The Race for Team USA
U.S. NATIONAL TEAM
QUALIFICATION
PATHWAYS
State
of Play
2023 TEAM USA
NATIONAL TEAM
BLACK BELT
THE RACE FOR
TEAM USA IS ON!
YOUR 2022 MAJOR QUALIFYING EVENTS
INTERNATIONAL PATHWAY
Senior athletes who are demonstrating they are amongst the top players in the world can earn an automatic U.S. National Team Spot by being ranked in the Top 4 in the world. In this case the rest of the Team Trial field will fight off for the Team Alternate spot.
TOP 4
RANKED
AUTOMATIC
TEAM SPOT
TOP 20
RANKED
TEAM TRIAL
QUALIFICATION
DOMESTIC PATHWAY
Senior athletes can also qualify for the Team Trial through a purely domestic path, fighting in U.S. Major Tournaments. You cannot lock up the spot this way, but you can qualify to enter directly into the later rounds of the Team Trial competition.
.png)
.png)
#1 RANKED
ATHLETE
National Ranking Points are
earned in any USATKD sanctioned event.
#DareToBeBetter
OFFICIAL U.S. NATIONAL TEAM
WHAT YOU
NEED TO KNOW
IF YOU ONLY READ ONE THING, READ THIS...
1
Win any Black Belt medal at a major tournament and you're qualified for the Team Trial.
2
Win 3 out of 4 Major Events and be named Dominant Athlete, advancing directly to the Final Challenge at Team Trial (see below).
3
All Team Trial qualified athletes will be invited to train at the Athlete Academy to get ready for the Trial (not mandatory).
4
Results and rankings as of December 31, 2022 will be used to determine Team Trial Qualified athletes.
5
Team Trials are GUARANTEED in these divisions UNLESS an athlete is Top 4 WT Ranked, in which case the Team Trial is for the Team Alternate spot. Dominant Athletes earn an advantage in the Trial, not an automatic National Team spot.
HOW TO QUALIFY
FOR TEAM TRIALS
SPARRING ATHLETES
FINISH 2ND OR THIRD IN A MAJOR QUALIFIER
Qualify for Team Trial - enters in the Qualifying Round (see below)
1
WIN A MAJOR QUALIFIER
Qualify for Team Trial - enters in the Elimination Round (see below)
2
WIN 3 OF 4 MAJOR QUALIFIERS
Qualify for Team Trial - enters in the Final Challenge Round (see below)
3
SO YOU MADE IT
TO TEAM TRIALS!
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
1
Qualified athletes will receive an email early in the New Year with details of the Team Trial event.
2
The State of Play website will tell you which round of the Team Trial you will enter at depending on how you qualified, and show an updated bracket.
3
If you qualified in one Age Category but have aged, up you will be invited to the Team Trial in your new Age Category as an unseeded wildcard.
4
Each round of the Team Trial Competition in your division will be completed on the same day
5
Athletes who win the Team Trial will be U.S. National Team member for all 2023 International events. The Team Alternate will also hold that position for the full calendar year.
WHAT IS THE TEAM TRIAL FORMAT?
WHAT TO EXPECT ON THE DAY...
The Team Trial will consist of up to three rounds:
ROUND 1: QUALIFYING ROUND
-
8 Qualified Athletes.
WHO FIGHTS?
-
Silver & Bronze Medalists from Major Tournaments.
-
Remaining spots in the bracket will be filled by the athletes ranked highest in the U.S. National Rankings who did not qualify by other means.
SAMPLE BRACKET: CLICK FOR FULL SIZE
WINNER MOVES ON...
ROUND 2: ELIMINATION ROUND
-
2022 National Champion
WHO FIGHTS?
-
2022 Grand Prix Final Champion
_edited.jpg)
SAMPLE BRACKET: CLICK FOR FULL SIZE
-
2022 Grand Slam Champion
-
#1 U.S. National Ranked Athlete
-
Winner of Qualifying Round
-
World Top 20 Ranked Athletes
WINNER IS TEAM MEMBER, UNLESS THERE IS A DOMINANT ATHLETE, IN WHICH CASE, WINNER MOVES ON...
ROUND 3: FINAL CHALLENGE
-
Dominant Athlete
WHO FIGHTS?
-
Winner of the Elimination Round
SAMPLE BRACKET: CLICK FOR FULL SIZE
TERMS & CONDITIONS
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
CLICK TO ENLARGE
AMENDMENTS
CHANGES TO PUBLISHED PROCEDURE
THERE HAVE BEEN NO CHANGES TO THE PROCEDURE ABOVE.
USATKD is committed to minimizing changes to procedures once they have been published, however sometimes events out of our control occur, or corrections need to be made to account for unforeseen circumstances.
Any such changes will be posted here, so check back regularly to see if there have been any changes.
SENIOR PATHWAY
