Rulebook

BATTLE OF THE LION 2027

COMPETITION RULEBOOK

The Battle of the Lion (BOTL) is an annual functional fitness competition organized in Osnabrück, Germany.

This Competition Rulebook applies to all stages of the competition, including registration, online qualification and the finals.

By registering for or participating in BOTL, every athlete agrees to comply with this Competition Rulebook, the applicable Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy and Waiver.

Questions regarding the competition should be directed to:

Battle of the Lion
E-mail: info@battleofthelion.com

Questions regarding the Circle21 registration, leaderboard or scoring platform should be directed to:

Circle21
E-mail: support@circle21.com

1. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1.1 BOTL is an open functional fitness competition. Participation is subject to the requirements of the respective division.

1.2 The official languages of the competition are English and German. The organizer may provide German translations for convenience. In case of discrepancies, the English version shall prevail.

1.3 Athletes are responsible for reading and understanding all competition information published by BOTL.

1.4 The organizer reserves the right to amend the competition format, schedule, divisions, qualification process or other competition details where reasonably necessary. Material changes will be communicated through the official BOTL communication channels.

1.5 The organizer’s primary objective is to provide a fair, safe and professionally organized competition for all participants.

1.6 Official communication channels are instagram, mail, circle21, youtube and our website.

2. REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION

2.1 Athletes must meet the age requirements of their respective division.

2.2 Unless otherwise specified, athletes must be at least 18 years old at the beginning of the competition.

2.3 Athletes under the age of 18 may only participate if the required consent of a parent or legal guardian has been provided.

2.4 Every athlete must:

complete the official registration process;
accept the Terms & Conditions;
accept the Privacy Policy;
accept the competition waiver;
provide all information required for registration;
pay the applicable registration fee;
comply with this Rulebook and all official competition announcements.

2.5 Athletes are responsible for selecting the correct division. If not, the organizer is allowed to switch the athlete/ team from the registered division to the more suitable. An athlete/ team who knowingly registers for an incorrect division may be disqualified.

2.6 The organizer may request proof of age or other information necessary to verify eligibility.

3. DIVISIONS

BOTL 2027 offers the following divisions:

Individual

Elite Men
Elite Women
Masters 40+ Men
Masters 40+ Women
Masters 50+ Men
Masters 50+ Women
Teens 12–14 Boys
Teens 12–14 Girls
Teens 15–17 Boys
Teens 15–17 Girls

Teams

Team RX Double Men
Team RX Double Women
Team RX Double Mixed
Team Intermediate Double Men
Team Intermediate Double Women
Team Intermediate Double Mixed
Team Scaled Double Men
Team Scaled Double Women
Team Scaled Double Mixed

3.1 Age divisions are determined by the athlete’s age on the 1. of January 2027.

3.2 The organizer reserves the right to combine, split or cancel divisions if minimum participation numbers are not reached.

3.3 Division standards and qualification requirements will be published separately on the official BOTL website and/or official competition channels.

3.4 Athletes may not change divisions after the relevant registration deadline unless explicitly approved by BOTL.

4. REGISTRATION

4.1 Individual registration opens on December 1, 2026 and closes on March 7, 2027 at 23:59 CEST.

4.2 Each division may have a maximum number of available spots.

4.3 Registration is completed through Circle21.

4.4 Registration fees are as follows:

Qualification Fees

Teens:
Free

Early Bird

Elite / Masters: €29.00

Team RX / Intermediate / Scaled: €58.00

Regular Qualification

Elite / Masters: €36.90

Team RX / Intermediate / Scaled: €72.90

Finals

Elite: €189.00

Masters: €169.00

Teens: €79.00

Team RX / Intermediate: €329.00

Team Scaled: €189.00

All prices include VAT unless stated otherwise.

Circle21 and payment-provider processing fees may be charged separately.

