Footbag Reference: Groups:Sanctioning

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IFPA Event Sanctioning

Sanctioned Events 2007

Sanctioned Events 2008

This is the page of the official committee that maintains and administers the policies of IFPA's sanctioning program for tournaments and other footbag events.

According to the IFPA by-laws, there are several ways in which IFPA may foster international footbag competition:

  • Sponsorship: For an IFPA sponsored event, IFPA may provide formats and judging systems for competition as well as funds and marketing assistance for proper administration, player's packages, awards, and promotion of such events in exchange for the tournament director's agreement to abide by all the guidelines for sponsorship set up by IFPA.
  • Sanctioning: For an IFPA sanctioned event, IFPA may provide formats and judging systems for competition as well as a limited amount of marketing assistance for the proper administration and promotion of such events in exchange for the tournament director's agreement to abide by all the guidelines for sanctioning set up by IFPA.
  • Accreditation: For an IFPA accredited event, IFPA may provide formats and judging systems for competition in exchange for the tournament director's agreement to abide by all the guidelines for accreditation set up by IFPA.

Requirements and Guidelines for IFPA Event Sanctioning

The steady growth that the sport of Footbag has enjoyed during its relatively short lifetime can be ultimately credited to the collaborative efforts of many people who are committed to nurturing the game's progress. Individual players, local clubs, and event organizers all contribute to the shared goal of insuring the continued success and popularity of Footbag. The IFPA, as the international governing body dedicated to advancing the sport worldwide, advocates every aspect and level of Footbag play, whether social or competitive.

The sanctioning program (which denotes authorization, approval, and support) is overseen by the IFPA as one means of unifying the sport and strengthening the footbag events that are conducted around the world. Sanctioning guidelines serve purposes. First they assure participants and organizers that a degree of conformity exists among the many events held. Second, they promote a professional image for the sport, the players, and footbag organizations, an image that, in turn, is a positive factor in cultivating sponsors, encouraging player participation, and attracting media attention. Finally, they assure that each event receiving recognition as being IFPA-sanctioned is conducted in a uniformly professional manner.

IFPA is an amateur sports organization. Therefore, we require that sanctioned events offer players the option to enter as an amateur. Amateurs are allowed to enter Open, but are not eligible for prize money (if offered).

By virtue of competing in any IFPA-sanctioned footbag event, all players are automatically 1-year "Tier 1" members of IFPA. All IFPA members in good standing and will have their results officially recorded and used to determine worldwide player rankings. Event organizers are required to register non-IFPA members and submit to the IFPA on completion of the event.

Applicants for sanctioning must be "Tier 2" members of IFPA to sanction an event.

In light of the above considerations, the following requirements and guidelines for event sanctioning were developed, outlining the rights and responsibilities of Event Organizers and the IFPA. Event Organizers must be IFPA members in good standing to be eligible for event sanctioning.

The Event Organizer Shall:

  • Provide the IFPA with a completed Event Sanctioning application and fee (if applicable) a minimum of 30 days prior to the event. An IFPA "Tier 2" membership fee may be required, if not already a Tier 2 IFPA member.
  • Advertise the event in the event listing on and announce the event via email to announce @
  • Collect the required individual player information relating to their IFPA membership. Such information to include; name, address, telephone number, birth date, gender, IFPA membership number, and e-mail address.
  • Provide the IFPA with a full list of ALL event participants within 20 days of the event's completion. Such list to include; name, address, telephone number, birth date, gender, IFPA membership number, and e-mail address.
  • Maintain score sheets (pools & brackets) of all individual net games and matches, as well as, all freestyle score sheets from each freestyle event. Copies of these are to be submitted within 20 days of the event's completion.
  • Post results to the results page for the event's listing on
  • Submit all required player info and score sheets within 20 days of the event's completion to the following address:
 IFPA Sanctioning
 647 Fallon Ave.
 Santa Clara, CA 95050
 If submitting via email,
 * send player info and scores to sanctioning @
  • Abide by IFPA Official Rules of Footbag Sports, unless prior approval is given by IFPA. Significant deviations from the rulebook shall be announced through the Footbag Worldwide Information Service, official IFPA site), and/or event fliers, a minimum of 30 days prior to the event. At least one official rulebook must be physically on site for each discipline offered.
  • Print the IFPA logo on all printed materials (posters, flyers, t-shirts, etc.). Such printed materials are to be done in a professional manner (typeset or typed), and should also include names of event sponsors. Handwritten fliers are unacceptable.
  • Use the standard Liability Waiver for Player Participation on all entry forms (see example below).
  • Abide by all applicable legal provisions regarding permits, insurance, etc., required by the relevant governmental entity in which the event is being held.

