Scoring System

Introduction

Thank you for doing your diligence in understanding how your video will be graded. The Drill Dojo Scoring System was written and developed by World Champion Adam Jeup along with the assistance of many others who are far more talented and far more decorated in the wider drill community. While not quite suitable for free-for-all style competitions, the Drill Dojo Scoring System has been developed to adequately assess performance based on a predetermined set of tricks. In such a format void of creativity, there are only three sections of drill that require attention: Footwork, Body Composition, and Rifle Precision. The expectations of these three sections are outlined in this manual.

Unlike other scoring systems where points are meant to be gained and lost, the Drill Dojo assumes every trick is a perfect 10/10 until proven otherwise. As a penalty-only system, the driller only stands to lose points by making mistakes. Not every mistake is of equal offensiveness, however, so there are three deviations of infraction per section: Minor Mistakes, Moderate Mistakes, and Major Mistakes.

In addition, the Drill Dojo recognizes that drill coalesces at an end point in all regards, from trick proficiency to precision to composure. As such, it would be inappropriate to assign a single point-value to every infraction while ignoring the driller's overall skill level. In accordance with this philosophy, each mistake is weighted in balance with the difficulty of acquiring any specific color of sling. The exact point values lost per infraction is outlined at the very bottom of this manual and also on each of the sling color pages.

If you're reading this before testing out of White Sling and Yellow Sling categories, you're ahead of the game. White Sling and Yellow Sling categories are Pass/Fail, meaning they are not assessed for their mistakes and are only rewarded for their effort, performance, and completion. That being said, reading through this system will help you understand what makes drill perfect, and that knowledge can help propel you up toward Black Sling and beyond.

Thank you for your time.

Note that baseline standards of performance are graded against deviations from personal, individual styles. For example, hand pins may be defined as closed fists, Honor Guard claws, hands on the waist, etc. Facial bearing may be straight-faced with no emotion or unending smiles, etc. The Drill Dojo does not require conformity to the American Military style of drill.

Footwork

A minor mistake penalty may be given in the Footwork Section for:

Very slight adjustments in the feet that are noticeable to an outside observer.
Slightly awkward or inefficient footwork, such as spontaneously committing to a power stance partway through a trick.
Slight secondary adjustments after the conclusion of a trick.
Excessive extension of heels off the ground (less than two inches) during lofty aerials.
An imperfect right angle in the leg at a kneeling position by ~3 - 14 degrees.

A moderate mistake penalty may be given in the Footwork Section for:

Small stutter steps (less than ~4 inches) that are noticeable to an outside observer.
Moderately awkward or inefficient footwork, such as spontaneously committing to a knee to catch a trick.
Large secondary adjustments after the conclusion of a trick.
Excessive extension of the heels off the ground (above two inches) during lofty aerials.
An imperfect right angle in the leg at a kneeling position by ~15 - 29 degrees.

A major mistake penalty may be given in the Footwork Section for:

A large stutter step (greater than ~4 inches) to catch a rifle that has drifted from stationary grasp.
A total loss of balance that requires a step for recovery.
Excessive extension of the heels that results in the body leaving the ground uncontrollably.
An imperfect right angle in the leg at a kneeling position by 29+ degrees.
Taking a large, controlled jump at a rifle that has drifted from grasp during a move in which movement is required.
A double major mistake penalty will be given for one or more full steps to catch a rifle that has drifted from stationary grasp.

AUTOMATIC DISQUALIFICATION ON QUAL: Tripping and Falling

Hand Pins

A minor mistake penalty may be given in the Hand Pin Section for:

Loss of hand pin by 6 inches or less in proximity to the body.
Hand pin isn't tightly closed (if intent is a tightly closed fist).

A moderate mistake penalty may be given in the Body Composition Section for:

Loss of hand pin that leaves the side of the body by greater than 6 inches but remains controlled.

A major mistake penalty may be given in the Body Composition Section for:

Total, uncontrolled loss of handpin, including "raptor clawing" (pulling the hand up to the chest, common in BTB flow catches) and flailing arms to gain balance.

AUTOMATIC DISQUALIFICATION: Inappropriate Gestures.

Body Composition

A minor mistake penalty may be given in the Body Composition Section for:

Bending slightly at the knees or back to wind up for a trick or pad a catch.
Small flinching (especially on OTH Catches).
Loss of balance that results in a slight lean with no step.
Excessive tracking of the rifle to the point of distraction (including burying your eyes on a rifle that is securely in your hand).
Excessively lazy hand posturing while waiting for aerials to fall into position.
Bobbing of head (such as during OTH Continuous maneuvers).
Slight loss of facial bearing including surprised eyebrows, widening eyes, etc, unless this is a consistent part of an individual's style.
OTH and Varials thrown off-center that require a lean but no step to catch.
Slight bobbles/mistakes made after the core component of a trick but during the recovery component.

A moderate mistake penalty may be given in the Body Composition Section for:

Bending moderately at the knees and back, and/or leaning forward to wind up for a trick or pad for a catch.
Bending moderately to catch an underrotated OTH.
Controlled turning on an overrotated OTH.
Moderate loss of facial bearing including open mouth movements and gritting teeth unless this is a consistent part of an individual's style (mouth movements must be controlled in some fashion).
Looking at the rifle when the instructions explicitly state not to do so (moderate mistake per rotation in which the infraction takes place).
Loss of balance that results in a strong lean with no step, including such situations where a foot comes off the ground but returns to its original location.

A major mistake penalty may be given in the Body Composition Section for:

Bending completely to wind up for a trick or pad for a trick.
Complete panic catch on underrotated or overrotated OTH throws (including sliding to a catch, leaping for a catch, etc.).
Major loss of facial bearing, including excessive noises and wide-open slackjaw.
Loss of balance that results in the foot coming off the ground to take a step.