4.5 BOTL may offer promotional campaigns, discounts, referral programs or giveaways at its sole discretion.

4.6 Registration fees are generally non-refundable unless otherwise required by applicable law or expressly stated by BOTL.

4.7 Registration transfers to another athlete are only possible with prior written approval from BOTL.

5. ONLINE QUALIFICATION

5.1 The Online Qualification takes place starting March 01. until March 14th 23:59 CEST. The qualification is separated in two parts, each lasting one week.

5.2 Where a qualification process is required, all athletes must complete the prescribed qualification workouts within the announced qualification period.

5.3 The qualification workouts, movement standards, equipment requirements, time limits and submission requirements will be published separately.

5.4 Qualification scores must be submitted through the official Circle21 platform before the announced deadline.

5.5 Late submissions may be rejected unless the athlete can demonstrate a technical problem that was outside the athlete’s control and BOTL confirms the submission.

5.6 Athletes are responsible for ensuring that their submitted scores are correct.

5.7 Once submitted, scores may only be changed with the approval of BOTL.

5.8 BOTL may require an athlete to submit a video of a qualification workout for verification.

5.9 Failure to provide a requested verification video within the specified deadline may result in the score being rejected or adjusted.

5.10 BOTL may conduct random or targeted video reviews during the qualification process.

5.11 Athletes may receive a penalty, score adjustment or disqualification if the submitted performance does not comply with the published standards.

6. WILDCARDS AND INVITATIONS

6.1 BOTL may award a limited number of wildcard invitations to the finals.

6.2 Wildcards may be awarded based on competitive performance, previous BOTL results, special invitations or other sporting considerations determined by the organizer.

6.3 A wildcard does not guarantee a specific final ranking or result.

6.4 Wildcard athletes must comply with all registration, waiver and eligibility requirements from 2.4..

6.5 The organizer is not required to disclose individual reasons for awarding or declining a wildcard.

7. FINALS

7.1 The BOTL 2027 Finals will take place in Osnabrück, Germany, from May 14 to May 16, 2027.

7.2 The preliminary schedule is:

Friday:
Elite, Team RX, Team Intermediate

Saturday:
Elite, Masters, Team RX, Team Intermediate

Sunday:
Elite, Masters, Teens, Team Scaled

7.3 The final schedule is subject to change.

7.4 Athletes must be present and available at the times communicated by BOTL. This includes Check In.

7.5 Failure to appear at the required time may result in a DNS (Did Not Start), score of zero or disqualification, depending on the circumstances.

7.6 If a qualified athlete withdraws from the finals, BOTL may invite the next eligible athlete from the respective waitlist. Entry Fees are not refundable.

7.7 Final workouts, heat schedules, lane assignments and additional competition information will be published through the official BOTL communication channels and/or on-site.

7.8 Athletes must follow all instructions issued by judges, floor managers and the competition office.

8. WORKOUT STANDARDS

8.1 Every athlete is responsible for performing each workout according to the published movement standards.

8.2 This includes:

performing the required movements correctly;
completing the required repetitions;
using the prescribed equipment;
using the prescribed loads;
respecting the prescribed range of motion;
respecting time limits;
following the prescribed workout order;
complying with all additional workout-specific requirements.

8.3 A repetition that does not meet the published standard will be judged as a No Rep.

8.4 The judge’s decision regarding an individual repetition during the workout is final unless the Head Judge determines that a scoring or judging error occurred.

8.5 Athletes are responsible for knowing the movement standards before entering the competition floor.

8.6 Workout-specific rules take precedence over general rules where a specific workout rule provides otherwise.

9. EQUIPMENT

9.1 At the final, athletes must use the equipment provided by BOTL unless the workout description expressly permits personal equipment.

9.2 Equipment may not be modified without approval from the competition staff.

9.3 Athletes may only use equipment, loads and weights that comply with the workout description.

9.4 BOTL may inspect equipment at any time.

9.5 If equipment failure occurs during a workout, the athlete must immediately inform the nearest judge or competition official.

