World Fitness Project (WFP) 2026 rulebook, explained

This is the World Fitness Project (WFP) rulebook for the 2026 season, published on 4 February 2026. It is WFP’s rulebook of record until the 2027 one comes out, which is to be confirmed. In the 2027 World Fitness Series each event also has its own rulebook, and that one rules its own competition. Here we walk through it section by section, in our own words and with an exact quote where it matters.

The rulebook describes a 2026 season with three kinds of competition: online qualifiers, in-person Tour Stops and a Finals.

• Three online qualifiers. They are the entry point for athletes without a Pro Card and for teams seeking a spot at each event.
• Two Tour Stops. Three-day competitions with a 50-athlete Pro field made up of Signed Pros, online qualifiers and invitees.
• A Finals Qualifier for teams and age groups that didn’t qualify any other way.
• World Fitness Finals. Four days in which the 30 athletes with the most points across the two Tour Stops compete. Whoever accumulates the most points across the three events is the World Fitness Champion.

In 2027 this structure changes: the season becomes the World Fitness Series plus a Championship (see “WFP 2027: how the season works”).

WFP asks for respect and sportsmanship towards rivals, judges and staff. The rulebook has a clear rule on cheating: any athlete who cheats, for instance by editing videos or deliberately miscounting reps, can be disqualified, suspended or lose earnings.

• Information given at registration and in videos (scores, times, reps) must be truthful. Lying can mean disqualification.
• WFP has the final word on any ruling, disqualification included.
• WFP’s Drug-Free Sport policy applies at every competition.
• At in-person events drones are not allowed without permission, and event images can’t be used commercially without written consent.

In 2026 the rulebook lists divisions by type of competition.

• Online qualifiers: Male Challengers, Female Challengers and Elite Teams of 4.
• Tour Stops: men’s and women’s individual, and Elite teams of four (two men and two women).
• Finals: besides Pro, 14 age divisions: 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54 and 55+ (each male and female) and 14-15 and 16-17 (male and female), plus Elite teams. WFP’s website says the 2026 Finals youth pathway is The Crown (ages 16-21, invitation only).

An important note: the rulebook names an individual Challenger division, but WFP’s website says that in 2026 it does not exist as a separate division at the Tour Stops or Finals, and that Signed Pros and Challengers compete together in Pro. All divisions follow WFP’s gender classification policy, and WFP reserves the right to invite anyone or add divisions.

For 2027 divisions, see “Divisions and ages at the World Fitness Project”.

• Signed Pros: athletes with a Pro Card for the season get automatic entry to each Tour Stop.
• Challengers: any Pro-division athlete without a Pro Card. Those who qualify receive a direct registration link once WFP verifies results.
• Teams: four athletes (two men and two women) and a roster of up to six, to have one substitute per gender. They don’t need to be from the same gym. The roster locks when the team takes the floor for event 1 and can’t change afterwards. One athlete acts as captain: the person who registers the team and is its point of contact.
• Finals, Pro: the 30 men and 30 women with the most points across the two Tour Stops.
• Finals, teams and age groups: qualification through a Tour Stop, a partner competition or the Finals Qualifier.

The rule is simple: age is calculated as of 31 December 2026 and that age decides your age division for the whole year. What counts is the age you reach in 2026, not the age you have on competition day.

In 2027 each event can set its own reference date. Athens Throwdown, for example, requires the minimum age on 18 April 2027 for Masters categories, and being under 18 until 16 April 2027 for the youth category. WFP’s 2027 rule is to be confirmed.

Teams can make changes before competition, for any reason, but only with athletes from the six-person roster submitted at registration. WFP must be told as soon as the need appears, naming the athlete being replaced and the substitute. Once competition begins, no substitutions are allowed. WFP can approve or reject any change, and if it finds substitutions used to gain an unfair advantage it can penalise or disqualify the team.

If you want to compete for a spot, you must submit the video of every qualifier workout. In the video you must:

• Introduce yourself: state your full name, division and workout.
• Show weights and measurements: the prescribed weights and the heights or distances, with the measurement visible.
• Follow the workout scorecard for details of each test.
• Show a timer. WFP recommends a video app with a stopwatch, and requires a clock to be visible throughout the workout, either physical or in the app.

The camera must show the whole athlete and every movement, following the scorecard’s floor plan, without the judge blocking the view. Don’t wear clothes the colour of the background.

This is the most important video rule and the one that invalidates the most scores. The rulebook requires the video to be “one continuous shot”, from the athlete’s introduction through weight/measurement verification to the end of the workout, and to be “uncut and unedited”. Any editing can invalidate the video, and WFP will not accept the score.

• One shot, from introduction to last rep.
• No cuts, no jumps, no edits, no timer added afterwards.
• No fisheye or similar lens that distorts the movement: the video may be rejected.