IFPA Shall:

  • Offer online registration to allow players to pre-register and pay by credit card. Both organizers and players are able to see a listing of all registered players prior to the event.
  • Provide one copy of the Official Rules of Footbag Sports. Rulebook is to be readily available on site to ensure that all competitors, judges, and referees involved are up-to-date with the current rules. Additional rulebooks for player packs are available at minimal cost.
  • Publicize your event on Footbag Worldwide (
  • Provide an announcement service, via email, to all or part of IFPA's membership at no cost. Event organizer is responsible for preparing and executing such announcements.
  • Permit the use of the IFPA name, logo, and mention of official IFPA sanctioning in all printed material for the event.
  • Supply a file, containing the IFPA name and logo, for use on flyers, posters, programs, etc. (Such logo is trademark protected and must be used responsibly)
  • Provide IFPA banners for use at the event, upon request and availability.
  • Permit event results to be published on Footbag Worldwide. (
  • Provide tax-deductible receipts to sponsors for donations to IFPA via sponsorship of event. (contact IFPA Treasurer for more details)
  • Provide official seeding information on IFPA members who have competed in IFPA sanctioned events. (contact IFPA Statistian for more details)
  • Provide up-to-date IFPA membership status to determine if competitors are required to register for IFPA to compete. (contact IFPA Membership Director for more details)
  • Supply official IFPA players' manuals at no charge, upon request and availability.
  • Supply IFPA tournament organizing and setup guidelines/tools, upon request and availability.
  • Assist with sponsorship possibilities, when possible.
  • Provide special discounts on IFPA products and/or IFPA sponsored products or services, when available.

Example of Required Format for Liability Waiver:

 I, ENTRANT NAME, hereby wish to enter NAME OF YOUR EVENT at its set and agreed-upon
 entry fee.  I understand that this entitles me to participate in events entirely at
 my own risk and cost.  I also vow to conduct myself in such a manner that is within
 the guidelines set forth by the NAME OF YOUR EVENT.  I understand and hereby
 authorize the NAME OF YOUR EVENT, and its directors, to use any and all film and
 videotape taken of me, during this event, for any purpose.  In consideration of
 your accepting my (my child's) entry, I hereby, for myself (my child), my heirs,
 damages I (my child) may have against the NAME OF YOUR EVENT, and its
 representatives, the International Footbag Players Association, THE NAME OF YOUR
 TOURNAMENT FACILITY, successors and assigns for any and all injuries suffered by
 myself (my child) at any activity sponsored by these groups.
 _________________________                     ___________________________________
 Entrant Signature                  Signature of parent or guardian (if under 18)

IFPA Event Sanctioning Application

Please complete the following questions and submit to sanctioning @ Refer to the Requirements and Guidelines of IFPA Event Sanctioning for more detailed information.


1.  What is the name of the event?

2.  Where is the event taking place?  (city, state/province, country)

3.  When is the event?  (To and from?)

4.  What competitive events are you offering?  
Freestyle (singles/doubles)
Net (singles/doubles)
Shred 30
Big 3

5.  What levels of play are you offering?

6.  Will it be a prize money event?  If so, how much?

7.  How much will the entry fees be for each playing level?  

8.  What is included in the entry fee?

9.  Is this an annual event?  If so, how many years?

10. How many participants are expected?

11. How many spectators are expected?

12. Are there any intended deviations from the rules set forth in the Official
Rules of Footbag Sports?  If so, list them.

13. Have you acquired all necessary permits?  (Eg. facility, food, product

14. Have you acquired the necessary insurance's?

15. How do you plan to advertise and publicize your event?


1. What is your first and last name?

2. Are you the main event organizer? 

3.  What is your mailing address?
Zip/Postal Code

4.  What is your home phone number?

5.  What is your work phone number?

6.  What is your date of birth?

7.  What is your IFPA member number and/or

8.  Please describe your organizing experience and/or history in footbag where
you have been directly involved.

As the main event organizer, I, __________________ understand and
agree to all of the sanctioning requirements, terms and conditions
outlined in this application and in the Requirements and Guidelines
for IFPA Event Sanctioning.  I further agree to be responsible for
ensuring all the required player information, score sheets, and fees
collected are submitted to IFPA within the specified periods.