9.6 The Head Judge and Competition Office will determine whether a restart, adjustment or other remedy is appropriate.

10. JUDGING

10.1 Every workout will be supervised by an official BOTL judge.

10.2 Judges are responsible for enforcing the published movement and workout standards.

10.3 Judges may count repetitions, reject repetitions, record times, distances, loads and other required results.

10.4 Athletes must follow the judge’s instructions during the workout.

10.5 Judges may not provide coaching or tactical advice during an active workout unless expressly permitted by the workout rules.

10.6 The Head Judge may stop an athlete’s workout if continuing would create a significant safety risk for him or others.

10.7 The Head Judge may review and correct a result where there is sufficient evidence that an official scoring or judging error occurred.

10.8 The Competition Office may make administrative corrections to the leaderboard where necessary.

11. SCORING

11.1 BOTL uses a placement-based scoring system.

11.2 Unless otherwise announced, the athlete or team finishing first in an event receives 1 point, the second-place finisher receives 2 points, and so on.

11.3 The overall ranking is determined by the lowest total score.

11.4 Where an event is weighted differently, the published event weighting will be applied to the event score.

11.5 BOTL will publish the scoring system and any event weighting before the relevant competition stage wherever reasonably possible.

11.6 If a cut is applied, only the specified number of athletes or teams will advance to the next stage.

11.7 Athletes who do not advance after a cut will retain their accumulated scores unless otherwise specified in the competition format.

11.8 DNS, DNF and DQ results will be scored according to the rules published for the respective competition stage.

12. TIEBREAKS

12.1 If two or more athletes or teams finish with the same overall score, the following tiebreak procedure applies:

The athlete/team with the best individual event placing wins the tie.
If the tie remains, the second-best event placing is compared.
The process continues until the tie is resolved.
If the tie cannot be resolved through the available event placings, the Head Judge and Competition Office will determine the final ranking according to the published competition format.

12.2 Where a workout specifically includes a tiebreaker, that tiebreaker takes precedence over this general rule.

13. SCORE REVIEW AND APPEALS

13.1 Athletes have the right to request a review of an official result where they believe that a scoring or judging error has occurred.

13.2 Appeals for the online qualification must be officially submitted via mail. In case of an appeal at the final, appeals must be directed to the scoring office.

13.3 An appeal must identify:

the athlete/team;
the workout;
the relevant heat or lane;
the specific result being challenged;
the reason for the appeal.

13.4 Appeals based solely on disagreement with an objectively applied movement standard may be rejected.

13.5 The Head Judge or Competition Office may review available evidence, including scorecards and judge reports. Video tapes by athletes are not accepted for appeals.

13.6 Once an appeal has been reviewed and a final decision has been issued, the decision is final.

13.7 Athletes must not confront, threaten or pressure judges regarding a judging decision.

13.8 Appeals must be made within the deadline for filing appeals.

14. CODE OF CONDUCT

14.1 All athletes, coaches, spectators and accompanying persons are expected to behave respectfully and professionally.

14.2 The following conduct is prohibited:

cheating;
deliberate manipulation of scores;
falsification of qualification results;
threatening or aggressive behaviour;
harassment;
discrimination;
racism;
intentional interference with another athlete;
damaging competition property;
misuse of social media to threaten or harass competition officials, athletes or staff;
behaviour that materially damages the integrity or reputation of BOTL.

14.3 Depending on the severity of the violation, BOTL may impose:

a warning;
a score penalty;
removal from an event;
disqualification;
removal from the competition venue;
exclusion from future BOTL competitions.

14.4 Serious misconduct may result in immediate disqualification without prior warning.

15. DOPING

15.1 BOTL reserves the right to conduct or commission doping controls.

15.2 Athletes must comply with any legitimate doping-control procedure required by BOTL.

15.3 Refusal to participate in an officially ordered doping control may result in disqualification.

15.4 Where BOTL applies the World Anti-Doping Code or another defined anti-doping standard, the applicable rules will be communicated separately.