AUTOMATIC DISQUALIFICATION: Inappropriate language.

Rifle Precision

A minor mistake penalty may be given in the Rifle Precision Section for:

Slight adjustments on over/underthrown rifle that result in an unsmooth catch.
Slight awkward, sudden, unintentional pace changes on rifle speed.
Vert stops that are within ~10 degrees off from vertical, but not perfect.
Horizontal stops that are within ~10 degrees off from being flat, but not perfect (including BTB Power catches).
Rifle bouncing outside of grip on power stops but remaining within control (common on foot stops and back ninjas).
Slightly uneven OTH Angles (OTH angles are expected to be parallel to the ground), including OTH Aerial tosses that are slightly away from the driller.
Minorly awkward adjustments during the setup up tricks (i.e., slightly shuffling the rifle for proper grip before a toss).

A moderate mistake penalty may be given in the Rifle Precision Section for:

Bobbles that are brought under control by the precise use of a second hand, or another intentional, clean adjustment.
Vert stops that are between ~10 - 40 degrees off from vertical.
Horizontal stops that are between ~10 - 40 degrees of vertical (including BTB Power catches).
Rifle bouncing outside of grip on power stops that require large, but controlled, rifle movements to regain total control.
Moderately uneven OTH angles, including OTH Aerial tosses that are moderately away from the driller.
Guiding the rifle into a position more than what is necessary.
The rifle unintentionally flips over along the improper axis (such as a right shoulder toss where the rifle goes crazy in the air before coming down for a catch).
Excessively awkward adjustments during the setup up tricks (i.e., greatly shuffling the rifle for proper grip before a toss).
Awkward, sudden, unintentional pace changes on rifle speed.
The rifle impacts a part of the body it's not supposed to and/or is caught improperly so that it loses any momentum.
The rifle is caught simultaneously on a rifle part with one hand and the sling with the other.

A major mistake penalty may be given in the Rifle Precision Section for:

Major, obvious losses of control, including catching by the sling instead of the rifle.
Vert stops that are greater than ~40 degrees off from vertical.
Horizontal stops that are greater than ~40 degrees off from horizontal.
Missing a continuous rotation when instructions state a minimum (per rotation).
Excessive guiding of the rifle into the proper place.
Back spins that are meant to stay high on the shoulders but fall down the driller's back.
The rifle impacts a part of the body it's not supposed to and/or is caught improperly so that it loses all momentum.
Missing one hand on a trick that requires two hands to catch, but does not significantly alter the effect of the trick.
A trick done improperly such that an understanding of the trick components is enough to warrant credit, but the resulting trick lacks a critical component (subjective).

A double major mistake penalty may be given in the Rifle Precision Section for:

A double major mistake penalty will be given if the setup for a trick is started and then stopped to start over. If the core component of the trick is performed, however, only the first attempt will be scored.
A double major mistake penalty will be given if the rifle is caught, but it proceeds to impact the ground.
A double major mistake penalty will be given for aerials under rotated by a half spin.
A trick done improperly such that an understanding of the trick components is enough to warrant credit, but the resulting trick lacks a very critical component (subjective).

AUTOMATIC DISQUALIFICATION: Drops, including when the rifle hits the ground without maintained control and bounces up back into grip. Aerials that are a full rotation or more below the stated standard.

Judgment Call Addendum

The Drill Dojo scorer reserves the right to make a live judgement call at will that can override the established guidelines, so long as they provide justification for doing so. The Drill Dojo scorer also reserves the right to make a live judgment call in the event of an unforeseen infraction, so long as this infraction is added to the scoring system immediately and applied thereunto. Degrees and angles are inexact and the scorer is to use their best judgment to declare a minor, moderate, or major penalty with regard to the spirit of an infraction.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Scorers are also able to dock 0.50 points at subjective will for gray-area infractions for when a movement doesn't feel right but the deficiency is difficult to express in words.

Other Notes

On tricks that must be performed continuously (such as Rising Sun Exits), penalties are accrued once based on the worst infraction in the set. For example, a driller that performs a Rising Sun Double Exit and lifts their heels off the ground by less than 2 inches all three times would incur only a single Minor Penalty; however, a driller who performed this trick perfectly twice and lifts their heels off the ground by greater than 2 inches once would incur a single Moderate Penalty.

If any individual trick in a qualification receives enough deductions to fall below 2 points, the entire qualification video will be disqualified. If any individual trick in a qualification receives enough deductions to fall to exactly 2 points, the scorer reserves the right to end the evaluation immediately.

Tenure

Tenure works as follows:

(Situation 1) If a driller passes a sling level (red and above) with a score between 80-89.5, they will be subject to a 6-month tenure before being allowed to submit for their next sling level.

For example: A driller submits a Red Sling video in June 2024 and receives a score of 89.5. For some reason, they are never able to do another BTB Flow Catch. Their next opportunity to submit for Maroon Sling will be December 2024.

(Situation 2) If a driller passes a sling level (red and above) with a score between 90-100, they will have tenure waived and be allowed to submit to their next sling level immediately.

For example: A driller submits a Red Sling video in June 2024 and receives a score of 90. They may submit their Maroon Sling for the July 2024 stream.

(Situation 3) If a driller is subject to tenure at their current sling level, they may submit a new video starting the following month at that same level. If their score improves to 90+, tenure will immediately be waived and they may submit the next video for the following month.

For example: A driller submits a Red Sling video in June 2024 and receives a score of 89.5. In July 2024, the driller submits a new Red Sling video and receives a score of 90. They are now eligible to submit a Maroon Sling video in August 2024.