Rokkaku Fighting has become a regular feature of our kite festivals, and the 1998 SAKFA festival will be no exception. We WILL have a Rok battle and see if someone is able to divest Colin Mortimer & Co (Natal Sharks!) of the title.

It is appropriate to have some guidelines for both competitors and organisers. Below are the recognised Rokkaku Fighting Rules, with acknowledgement to The Kiteflier, January 1995, published by the Kite Society of Great Britain.

Variations to these rules that we will apply at the SAKFA Festival in September are as follows:

1. We will fly three rounds of battle for Teams only.

2. The minimum kite size will be 1.6 metres. AFTER the 1998 festival, we intend to revert to the sizes in the Rules below.

3. Flying line will be available at the festival A condition of entry will be the purchase of 60 metres (200 feet) of this line. This will ensure that all competitors fly with the same line, thus levelling the battlefield! Please be sure to bring your own spool or winder for the line.

May the best team win !

The kite may be repaired in between rounds of the competition as long as this is done within the specified time limits and does not require the replacement of the skin of the kite. If the skin is not repairable or the kite is lost then that team is out of the competition. There is of course nothing to stop them entering a new kite in subsequent rounds of the competition except that any points accrued before the replacement cannot be added to those earned with the new kite and only one set of points will count.

The line used must be "commercially available" nylon or polyester with no abrasive coatings. There is no restriction on, ( breaking strain of the line. This rule is a little vague as to whether a particular line is acceptable or not, but it is entirely up , to the judges on the day to decide whether line is usable or not.

The only other restriction on the line regards the length of line allowed for a competition. The maximum line length which is allowed for each competition is 200 feet. This line may not be replaced between the rounds of a competition and if cut the competitor has the option either o discard the cut line or to tie it back onto the remaining line. This could be achieved by tying a length of ripstop into the line at the 200 feet point before the competition begins. This will require the organisers/judges to have a measured 200 foot laid out for the competitors to mark their line against.

"Team" Size

The individual competition is for one person only. For team then a minimum of two competitors must be in contact with the line once fight has been called. Launchers have the choice either to join the flyers or to leave the arena. No non-competing flyers are allowed in the arena.

Pulldowns

Flyers may not touch any part of an opponents kite including the flying line at any point during the competition.

Time Limit

There will be a strict time timed of 15 minutes per round from fight to finish, and this should be rigidly enforced by the judges. The time allowed for repairs etc. between rounds is to be decided by the judges/ event organisers and should be made known to the competitors before the competition begins. The recommendation is that this break should be no more than 5 minutes. There should be no other events between rounds of the National Rokkaku Challenge.

Scoring

Under normal circumstances the scoring will remain unchanged as shown in table below.

Judges

The event organisers will ensure that three judges are available, at least one of whom should be from a pool of experienced judges.