The following rules, worked out by Chinese experts and put into practice in domestic and international competitions in late 1980s, are subject to changes by international wushu organizations while taking effect worldwide.
Chapter 1: Judges' Staff and Their Duties
Article 1. Composition of the Judges' Staff
1. One chief referee and three assistant chief referees
2. Each judges' group consists of one head judge and five to seven judges (including a scorer and time-keeper)
3. One head recorder and two to three recorders
4. One head register and two to three registers
Article 2. Duties of the Referees and Judges
Directed by the organizing committee of a competition, the referees and judges shall carry out their work conscientiously. Their duties are as follows:
1. The chief referees shall:
1) Be responsible for competition matters, direct each judges' group to ensure that the rules be fully implemented and get the judges study and familiarize themselves with the rules and judging methods and check all preparation work before competition starts;
2) Explain and solve the problems which are unclear or not covered in the rules, but have no right to modify the rules;
3) Solve the problems at his discretion, whenever improper conducts by contestants or serious mistakes by judges occur during competitions;
4) Replace judges as he deems it necessary, in the course of the competition;
5) Examine and announce results of competitions and make a report on the judges' work.
2. The assistant chief referees shall:
Assist the chief referee in his work, or in his absence (one of them) act as the chief referee.
3. The head judge shall:
1) Organize the technical study of each judges' group and put the judges' work in to effect;
2) Give permission to the re-performance of contestants and make deductions for time violations, or fouls in the commencing move, and/or finishing move, and announced the final scores of contestants;
3) Suggest the chief referee to take necessary measures when the judges are found to have committed serious mistakes.
4. The judges shall:
1) Carry out the decisions made for the competition and take part in the technical study, and make necessary preparations for competitions;
2) Apply the rules correctly and give scores independently and make detailed notes.
5. The head recorder shall:
1) Arrange all the work at the recording office, examine the name list of participants and work out competition programme according to the requirement of the competition;
2) Prepare the recording forms for the competition, examine and verify the results, calculate scores to decide placings.
6. The recorders shall:
Undertake the task assigned by the head recorder.
7. The scorer and timekeeper shall:
1) Count accurately the competition time of contestants and inform the head judge of any time violations;
2) Take scores in his own judges' group and calculate the final scores.
8. The head register shall:
Take charge of the work at the registration office and contact the chief referees whenever and changes take place.
9. The registers shall:
Call the contestants together to make preparations for entering into the competition area according to the order of competition, and give the name list to the head judges.
10. The announcers shall:
Give out to the public, during competitions, the results, regulations, rules, characteristics of each official or demonstration event, as well as materials for promulgation on wushu approved by the organizing committee of the competition.
Chapter II: General Rules
Article 1. Competition format shall be decided by the Competition Regulations and shall have:
1) Individual event
2) Individual all-around event
3) Team event
Article 2. Competition Event
1) Changquan (long-range boxing)
2) Nanquan (Southern style boxing)
3) Taijiquan
4) Broadswordplay
5) Swordplay
6) Spearplay
7) Cudgelplay
Article 3. Demonstration Event
Any sort of boxing or apparatus routines and any sort of set sparring or team event except those in official competition events.
Article 4. Order of Placings
1. Individual event: The person with the highest scores in each separate event shall be the winner of the event; the person with the second highest scores shall be placed second, and so on and so forth.
2. Individual all-around event:
The placings shall be decided according to the total points won in the three events (one each from the boxing routine, short apparatus routine and long apparatus routine). The person with the highest scores shall rank first; the person with the second highest scores shall rank second, and so on land so forth.
3. Tie: In case that two or more contestants or teams have the same scores and if otherwise not provided in the regulations, the following methods shall be adopted:
1) If contestants have the same scores in one of the individual events, the one with the highest total scores in other individual events shall be placed first; and if the tie still remains, they shall be awarded the same place in the event.
2) If contestants have the same scores in the individual all-around event, the one who holds more titles in individual events shall be placed first; and if the tie still remains, the second best performances of the contestants tying shall decide the tie; then, if necessary, the third best and so on.
3) If teams have the same points, the one which possesses more titles shall be the winner; and if the tie still remains, the one who has won more second places shall be counted, and so on and so forth.
Article 5. Costumes, entrance, exit, commencing move, time keeping, music and protocol
1. All judges shall wear unified uniforms and emblems.
2. Throughout the competition the contestants shall wear sports uniforms and barebacked is not permitted.
3. Upon hearing his/her name called, the contestant shall come to greet the head judge with "palm and fist" salute at the designated spot, then march into the arena. After the head judge nods approval, the contestant shall go to the starting spot and start his/her performance. Once any part of the contestant's body begins to move, the performance is considered to have started and the time starts to count. After the performance, the contestant shall wait for the results at a place outside the competition area. When the final score is given by the head judge, the contestant shall stand at attention at the designated spot to salute the head judge with eyes.
4. Palm and fist salute: Stand at attention, left palm and right fist press against each other at chest level about 20-30 cm away from the chest.
5. When the finishing move is done, the contestant shall keep feet close together and then turn to the head judge. The contestant shall not be permitted to turn to the head judge while doing the finishing move.
6. The commencing move and finishing move shall be done at the same side of the arena and towards the same direction. In case of other kinds of commencing or finishing move, the contestant shall inform the head judge in advance.
7. The stopwatches of the judges' group are dominant in time keeping and two watches shall be used in each judges' group. The one that has reached the required time shall be counted as the competition time. Deductions shall be made when time is inadequate and the stopwatch that is closer to required time shall be counted as the competition time.
8. Music is not allowed in any competition or demonstration events with the exception of team event.
