Evaluation Criteria

Each video will be watched and evaluated by licensed and highly competent judges. The evaluation will be based partly on the following general criteria, and partly on the specific criteria for each Massage Category. Scores will be given as objectively and consistently as possible.

FLOW

Tempo, rhythm and continuity throughout the whole performance (like a river flowing).
Smooth transitions between techniques.
Body positioning and movement of the therapist (like Tai Chi, no waste of energy).

TECHNIQUE

Choice of techniques (relevance).
Diversity and variation of techniques.
Anatomical precision when applying techniques or moving the clients body.

ERGONOMICS

Table height and width.
Working postures and positioning (leg position, body angle, use of table etc.)
Power transmission (use of legs, hips, straight arms etc.)
Technique sustainability (are the techniques healthy for the therapist?)

PLANNING AND TIME MANAGEMENT

Solid beginning and end of the performance.
Time management (effective time distribution between body parts).

CLIENT INTERACTION

Safety. Client and/or therapist positioning and movement on the table.
Client comfort. Draping, pillows, oil administration.
Hygiene. Especially hand hygiene if moving from body to face.

AESTHETICS

Layout and design of the workspace.
Design of equipment, clothing and personal style.
Lighting, camera work and editing.
Sound quality and choice of background music.

ENTERTAINMENT

Introduction speech. Is it clear, informative and energetic?
Originality and creativity. Personal touch.
Any other element that enhances the viewer’s experience when watching the video.

Evaluation Procedure

SECURING EVALUATION OBJECTIVITY

In any competitive sport and activity it is important to maintain the integrity of the judges, so that each participant gets a fair and independent evaluation of their performance.

The massage competition community is very small, and many of the active people know each other well. They fill many parallel roles, changing between being organizers, teachers, coaches, judges and/or participants in various competitions. Many are also close friends – both in social media and “live”. This is a serious challenge for the objectivity of the judges.

In more established sports, there is no contact between participants, judges and organizers. They operate in different spheres, and are unbiased towards each other.

With this in mind, Massage World Cup has implemented the following procedure to maintain the highest possible quality and integrity of our evaluation system.

EVALUATION PROCEDURE

All judges much first take our license course and then update their license with new information every year.
Judges must strictly use our evaluation system and only give objective and consistent scores of each performance.
Judges are under full confidentiality regulations. They shall not share any information about their work for MWC with anyone, and they shall not communicate or cooperate with other judges.
The MWC management will collect and quality check the scores from the judges and produce the result lists. The decisions are final and may not be appealed.
MWC will not share any information about who is, or who isn’t, judging in a particular competition or category.
MWC will not share any information about the individual scores of any participants. The scores are for produced for internal use only, and have no meaning to others.
MWC will publish the names of the medal winners, the overall/money winners and the winners of special awards. The order of the other participants will not be published.
MWC does not offer feedback or comments on the performances, other than what is published via our media channels.

Licensed Judges

The following are some, but not all, of the judges who have taken our license course. They are examples of people who may, or may not, be used in a particular competition or category.