How are ties broken in BMX freestyle, and what do DNS and DSQ mean?
A · Advanced · The competition · 2 of 2Results run from the highest score to the lowest. If two riders tie, the judges discuss both performances and decide which was better before the scores are reported. A rider who does not start a phase is marked DNS and placed last in it. Not starting the qualification means disqualification and no place at all.
How it works
- The order: "in order of the highest score to the lowest".
- Ties: the judges "will decide which rider had the better performance before reporting the scores in question".
- DNS: did not start. A rider refused a start, withdrawn or absent before their first run. They cannot go on to the next phase.
- Where DNS riders are placed: last in that phase. Several DNS riders are ordered by their results in the phase before.
- DNS in qualification: counted as disqualified, with no place in the final results.
- Withdrawing mid-run: the rider counts as a starter and is scored on what they completed.
- Missing a semi-final or final: the DNS becomes a disqualification unless there is an acceptable reason, such as injury, and the rider proves it.
- Final classification: finalists first, in the order of their final scores. Then the riders who went out in the semi-final, in the order of their semi-final scores.
- When results appear: within 120 minutes of the end of qualification, 30 minutes after a semi-final and 15 minutes after the final.
- Weather: a heat stopped by a weather time-out is ridden again. If a phase cannot be finished, the last completed phase gives the result.
The glossary has the run and the commissaires panel.
Tricky cases
Two riders both score 88.50 in the final. Do they share the place?
No. The judges discuss the two performances and decide which was better before the scores are reported.
A rider is injured in the first run of the final and cannot take the second. Do they still get a result?
Yes. They started, so they are scored on what they completed, and in the final the better run counts.
A rider qualifies for the final and then does not turn up. Are they placed last in the final?
It depends on the reason. With an acceptable reason, such as injury, they are a DNS and placed last. Without one, the DNS becomes a disqualification.
Rain stops the final and it cannot be resumed. Who wins?
The leader of the last completed phase. If not even the qualification was completed, there is no result.
Why the rule exists
Scores to two decimals will sometimes match, and a judged sport has no stopwatch to fall back on, so the people who watched the runs settle it. Placing non-starters by the phase they reached keeps the credit a rider earned in getting there.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Qualification | A non-starter is disqualified and unranked | UCI 6bis.6.016 |
| Semi-final and final | A non-starter is last in the phase, or disqualified without good reason | UCI 6bis.6.013; UCI 6bis.6.016 |
| Rankings | Points for the UCI ranking are in a chapter not read | UCI Part 6bis, chapter XI |
From the rule book
Union Cycliste Internationale, Cycling Regulations, Part 6bis: BMX Freestyle Competitions (JCF edition 2025, amendments to 1 January 2026), articles 6bis.6.013 to 6bis.6.017, 6bis.6.040 and 6bis.6.041. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: UCI Cycling Regulations, Part 6bis (PDF).