Mallakhamb words · Intermediate

The words that make the commentary make sense. They build on the beginner words.

I · Intermediate · 29 words · Step 2 of 2

General terms

Mallakhamb Federation of India

The national body (MFI), founded in January 1981 at Ujjain. Its Technical Committee frames the rules and the code of points, trains and assesses judges, and appoints competition directors and judging panels. The SGFI runs the school games version with the MFI's help.

School Games Federation of India

The body that runs the national school games, whose rules and regulations for mallakhamb this document sets out, with a Technical Committee formed with the help of the MFI and the organising state.

Team

A team has at most four and at least three competitors in each age group, so a full contingent is 12 boys and 12 girls with coaches and managers. Team championship needs at least three teams, each with at least three competitors.

Apparatus and equipment

Hanging mallakhamb

A version like the pole but with a pole shorter than the standard one, hung from hooks and a chain, leaving a gap between the ground and the bottom of the pole.

Competition equipment

Mats of 2 m by 1 m and 6 to 10 cm thick around the pole and below the rope and hanging apparatus (a crash mat is allowed), castor oil, magnesium carbonate powder, resin powder, whistles or bells, stopwatches, score slips and sheets and a scoreboard. The MFI approves the apparatus beforehand.

Uniform (mallakhamb)

For boys on the pole only a langot and jangiya, and on the rope a langot and shorts with a sando banian or T-shirt, or a wrestling costume. For girls a gym suit with three-quarter sleeves, with or without slacks, or a T-shirt and shorts. Cotton or elastic anklets and kneecaps without foam padding are allowed only on the rope.

Competitions

Compulsory and optional competitions

In an age group with compulsory sets, everyone performs the compulsory set first, and only those who average at least 50 per cent qualify for the optional set on that apparatus (the Technical Committee may lower it). Where there is no compulsory set, all go straight to the optional set.

Apparatus championship

Competition No. III, which decides the champion on each apparatus. The best six competitors from Competition No. I (not more than two from one team) perform one more optional set, and half the marks of Competition No. I are added to the full marks of Competition No. III.

Best Mallakhamb Player

A competition at the national championship after the apparatus championship, in which the best two competitors from all four age groups each perform one optional set on the rope. The highest score out of 10 wins the title.

The ruleHow are mallakhamb winners decided?

Ties

If two tie for first, both are first winners and the next competitor is third. Three to five tied for first take first and the next positions are 4th to 6th. The same applies for second place, and four or more tied for third all take third with no further merit places.

Sets and time

Time signals

The timekeeper starts the watch when the competitor leaves the ground to touch the apparatus and stops it on touching the floor after dismount. A short whistle sounds at 60 seconds and a long one at 90, and an element in progress at the 90-second signal still counts, but one started after it does not. Time deductions for a set out of the range are 0.10 up to 2 seconds, 0.20 up to 5, 0.30 up to 9 and 0.50 for 10 or more.

Warm-up

At most 3 minutes for a team and 1 minute for an individual before the competition. No warming up between sets, which costs 0.20. A competitor must start within 10 seconds of the chief judge's signal or lose points.

Fall

A fall from the apparatus costs 0.50 points. The competitor may continue within 10 seconds, and if not, the set is scored up to the fall. The clock is not stopped by a fall before 90 seconds, and first aid by the coach costs nothing.

Scoring and judging

Tolerance

The limit on the gap between the average of the two middle scores and the chief judge's score: 0.10 for averages from 9 to 10, 0.20 for 8 to 9, 0.30 for 7 to 8, 0.40 for 6 to 7, 0.50 for 5 to 6 and 1.00 below 5. If it is exceeded, the chief judge calls the judges together before the score is written.

Base score

If the judges cannot settle within two minutes, the chief judge may take the average of the average of the two middle scores and the chief judge's own score, and declare it the average score. It is used only with a five-member panel.

Combination

The balance of the set, worth 1.60 points: using the full length of the apparatus, elements from both the right and left sides, forward and backward bends, and speedy, acrobatic, catching and hold elements. On the pole there are specific requirements such as a vertical hold, a horizontal hold, a press element and at least 16 elements; on the rope at least 18 elements, a hold with the rope held in the legs at 4 m and a C-class dismount.

Execution

Five points for technique, range of movement, posture, controlled movement, exactness of turns, height and flight of catches, the position after a Zaap, a steady landing, preciseness, speed and a minimum of extra touches in transitions.

Elements

Hold part

An element in which the performer holds a position on the apparatus, many named after yoga postures. On the rope every hold must be held for 2 seconds: less is an incomplete element and more counts as a pause.

Mount and dismount

The way to get on the apparatus and the way to leave it. Mounts and dismounts of the compulsory sets, if repeated in an optional set, are not evaluated at all.

Catch

An element in which the performer lets go and regains hold of the apparatus, judged on height and flight.

Repetition

Repeating an element more than twice costs 0.20 for every repetition, and an element that fails because of a fall is not counted as done, so a successful second attempt is not a repetition.

Deductions and conduct

Execution deductions

Taken by all the judges from execution. Minor ones are 0.10 each, such as improper posture, bent palms, elbows or knees, a wrong final position, a pause of more than 2 seconds, and low amplitude, with a touch of the ground or an extra swing 0.20. Major deductions up to 0.50 are for losing balance on the apparatus, physical help by the coach and a fall.

Chief judge's deductions

Taken from the average score: 0.10 for not reporting to the chief judge, 0.20 each for breaking the sequence, exceeding or taking a warm-up, a late start and improper attire, 0.50 for a team not in uniform, time deductions, and 1.00 for the competitor's misbehaviour. Gross misconduct can mean debarring the competitor or team.

See also: Warm-up, Average score, Chief judge

Assistance by the coach

A coach standing near the apparatus costs 0.20, physical help up to 0.50 for each help, and an element done with the complete help of the coach is not evaluated. Only one coach may be in the arena. On the rope or hanging apparatus a coach touching to stop a swing costs 0.30 each time, and may stand near only for elements marked C.

Officials and protests

Chief judge

The judge in charge of a panel, who signals the start, writes a score slip first, checks the others' scores, applies the rules to reach the final score, and can warn a competitor, coach or judge for misconduct. The chief judge and the scorer must not belong to the same state or unit.

Set writer

A qualified judge who notes each set in detail, including pauses, faults, helps, falls and final body positions. If judges differ, the set writer's notes are authentic and final.

Competition director

The official appointed by the Technical Committee who checks the apparatus and equipment, appoints the judging panels, sets the timetable, supervises the judges, and may end a prolonged discussion and give the final verdict.

Protest and Jury of Appeal

The manager or coach may protest the declared score in writing within half an hour, with the prescribed fee, to the Jury of Appeal, which decides in writing through the competition director. The fee is refunded if the protest is upheld. Judges may not protest.

Judge licences

The MFI tests judges once a year at the national championship. A pass (60 per cent in theory and viva) gives a Grade III licence for three years, and Grade II and Grade I follow after viva examinations and judging at least two national tournaments at the grade below. The upper age limit for a judge is 50.

All Mallakhamb words