On-Line Registration Set-Up Form

As a sanctioned event you can benefit from the online registration system (via if you choose to use it. Players are able to pay with their credit card and select the events they want to participate in. They are also able to see who else has registered. As the event organizer, you are assigned access so you can monitor registration leading up to your event and are able to gauge your expected number of entrants. A deadline is set for pre-registration to be available. Usually 24 hours before the event. Once the deadline has passed you are able to retrieve and print the final info. Online registration will process new IFPA members automatically, but you are responsible for enforcing it at on-site registration. So, you will only need to sign up new IFPA members for on-site/late entrants who are not already IFPA members. Steve Goldberg will set up the online registration and needs a minimum 2 weeks to do so. Below are instructions for how to set up and use the service.

Instructions to event organizer:

After you have received sanctioning approval for your event from the IFPA, you are then entitled to online registration services from as part of your event listing (on the website).

If you wish to use this service, please follow these instructions carefully. If you do not wish to use online registration via, then you can stop here and you do not need to fill out this form.

After you have received sanctioning approval, if you desire online registration, you should immediately fill this form out entirely and e-mail it along with any other instructions to Steve Goldberg <brat @>. The sooner you send it to Steve (after receiving sanctioning approval), the better. PLEASE allow Steve 2 weeks to set up your online registration form.

Also, in your e-mail to Steve (with your request using the form below), PLEASE delete *everything* in the form below except the ANSWER lines as you add your responses, so that he can find the information quickly. (He knows what each number stands for, so he just needs the ANSWER lines with the numbers and your answers.)

1. QUESTION: What is the exact URL (web-page address) of your 
tournament listing on, including the numeric event ID? If 
you don't already have a tournament listing, you *must* 
create one before you continue filling out this questionnaire. (You 
simply go to to add an event to the 
upcoming events list on Once you have done that, you can 
view the event in the events list and the address will look something 
like (where EVENTID is a 
numeric value, which is your event's ID). Copy the URL (web page 
address) from the listing page and paste it in the answer for 1. 



2. QUESTION: What is the deadline for *online* registration (exact 
date and time in local time zone)? Examples:

   (U.S. method:)       May 10, 2006, 12:59pm PDT
   (European method:)   9. June 2006, 23.59 (Paris)

We recommend having online registration end 24 hours before your 
on-site registration (e.g., if you have a registration party on 
Friday night, you should make online registration deadline be 
midnight on Thursday night/Friday morning).

If you have a very big event (such as European or World 
Championships), and need to have people register well in advance so 
you can plan things like t-shirt orders, etc., you should set this to 
midnight before the last date you need numbers to place orders and 
make sure everyone knows they must pre-register. In this case, we 
recommend charging a "late fee" for people who register on-site after 
this deadline so that you get the best results to help you plan your 

Use whichever notation for date/time you're most comfortable with in 
the answer below as with the examples above:



3. QUESTION: In what monetary currency do you want the registration 
form to display the amounts whenever referring to money? In other 
words, wherever there are prices listed on your online entry form, 
what monetary units should they be in terms of? Give *both* the 
spelled-out name of the currency IN ENGLISH, *and* an example of how 
you write a monetary amount using the symbol.

Examples (please use 10 as the amount, when you give your example):
    Canadian Dollars / CAD $10
    Czech Crowns / Kc 10
    US Dollars / US $10
    Euro Dollars / EU10

           [remember to give both English name and abbreviation as above]


4. QUESTION: Do you wish to allow mail-in payments to guarantee 
pre-registration for your tournament if sent before registration 
deadline? (Not all tournaments will want this option -- you should 
only say "yes" if you intend to check your mail regularly for mail-in 
payments, and if you are able to handle various forms of payment, 
from checks to international money orders, and if you are certain you 
have a good system in place for recording receipt of payments by mail 
so that, when the player arrives at your tournament, you know they've 
already paid!)