The video is uploaded as public to one of the accepted platforms: YouTube, Vimeo, Google Drive, WeTime, Wodproof or iCloud. If WFP can’t open the video when the score is submitted, it may be rejected.

• Upload the video at the same time as the score: it takes time to upload and no extensions are given if you miss the deadline.
• Once the upload is complete, you can add the link to the workout on Competition Corner.
• WFP is not responsible if a platform blocks the video, for instance over copyrighted music. If there is a risk, deliberately mute the audio and introduce yourself with a whiteboard or paper (name, division and workout number).

Judges for qualifier review and in-person Pro divisions hold credentials approved by WFP. Each judge is responsible for scoring accurately and enforcing the standard.

• Standards are described with each workout release and explained at briefings, online or on-site. You must meet or exceed the standard: if a squat snatch is prescribed, a power snatch won’t count unless stated otherwise.
• WFP can review any performance on video, especially if there are doubts or disputes.
• Uncommon movement clause: an irregular movement, or one meant to shorten the range, may not count. It is the athlete’s responsibility to tell the judge before the workout. Exceptions for injury or limitation are “extremely rare”.

• Live no-rep: if you don’t perform a movement to standard, the judge calls “no-rep” and that rep doesn’t count.
• Live false start: starting before the signal carries a 0:15 (fifteen-second) penalty.
• Online: the reviewer marks and counts each no-rep, and each no-rep has a designated penalty. The score is also adjusted for false starts.
• Equipment failure: if your equipment fails, fixing it is your responsibility; the clock doesn’t stop and no extra time is given, unless WFP or its judges or volunteers are directly at fault.

WFP reserves the right to review any penalty.

Points use a sliding scale: each workout is worth up to 100 points, awarded by placing. The scale can be adjusted to the number of athletes or teams in the division, and athletes are reseeded after each competition day and before the final workout.

• Pro: the system is cumulative across the season. Points from Tour Stop 1, Tour Stop 2 and the Finals are added together, and whoever has the most after the Finals is champion. WFP illustrates it with an example: 550 + 490 = 1,040 points before the Finals; with 710 at the Finals, 1,750 in total.
• Teams and age groups: scored per workout with the same scale.
• Tiebreak at an event: the best placing in a single workout wins.
• End-of-season tiebreak: first the best finish at a Tour Stop, then the best placing in any workout across the season.

Only the affected athlete (in individual divisions), a team captain, the legal guardian of an athlete under 18 or the athlete’s or team’s coach may appeal. Nobody else.

• Online qualifier: you must tell WFP by email within 24 hours of your score appearing on Competition Corner. A panel of WFP senior judges and league officials reviews the case and its decision is final.
• Live: the appeal is filed within 60 minutes of your score being published on the leaderboard (5 minutes for the final workout), with a time-and-date-stamped email. You can only appeal after signing the scorecard, which doesn’t mean you agree with it.
• Two-appeal rule: you start with two. If it succeeds, you keep it; if it’s denied, you lose one. With none left, you can’t appeal again.
• What you can appeal: total reps or time, loading or equipment errors, course inconsistencies, scorecard or leaderboard errors, miscommunicated standards and another athlete’s score.
• What you can’t: most judges’ no-reps, such as squat depth or hip extension.

Weights are published in kilograms and pounds. If you can’t match the exact conversion, use a load at least as heavy as prescribed. A 15 kg bar counts as 35 pounds and a 20 kg bar as 45 pounds. Collars don’t count in the weight. If a workout asks you to determine your weight, the official weight must be recorded in the specified format and rounded to the nearest pound.

• Clothing must not stop the judge seeing the standard or give grip or weight assistance.
• Belts, non-tacky gloves, tape, neoprene sleeves and common fitness wear are allowed, per WFP’s approved equipment list.
• Sport footwear is required. Slippers, socks and open-toed shoes are not allowed, nor altering the sole to add height.
• No music players or headphones; watches, wearables and heart-rate monitors are allowed.
• Once on the floor you can’t receive outside material assistance.

• Registrations are final: no refunds or transfers, whatever the reason (injury, illness, work, etc.), unless stated otherwise.
• In individual divisions you can’t transfer or substitute your spot.
• You must register with valid and truthful information, including your email.
• Under-18s: need parental consent at registration, and if they qualify, a parent or guardian must be on site throughout the competition.
• Coaches: one pass per athlete or team, non-transferable, declared at registration and 18 or older.
• WFP can invite past winners, guest athletes or teams to any stage.

If an athlete is injured in competition, WFP provides medical care. The head of medical and safety can withdraw an athlete, and judges and directors can stop anyone at risk of serious harm. An athlete or team unable to take part in the next workout, through injury or failure to finish, is withdrawn from the competition, keeps the points earned and is ranked on them. A team with an injured member can continue until it can’t complete the workout as prescribed; at that point it receives a DNF.