The game
The Scramble
A team game played on game day. You do not need to have trained before to understand it, and you do not need to be good at it to play.
How a session runs
01
Players arrive
Eight, ten or twelve players split into two even teams. Navy and red. The coach sets the teams to keep them balanced.
02
A card sets the position
One card is drawn for the session and it decides where every match starts. Everybody plays the same starting position all morning, so everybody gets the same problem to solve.
03
Everybody plays everybody
Each player faces every player on the other team, one at a time, four minutes each. In every game, every player on one team plays every player on the other team exactly once.
04
Points go to the team
You score for holding position, escaping, or completing the objective on the card. Your points land on your team's total on the screen.
05
When you're off, you referee
There is no bench. If you're not playing, you're counting somebody else's points, which is the fastest way to learn what actually scores.
06
The game finishes
One team wins the session. A game with fewer players simply finishes sooner within the session. Next game day, new card, new teams.
One game area
This is the mat area for one game. Three mats, each five metres by five metres, for a total of fifteen metres by five metres. One game runs across all three mats at the same time.
The Score Board
A screen runs the clock and the score for the whole room. You can see the four minutes counting down, your match score, and where your team stands. You always know what is happening and what you need to do about it.
Seventeen games
There are seventeen cards. They fall into three groups, and the one drawn on game day is always the position you were taught that week.
Pass games
One player has the guard, the other is getting past it.
- Pass 1 — Break the LockClosed guard
- Pass 2 — Pass the LegsOpen guard
- Pass 3 — Pass the ButterflyButterfly guard
- Pass 4 — Pass the Knee ShieldKnee shield
- Pass 5 — Pass the HalfHalf guard
Pin games
One player is holding a position, the other is getting out.
- Pin 1 — Side Control
- Pin 2 — North South
- Pin 3 — Mount
- Pin 4 — Back Mount
- Pin 5 — Turtle
Challenge games
No starting position. The card sets a target instead.
- Challenge 1 — First to Submission
- Challenge 2 — Named Submission
- Challenge 3 — Position Submission
- Challenge 4 — Most Submissions
- Challenge 5 — Sweep Count
- Challenge 6 — Pass Count
- Challenge 7 — Escape Count
Official gear
We train no gi. Every player has a uniform, a fitted training top and shorts in their league's colours. Academy members buy the uniform when they sign up. It is optional for Rec players and we have them if you want one. For your first day, a t-shirt and shorts is fine.
One free week. All of it.
Come to a game day and watch one. Or play in one — the trial week is arranged so a game falls inside it.