The officiating crew
Six roles run the field
Authority
1
Head Judge
Owns the rulebook on the day, rules on protests, and is the only person who can void a heat.
The lane
24 needed
Lane Marshal
Runs one lane: fits and seals the blade, starts the clock, confirms cuts and calls competitors out.
The sky
32 needed
Spotter
Watches the crossing from a second angle. A cut needs the marshal and a spotter to agree.
Equipment
6 needed
Technical Inspector
Measures frames, checks line, seals hardware at the tech tent. Nothing unsealed reaches the field.
The ground
8 needed
Recovery Marshal
Controls the drop zone, dispatches runners and returns cut kites to their registered owners.
Record
4 needed
Scorer
Logs every confirmed cut to the world ladder before the next bell, in view of both crews.
Certification
Four days of training, one written examination
Certification runs in the championship week and is free. Officials are fed, housed and insured for the duration, and certified judges carry the qualification into future editions and partner qualifiers.
Apply to certifyDay 1
Rulebook and format
The full rulebook, the bracket, class differences and the language of the calls.
Day 2
Blade handling
Fitting, sealing, collecting and counting blades. Chain of custody from tent to lane and back.
Day 3
Judging the cut
Field drills on live lanes: angle, confirmation, disputed cuts and the two-official rule.
Day 4
Safety and stop procedure
Wind ceiling, whistle protocol, crowd line, medical escalation and evacuation.
Day 4
Written examination
Sixty questions, pass mark 85%. Certification is valid for three championship cycles.
How a cut is judged
Two confirmations, one signal, no argument
A cut
The opposing line parts while your kite remains airborne, confirmed by the lane marshal and one spotter.
Not a cut
A line that parts from wear, knot failure or a ground snag. The heat continues.
Out
Your line parts, your kite touches ground, or you cross into another lane.
The signal
A raised flag from the marshal, echoed by the spotter, then logged by the scorer before the next launch.
The stop
One long whistle grounds every lane on the field immediately. Any official may call it.
Protests
Disagree in writing, within thirty minutes
—Filed in writing by the competitor or crew captain, not by spectators or coaches.
—Within thirty minutes of the heat ending — after that the result stands.
—Heard by the Head Judge with both marshals and the spotter present.
—Decided before the next round of the affected bracket begins.
—The Head Judge's decision is final and is published in the day's results sheet.