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The 4 Types of Pole & Aerial Competition Organizations Explained

Before you register for your next competition, there’s one thing worth understanding first: what kind of organization is running it?

Pole and aerial competitions aren’t all structured the same way. Some are run independently. Others operate under a governing body, a franchise brand, or a multi-event circuit. The type of organization behind a competition can affect everything from judging standards, to how (or whether) your results count toward national or international rankings.

Here’s a breakdown of the four main types of pole and aerial competition organizations you’ll come across.

1. Governing Bodies

A governing body (also called a sports federation, association, or sanctioning body) is the official organization responsible for regulating, maintaining, and overseeing a sport or athletic discipline. Think of them as the administrative authority ensuring fairness, safety, standardized rules, and structured progression — from grassroots events all the way to international competition.

What governing bodies typically manage:

  • Rules & Scoring Systems — the code of points, technical requirements, scoring rubrics, deduction rules, and apparatus standards
  • Judges & Officials Certification — training, testing, credentialing, and assigning qualified judges, head judges, and referees
  • Safety & Equipment Standards — rig safety, floor dimensions, apparatus specs, clearance zones, and athlete safety guidelines
  • Competition Sanctioning — official recognition of events that meet technical, safety, and operational standards
  • Athlete Pathways & Rankings — divisions (amateur, pro, elite, age-based), national qualification pipelines, and official rankings
  • Disciplinary & Integrity Control — anti-doping policies, ethics codes, grievance procedures, and fair-play standards

Pole and aerial sports currently have several active governing bodies, including POSA, APSWL, IPSF, IAAA, and IAAO. We’ll be introducing you to each of these individually in upcoming posts, so stay tuned.

2. Branded Competition Franchises

Think of a branded competition franchise like a chain of events that all share the same name and identity, run in different countries by different local organizers. While the on-the-ground organizer may vary from city to city, every event operates under the same parent brand — sharing branding, rules, categories, and judging standards. Depending on the franchise, events may even share some of the same judges across locations.

Examples: Exotic Generation, Pole Theatre

If you compete in a franchise event, you can generally expect a consistent experience wherever in the world it’s held — same rules, same look and feel, same standards.

3. Competition Circuits

Competition circuits function as self-contained competitive ecosystems. Each circuit is owned and operated by an individual or organization, with a core internal team that manages a full calendar of events, often spanning multiple cities, states, or countries and typically building up to a national (or international) championship.

This structure means competitors move through regionals, semifinals, and finals all under the same rules and judging standards, making it easier to track progress and measure yourself against the same bar throughout the season.

Examples: Aerialympics, Bend the Air, Pole Sport Organization

4. Individual / Self-Governed Competitions

Not every competition belongs to a governing body, franchise, or circuit. Many events are independently created and run by a single studio, organizer, or small team, with their own custom rules, categories, and judging criteria.

Self-governed competitions can be a great way to gain experience, especially for newer competitors, but it’s worth knowing going in that:

  • Rules and scoring can vary significantly from event to event, even within the same region
  • Results typically don’t feed into any national or international ranking system
  • Judging standards are set entirely by the individual organizer, rather than a shared, sanctioned rubric and there’s no judge’s certification or testing requirements.

That doesn’t make them lesser competitions. In fact, many self-governed events are well-run and well-loved in the community, but it does mean you should go in understanding what you’re signing up for.

Why This Matters

Knowing which type of organization is behind a competition helps you set the right expectations: what the judging will look like, whether your placement will count toward anything beyond that single event, and what kind of consistency you can expect if you compete in that organization again.

As you start exploring competitions, use this as your starting checklist and ensure you understand the types: governing body, franchise, circuit, or independent before you hit register.

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