to change those during the event (including the bells chosen for each arm in the one-arm events).
The general ranking will be established based on the grand total score (from the biggest to the smallest).
