AACCA E.5:
- A top person may be inverted in partner stunts in which the base of support remains below shoulder level provided both the following conditions are met:
- At least one base or spotter protects the head/neck/shoulder area of the top person. This base or spotter must maintain contact with the top person until he/she is no longer inverted.
- During a downward inversion, two original bases or one original base and a spotter maintain contact with the top person in a position to protect his/her head, neck and shoulder area. This contact must be maintained until the top person’s hands are on the performing surface or he/she is no longer inverted.
Interpretations/Situations/FAQ:
Q1: Yo-yo’s are legal now. Does this require hand to hand contact like in a suspended forward roll?
You don’t have to have hand to hand contact for a yo-yo, just two bases in contact with the top during the downward part of the inversion, which a normal yo-yo does.
Video:
Legal: YoYo
Legal: Cradle Back Walkover at 0:10
ILLEGAL: Pancake
The top person’s base of support is not below the shoulder level. Additionally, during the downward part of the inversion, there are not two bases/spotters in contact with the top person in a position to protect her head/neck/shoulders.
Can you have a flyer start in a handstand on a basket toss grip and have them toss her to an upright extended position? For example, a hitch or lib…
Christina, it depends on specifically how it’s done, but I don’t think it would be legal. If they tossed her (meaning she’s released from everyone) it wouldn’t fit the inversion rule any longer since someone isn’t in contact with her. It would also probably end up going to and above shoulder level while inverted, which would be illegal.
However, if she piked or stepped one leg down to the backspot who held on to the ankle, then she could theoretically be popped from the basket to a load position as long as her hips came down and made her no longer inverted by the time the “base of support” got to shoulder level.
This interpretation has been further modified so the rule is easier to understand and watch. From a low level inverted stunt you can pop to an upright position at prep level or below as long as the top person is not taken up to an exaggerated height while doing the skill. This way the rule will not promote bad stunt technique (cutting short the movement of the bases to stand the top person up) while also limiting the height of the top person while inverted. Hopefully this will make it easier for coaches to understand the rule and keep the kids safe and help rules judges at competitions to understand when a skill is legal or illegal by the rules.
Further clarification on low level inversions that transition to some type of upright position:
After additional conversations with the rules board of the NFHS it has been decided that from a low level inversion (handstand on thighs or handstand in a basket toss grip) the top can be transitioned to a loading position, prep or extended level stunt. Unless VERY obvious that the support of the top person is higher than shoulder level while still inverted, the top person will be assumed to be parallel to the ground or already in an upright position.
At one point the interpretation was that the top person would have to establish a prep level body position and then could go extended and that is no longer the case.
This has been modified/clarified as of approximately July 15th after AACCA discussions with the NFHS rules board.
For the handstand on thigh stand— Could the flyer have their legs in a V instead of having both of their legs straight up?
There are no restrictions on the body positions, so yes you could.
Can a group move while a flyer is inverted if all the other rules are followed? Meaning a flyer is held with head/neck support in a handstand position and the bases move her from the center of the floor to the side of a pyramid? Thanks!
Yes, as long as all of the criteria are met during the move.