The J.U.M.P.S Tournament

Junior UPS (University Park StepCharts) Make Potential Stars

J.U.M.P.S is an annual 4-panel tournament hosted at Penn State University main campus by the Dance Dance Maniacs club. The tournament series began in spring 2020 when an influx in new club members expressed interest (namely Redbeast) in the idea of participating in their own tournament free from the terror of more experienced players. In order to give everyone the chance to win, competitors are able to choose both the song and the difficulty on their pick.

The first ever tournament was run by Crash Cringle, former president of DDM, on January 8th, 2020 and was a smashing success. After the first iteration, JUMPS became a club tradition and has became an annual event every year since.

Tournament Rules

The rules for J.U.M.P.S were based on the rules for Good Reads and U.P.S; however, there are several nuances to JUMPS that sets the tournament apart.

Similarities to Other Tournaments

• The tournament pack is comprised of songs suggested by participants

• Each competitor is allowed to submit 3 songs from Cabby

• Matches are best of three in pick-pick-random, using the machine's "Portal" feature for random if needed

• The tournament is structured as a standard "Swiss Style" bracket, with the top ~6 participants moving on to the final Single Elimination bracket

• Seeding will be based on the order in which people register for the tournament.

• The player with the highest final percentage (either passing or failing) wins the song.

• At the beginning of each match, an intense match of Rock, Paper, Scissors will determine which player chooses his or her preferred pad or song pick order, then the other player decides the remaining option.

• During a match, you should stay on your side of the pad and not touch your opponent or obstruct his or her field of vision. Verbal distractions are allowed up to the extent that they cannot bother other people in the area. The audience is also allowed (and encouraged) to create verbal distractions.

• If your opponent fails, you are allowed to play the rest of the song unless otherwise noted.

• You will be disqualified if you don't show up in time for your match.

• You can't use any peripherals or humans as an aide while playing any of the charts.

Key Differences From Other Tournaments

• If you are picking the song, you are also able to pick the difficulty. Both players are required to play the selected difficulty.

• You cannot select any difficulty greater than an ITG 10. Some songs may be contested and whether they fit under this category is the TOs discretion

• You may not pick the same difficulty on the same song more than once.

• Tie-breakers will be chosen from the pack using the machine's "Portal" feature.

Can I join J.U.M.P.S?

• If you are a new Club Member...
  • That could not pass an ITG 10 at the time of joining the club, you are eligible to join J.U.M.P.S!
  • All new members are automatically eligible to join the tournament regardless of current skill level
• If you are a returning Club Member or recent Alumni...
  • That is unable to pass an ITG 11, you are eligible to join the tournament.
  • The tournament is oriented towards new and less experienced club members. If you are unable to pass an 11, you can join!
• If you are neither a club member nor alumni...
  • The tournament is catered towards new and inexperienced members of the Dance Dance Maniacs. If you are local to the area and active in the DDM community, it's possible to be eligible for the tournament; however, that is at the discretion of the TOs.

Simfile Submission Guidelines

Participants are able to submit up to 3 charts to the pack. The criteria for song submission is as follows:

• The simfile must be less than 3:30. The total play time of the file cannot be 3:30 or greater. At all.

• Gimmicks are permitted in the tournament; however, the difficulty of the gimmicks will be incorporated into it's considered level and may be rejected if it is considered too difficult

• Notwithstanding the aforementioned restrictions, your submissions can be as easy or hard, plain or gimmicky, slow or fast, or reasonable or ridiculous as you like. Use this to your advantage.

• The charts must be present on the cab. Charts that are not present on the cab are subject to rejection via TO discretion.

• The chart's difficulty cannot be greater than an ITG 10.

Other Notes

• The TOs may add additional "songs of note" to the pack in order to help ensure a more diverse, fun, balanced, and/or pleasant experience for the participants. These additional songs are typically songs frequently played by the participants or Minigame songs that require minimal dance game ability to complete. This is at the TOs discretion and these songs are revealed with the J.U.M.P.S pack's release