15.5 The current World Anti-Doping Code can be found through the official WADA website.

16. SAFETY

16.1 Participation in BOTL is voluntary and at the athlete’s own risk.

16.2 By participating, the athlete confirms that they are physically capable of performing the movements and workouts required for their division.

16.3 Athletes are responsible for informing BOTL staff immediately if they are unable to safely continue a workout.

16.4 Head Judges and competition officials may stop a workout where they reasonably believe that continuing poses a significant safety risk.

16.5 Athletes must follow all safety instructions issued by BOTL, venue staff and medical personnel.

16.6 Failure to follow safety instructions may result in removal from the competition.

17. MEDIA, PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO

17.1 BOTL may photograph, film and otherwise record the competition, athletes and activities taking place at the event.

17.2 By participating, athletes acknowledge that they may appear in photographs, video recordings, livestreams and other media relating to BOTL.

17.3 Such material may be used for editorial, documentary, promotional and informational purposes relating to BOTL and its events, subject to applicable law and the applicable privacy and media provisions accepted during registration.

17.4 Material is also allowed to be used by partners and sponsors of BOTL.

17.5 Athletes may be asked to provide qualification videos or other media for score verification.

17.6 Athletes are responsible for obtaining the necessary permissions from any other identifiable persons appearing in media submitted by them to BOTL.

17.7 Media submitted to BOTL for competition verification may be retained for the purposes of judging, score verification, dispute resolution and competition administration.

17.8 Additional details regarding media use and data processing are set out in the BOTL Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

18. TECHNICAL PROBLEMS

18.1 BOTL is not responsible for technical problems relating to an athlete’s personal hardware, software, internet connection or recording equipment.

18.2 Athletes are responsible for ensuring that qualification submissions are uploaded correctly and within the relevant deadline.

18.3 In the event of a verified technical issue affecting the official BOTL platform, BOTL may extend a submission deadline or provide another reasonable solution.

18.4 The organizer’s decision regarding technical incidents is final.

19. WITHDRAWAL, ABSENCE AND REFUNDS

19.1 An athlete who cannot participate in the finals must inform BOTL as soon as possible.

19.2 If an athlete withdraws, BOTL may invite another athlete from the relevant waitlist.

19.3 Registration and qualification fees are non-refundable unless otherwise required by applicable law or expressly agreed by BOTL.

19.4 BOTL is not responsible for travel, accommodation or other costs incurred by an athlete who is unable to participate.

19.5 If an athlete misses to inform BOTL, the claim for possible goodie bags, shirts or other give aways lapses.

20. CHANGES TO THE COMPETITION

20.1 BOTL reserves the right to modify the competition schedule, workout format, number of heats, number of advancing athletes or other competition details where necessary for operational, safety or sporting reasons.

20.2 Changes will be communicated as soon as reasonably possible.

20.3 Where a change materially affects the competition, BOTL will seek to provide a fair and reasonable solution for affected athletes.

21. FINAL AUTHORITY

21.1 The Head Judge and Competition Office are responsible for the sporting and operational administration of BOTL.

21.2 Decisions concerning judging, scoring, safety and competition administration are made in accordance with this Rulebook.

21.3 Where this Rulebook does not expressly address a situation, the Competition Office may make a reasonable decision based on the principles of fairness, safety and sporting integrity.

21.4 The organizer reserves the right to correct obvious administrative or scoring errors.

21.5 All final decisions issued through the applicable appeal process are binding.

22. CONTACT

For general competition questions:

info@battleofthelion.com

For Circle21-related questions:

support@circle21.com

Official competition information will be published through the official Battle of the Lion website and official social media channels.

IMPORTANT

In case of conflict between this Rulebook and a workout-specific standard, the workout-specific standard shall apply to that workout.

BOTL reserves the right to update this Rulebook where necessary.