ルール — Rules
How We Play
Meet to Beat 3runs on two official rulesets, a few rules all our own, and a bracket unlike anything in derby. Here's all of it.
The Two Rulesets
USARS Rules
Friday's games are played under the USARS / World Skate roller derby ruleset.
Read the official rules →WFTDA Rules
Saturday's games are played under the WFTDA ruleset — the global standard for flat-track roller derby.
Read the official rules →Friday runs under USARS rules and Saturday under WFTDA rules. For Sunday's final placement games, the higher-seeded team's captain chooses which ruleset to play.
The Draft & Rosters
Draft Rules
The draft is a single-pick snake draft, with the order set by the tournament director. Because every captain and their second-in-command also skate, the TD runs a mock draft that includes them and uses the relative strength of each captain/second pairing to balance the field — usually by removing certain round picks from the strongest pairings. (For example, if one team's captain and second are both first-round-caliber, the TD might take away that team's first-round pick.) These handicaps were used in both previous years, and captains have final approval over the TD's initial ruling.
Supplemental Draft
After the draft, captains report any players who dropped, then get to replenish those spots. Pick order is set by weighted factors — the number of players remaining on each team, the draft value of the missing players, and the captain's original draft position.
The Switch
When a team wins, the winning captain may steal any two players from the team they just beat. However, someone on the winning team must give a copy of each stolen player's trading card to the tournament director (or a delegated volunteer if the TD is unavailable). Swapped players complete a jersey swap — each captain carries extra jerseys in a range of sizes, and every captain must make sure their roster is fully dressed in their jerseys before the next game. All tournament jerseys are numbered 1–20.
Trading Cards
Every player gets a booster pack of at least ten trading cards, and you may trade them at any time — there are no restrictions on trades. Get caught stealing trading cards and you're out of the tournament (and the tournament director will yell at you… a lot). When a player gets traded between teams, their trading-card collection goes with them. Previous years' cards may not be used at The Meet to Beat 3: Tokyo Switch.
Matchmaking
This is a power-ranking format: if your team is 2–0, you'll play another 2–0 team, and so on — and you can't play the same team back-to-back. For matchmaking, records of equal strength are treated the same (a 4–1 team is equivalent to a 3–0 team). Seeding is decided by head-to-head record first, then by point-differential percentage — so beating an opponent 80–40 counts the same as a team that won 200–100.
Substitutions
If a team drops below 12 skaters — through injury, availability, or any other reason — a captain may borrow any consenting player from another team, as long as the replacement was drafted in an equal or later round of the snake draft than the earliest-drafted unavailable skater. (Example: if you lose a 3rd-, 5th-, and 8th-round skater and you're down to 10, you can refill back to 12 — but your first replacement can be no higher than a 3rd-round pick, and the next no higher than a 5th-round pick.)
Finals
On Sunday, every team plays a placement game, and the higher-seeded team's captain chooses the ruleset. The championship (1st/2nd-place) game is a full-length bout with regular timeouts, challenges, and period length. The 3rd-place and 5th-place games are half-length bouts. There is no 7th-place game.
Gameplay
Game Format
Each game is 30 minutes of play — two 15-minute halves with a 5-minute halftime. Players may pick up 5 penalties before being ejected. Captains can keep challenging until they lose a challenge. Timeouts run on a running clock; challenges do not.
Big Hits
Any legal hit is legal, regardless of impact. We don't escalate a hit's severity based on the receiving player's status. The egregiousness of a hit is judged only by how far it deviates from normal play — not by whether it happened to cause an injury.
Impact & Penalties
Penalties won't be issued in a strict-liability format. During USARS play, if a skater goes backward and it only affects that skater, no penalty needs to be issued. A referee may still call it, but discretion is given — with the suggestion that they announce “no impact” and briefly explain it to the player at their earliest convenience.
Ejections
Any ejection that isn't a foul-out must be reported to the tournament director for adjudication and possible suspension. If a captain challenges an ejection during play, the tournament director may be consulted to advise the decision.
Talking to Refs
Any player may talk to any official about simple matters. If a ref doesn't have the time or capacity to answer, they'll ask the skater to raise the issue through their captain or assistant captain.
Gender
No gender rules. As discussed with the captains, no one believes it will meaningfully impact gameplay, and keeping it open keeps things uniform and simple.
Free Skate
You're welcome to skate around without gear when you're not playing — at your own risk. If kids with no experience can do it at open skate, adults trained to hit each other on skates don't need strict monitoring. Just be responsible.
Conduct & Safety
Code of Conduct
The golden rule: don't be a douchebag. We have zero tolerance for harassment, threats, or needless obstinance.
Policy Actions
First offense: a verbal warning with Sam and your captain (or, if a captain is the problem, with you and another captain) — up to suspension from your next game. Second offense: a full captain vote on whether you stay.
In-Game vs. Out-of-Game Discipline
Out-of-game punishments are only applied when the in-game penalty isn't enough to deter the behavior. For example: a player who simply fouls out gets no extra sanctions. But a player who fouls out and then racks up several more penalties on their way off the track — in anticipation of the ejection — may receive additional out-of-game punishment, up to suspension from further games.
Assumption of Risk
To be overtly clear: you signed waivers when you registered, and we cannot stress this enough. WFTDA and USARS insurance only kicks in after your own personal insurance, and insurers will fight not to pay for injuries like their lives depend on it. So, plainly: you're an adult choosing to play a pick-up tournament of your own free will. No one is making you skate. If you get hurt doing a sport where we move fast and hit each other — please, for the love of all things logical — do not ask who is going to pay your medical bills.
How the Bracket Works
Here's how the weekend flows, from draft night to the final whistle:
- 1Draft — captains build their rosters in a single-pick snake draft, with balancing handicaps set by the tournament director.
- 2Friday & Saturday pool play — a power-ranking format where teams face opponents with the same record; Friday under USARS rules, Saturday under WFTDA rules. After each win, the Switch swaps two players between teams.
- 3Seeding — set by head-to-head record, then point-differential percentage.
- 4Sunday placement games — the higher seed's captain picks the ruleset. The championship is full-length; the 3rd- and 5th-place games are half-length; there's no 7th-place game. Everything wraps by 4 PM.
Questions about the format?