Breaking (also called b-boying or b-girling) is an urban dance style which originated during the mid-1970s in the Bronx borough of New York City. During the ensuing ~40 years, Breaking has progressed from its Bronx roots into an internationally recognized cultural art form, with elements of urban dance intertwined with extraordinary athleticism. Breaking is one of the few dance sport disciplines that are competed in a head-to-head format, as both competitors face off in a 1-minute breaking battle.

For information regarding the history of Breaking, please click here.

The winner is determined by the highest score at the end of the performance. The main goal is to win as much battles as possible to be able to compete for the fist place in the last battle.

- In the Top-16 Round, athletes compete in four groups of four in a single-round robin format, with two rounds per battle. The top 2 positions of each group proceed to the quarter-finals.

- Single Elimination Draw (knock-out) format will be used from the quarter-finals.

- In the quarter-finals, battles are carried out in the 'best of three' format. The results will show up after two rounds.

- In the semi-finals and finals, battles are conducted in the '2-90-2' format with one battle of two rounds (red side starts), 90 seconds of break, and another battle of two rounds (blue side starts).

- Losing semi-finalists compete for Bronze, winning semi-finalists compete for Gold and Silver.

The MC announces the beginning of the battle and the beginning of each round within the battle, as well as the end of the battle and the end of each round.

Both athletes wait on the dance floor for the music to start. Only one athlete at a time competes.

One athlete will start performing to the music. The athlete will finish the performance by moving back to the own side. When the athlete has finished, the second athlete will dance. Breakers shall not perform more than 60 seconds each.

The results will show up immediately after each round. In case of a tie, B-Boys/B-Girls will do another round.

In the Top 16 round, each B-Boy/B-Girl will perform two rounds per battle.

From the quarter-final round, battles are carried out in the 'best of three' format.

More Information on the rundown of the competition can be found here.

Physical, psychological and technical preparation are keys to a good performace.

5 judges will score Technique, Variety, Performativity, Musicality, Creativity and Personality. Bonuses are given for Confidence and Execution.

The Trivium Judging System is the recommended system to use for the WDSF Breaking competitions, based on the experience of the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games. Other judging systems could be considered together with the Organizer and Competition Manager upon approval by WDSF.

More information about judging system may be found here.

Figures and elements danced twice or more will only be counted as one and if repeated only the best performances will be marked.

Figures and elements beyond the dancer's ability, that are too difficult and may lead to serious injuries and/or loss of life, are not allowed. Dancers will be warned once and any future attempt will lead to disqualification.

Athletes will be disqualified if they do not comply with the WDSF Competition Rules and Regulations. Disqualification will be the decision of the Chairperson of adjudicators for each event.

WDSF World Breaking Championship 2019 – Nanjing (China) – B-Boys

1 Menno NED 

2 Issei JPN

3 Lussy Sky UKR 

WDSF World Breaking Championship 2019 – Nanjing (China) – B-Girls

1 Ami JPN 

2 Sunny USA 

3 Jilou GER