If you said "no" to 4. then please skip to question 5.

4a. QUESTION: (only if you said "yes" to 4. above) Please give exact 
instructions for mail-in payments -- exactly what address to mail to, 
whom to make checks payable to, whether you accept checks or 
international money orders, etc. This will vary depending on whether 
you are expecting international players or just local players. So 
please be sure to tailor your instructions to your expected audience 
of registrants. For example, if you're in the U.S. and running a 
local tournament within the U.S., then you can say, "Make checks in 
payable to" and give your name (or the name on your club's bank 
account) and then your full mailing address. If you're in Europe and 
expect to have players coming from the U.S., you may want to say, 
"Mail-in payments are only accepted for European players who are 
pre-paying with Eurocheques. If you are coming from the U.S., please 
use the credit card option." (Just as an example.) Please just be 
very clear, and REMEMBER to include your full mailing address 
(including the country, if applicable) because these directions will 
be included directly in the registration form.

Note: the concept of mail-in payments is that players can "guarantee" 
their registrations (and possibly avoid late-fees and early check-in 
times) by pre-paying. If you don't offer credit card or if players 
don't have credit cards, this might be a nice option. And so you need 
to explain exactly how they should go about sending in a payment if 
they want to guarantee their registration here. Else, players may 
pre-register but never pay 'til they check in at the tournament site, 
which may mean you can't be sure exactly who is competing until 
everyone has arrived and checked in.

             [please type the *exact* text of what you want displayed as
              instructions on the entry form for mail-in payments]


5. QUESTION: Do you wish to accept instant Credit Card 
(Visa/MasterCard) payments?



If you answered "no" in 5. above, please skip to question 6.

5a. QUESTION: If you are not in the U.S., and if you are allowing 
online credit card payments (which will be collected in U.S. 
Dollars!), then you will need to pick a *permanent* exchange rate for 
online registration. The reason it's permanent is that we will not 
adjust the rate every day -- we will keep the same rate throughout 
the entire period of online registration for simplicity's sake. If 
you are not offering online payment via credit card (below), then you 
can ignore this (leave it blank unless you plan to use our credit 
card payment system -- read below).

Please type the exchange rate exactly as in the sample equations below:

Examples:  (* these are only to show the idea, not real exchange rates!)
    1 CAD = .71 USD
    1 Kc = 0.04 USD
    1 EU = 1.18 USD

If you are in the U.S., and/or your tournament's currency (above) is 
US Dollars, then just leave 5a. blank.

           [only in terms as above! E.g., 1 of your currency = x USD]


6. QUESTION: What should the "Entry Fee(s)" be for your tournament? 
Remember that all Open competitors (men and women) must be IFPA 
members to compete in an IFPA-sanctioned tournament. We usually treat 
that as a separate line item (not bundled together with the entry 
fee). So, please tell us what you'd like your entry fee to be 
*excluding* any extra fees for IFPA membership. Most tournaments 
offer a different baseline fee for each division (i.e., a competitor 
chooses their division, and pays a fee based on their division, e.g., 
Open vs. Intermediate vs. Novice). Also, some tournaments charge a 
higher fee for "professional" competitors (those who want to be 
eligible to win prize money) as opposed to "amateurs" who are not 
interested in (nor eligible for) prize money. Here are some examples, 
but you are free to decide how you want to structure it:

Example 1:
    Open Professional - Kc 2500   (all open players may win prize money)
    Intermediate Amateur - Kc 1000

Example 2:
    Open/Women's Professional - $50
    Open/Women's Amateur      - $30
    Intermediate Amateur      - $20
    Novice Amateur            - $0 (free)

Note in Examples 1 & 2, all "open" players will be required to join 
IFPA. A separate entry will exist on all registration forms that 
offer open events to allow people to register for IFPA online.

There are several constraints to the way the online registration 
system works, so you can't have too complicated of a pricing scheme. 
Most tournaments work well with either a "flat rate" fee (one fee for 
the entire event, based on division, as above) or with a very simple 
rate structure (for example, with a small baseline entry fee, plus a 
fixed amount for each event). You can charge a price for each event 
in 7. below -- the answer to *this* question (for the "entry fee(s)") 
is only the fixed portion.

