Federation ranking system
How Points Work
Every time you step on the mat, you're stacking points toward your season ranking — your athlete standing, your academy's leaderboard, your state's rankings, and Nationals qualification.
Total Points = Placement + Belt Bonus + Σ Method-of-Victory (per win)
Three independent, stacked layers. Every layer adds to your season total.
1 · Where You Finish
Only the podium (1st, 2nd, 3rd) earns placement points. Placement scales up by age tier — older, more competitive divisions are worth more. Sub-Only divisions pay more than Pointsdivisions across the board, because finishing outright is the harder standard.
Sub-Only ruleset
| Division | 🥇 1st | 🥈 2nd | 🥉 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kids (4–12) | 9 | 6 | 3 |
| Teens (13–17) | 12 | 9 | 6 |
| Masters / Directors / Executive (30+) | 15 | 12 | 9 |
| Adult (18+) | 18 | 15 | 12 |
Points ruleset
| Division | 🥇 1st | 🥈 2nd | 🥉 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kids (4–12) | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Teens (13–17) | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| Masters / Directors / Executive (30+) | 10 | 8 | 7 |
| Adult (18+) | 13 | 11 | 10 |
2 · Your Belt Level
A medal at Black belt means more than a medal at White belt, so we add a flat bonus based on the belt you're competing at. Same bonus whether you take 1st, 2nd, or 3rd — it rewards the level you're at, not the finish.
| Belt | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Novice (<6 mo) | +0 |
| White | +0 |
| Grey | +1 |
| Yellow | +2 |
| Orange | +3 |
| Green | +6 |
| Blue | +6 |
| Purple | +9 |
| Brown | +12 |
| Black | +15 |
| Black, per degree | +3 per degree (1° = 18, 2° = 21, 3° = 24…) |
3 · How You Win
Awarded on every match you win — not just the medal match. Submit three opponents on your way to gold and you bank this bonus three separate times. Even if you don't medal, every finish still puts points on the board.
| Match ended by | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Submission in regulation | +3 |
| Submission in EBI Overtime | +1 |
| Escape in EBI Overtime (no tap) | +0 |
| Points, decision, DQ, or forfeit | +0 |
The message is simple: go for the finish.
Worked Examples
Adult Blue belt, Sub-Only, gold in a 3-person bracket. Submits Match 1 in regulation; wins the final by submission in overtime.
Placement (18) + Belt (+6) + Method (3 + 1) = 28 pts
Kids White belt, Sub-Only, 3rd place. Won one match by submission before being eliminated.
Placement (3) + Belt (+0) + Method (3) = 6 pts
Masters Purple belt, Sub-Only, gold — three regulation-time submissions.
Placement (15) + Belt (+9) + Method (3+3+3) = 33 pts
Where Your Points Go
- • Your athlete season ranking, federation-wide
- • Your academy leaderboard — every teammate's points add up
- • Your state standings — seeding & qualification for the State Championship
- • Nationals qualification — top earners & state medalists punch their ticket to Omaha every December
- • Champions Night — the season wraps with an awards banquet
Points and Sub-Only results feed one combined ranking. On the rankings page you can filter by ruleset (All / Points / Sub-Only) and by region, and every athlete has a public profile showing medals, wins, submissions and points. Rankings update automatically from completed match results — nothing is entered by hand.
Academy Affiliation & Commissions
Academies are a big part of Matlife. When a school registers officially, its athletes can compete under its banner — and the academy earns a commission on every paid registration its athletes make.
Step 1
Register your academy
School owners claim or create their official academy. Once registered, the academy's name is locked down — no one else can claim it or create a duplicate.
Step 2
Athletes pick their academy
Athletes select their academy during event registration — and can update it afterwards. Every paid registration is automatically credited to that academy.
Step 3
The academy earns commission
Commission is tiered by how many unique athletes the academy brings to an event. Earnings are tracked on the academy's dashboard and paid out after the event.
| Unique athletes at the event | Academy commission |
|---|---|
| Up to 19 athletes | 5% |
| 20 – 39 athletes | 10% |
| 40 or more athletes | 15% |
Example: an academy brings 22 athletes to an event. Every paid registration from those athletes earns the academy 10% — automatically, with no invoicing.
Team & Dual Scoring
At dual events (like the Dakota Dual), athletes are assigned to a team based on the state in their profile. The same points system above feeds the team totals — every medal, belt bonus and submission your team earns pushes its score up. Athletes from other states still earn individual ranking points but don't count toward either team.