Please summarize your primary tournament entry fee(s) here, excluding 
any per-event fees or IFPA membership dues:



7. QUESTION: What events will you offer? You must pick from the list 
below. If you have an extra events, save them for question 8. below. 
For any prize money event, please put a $ in the [ ], else put an x. 
For example, [$] means "prize money event, where  [x] means "event 
offered, but no prize money", and [ ] means "event not offered". Any 
event that has special restrictions will be covered in question 8.

Also, in the ___ in front of each event, if there's a per-event fee 
to be charged if a player registers for that event, please include 
the fee. For example, if your currency is Kc and you want to charge 
30Kc extra for each event, then you may say [$] 30 Open Singles 
Freestyle and [x] 30 Int. Singles Freestyle (just an example). If you 
don't charge per-event fees, then just leave off any numeric values 
and we'll know there's no fee other than the entry fees as described 


    [ ] ___ Open Singles Net         [ ] ___ Open Singles Freestyle
    [ ] ___ Open Doubles Net         [ ] ___ Open Doubles Freestyle
                                     [ ] ___ Open Shred:30
                                     [ ] ___ Open Sick 3-Trick
                                     [ ] ___ Open Sick Trick

    [ ] ___ Women's Singles Net      [ ] ___ Women's Singles Freestyle
    [ ] ___ Women's Doubles Net      [ ] ___ Women's Doubles Freestyle
                                     [ ] ___ Women's Shred:30
                                     [ ] ___ Women's Sick 3-Trick
                                     [ ] ___ Women's Sick Trick

    [ ] ___ Open Mixed Doubles Net   [ ] ___ Open Mixed Doubles Freestyle

    [ ] ___ Int. Singles Net         [ ] ___ Int. Singles Freestyle
    [ ] ___ Int. Doubles Net         [ ] ___ Int. Doubles Freestyle
                                     [ ] ___ Int. Shred:30
                                     [ ] ___ Int. Sick 3-Trick
                                     [ ] ___ Int. Sick Trick


8. QUESTION: List any other events you want to offer (be very 
explicit, and try as much as you can to follow the official rules of 
footbag sports in the name, division, and format of any events you 
offer that are not in the list above).

As with the list above, please put [$] if prize-money is offered, or 
[x] if not, and put the entry fee in place of ___ if there's a 
per-event fee to register for the event.


    [ ] ___ Event Title - any event details (and/or special instructions)
    [ ] ___ Event Title - ...


9. QUESTION: Are there any other options/extras that players can 
choose from or that you want to know? For example, many tournaments 
offer a T-shirt (either extra, or included in the price of 
registration). So, here's where you'd explain how that works (i.e., 
what T-shirt sizes are available, and allow the player to reserve 
their size in advance, and/or to pay in advance if it's separate from 
the baseline registration, etc.).

This is also the place you can put in questions of a polling nature 
-- i.e., if you want to know how many people are planning to stay in 
the host hotel, or the youth hostel, or who needs rides from the 
airport, etc. You can ask limited questions here and see the results 
after the close of online registration.

In the answer below, please list each question, fee, and possible 
options that you want to include on the registration form, according 
to these examples:

    Question: Would you like to reserve a room at the youth hostel?
    Answers: yes, $15
             no, $0
             not sure, $0

    Question: What size T-shirt would you like?
    Options: small, medium, large, extra large

    Question: Do you want an extra T-shirt? If so, it's $15.
    Options: small, medium, large, extra large



10. QUESTION: Would you like to use IFPA's online payment service to 
allow users who pre-register to pay immediately using a major credit 
card? This service is offered by World Footbag Association (an 
outside contract agency) at a fee which they bill you directly of 5% 
of the total cost of all transactions. It is up to you to coordinate 
with WFA directly (via to work out exact dates 
and terms of payment. IFPA does not handle registration fee payments 
directly in any way.

If you choose to use this system, you agree to pay the 5% commission 
to WFA (they will deduct it directly from your credit card 
transactions to cover their costs). If you are outside the U.S., you 
will need to make special arrangements with WFA or IFPA for transfer 
of funds. Otherwise, if you're within the U.S., please include the 
name and address of the payee to which WFA should mail your check(s) 
once they have collected funds for your tournament via the online 

             [yes/no; then include your name/mailing address for checks
              if you are within the U.S. and wish to have WFA collect
              credit card payments on your behalf]