How a State Chapter Actually Gets Sanctioned by the Council

Every region's rankings on this site reflect only Council-sanctioned results — meaning a certified head judge, standardized fruit sourcing, and an approved venue. Getting a new state chapter to that point requires a minimum number of registered local competitors, a trained volunteer judge, and one successful trial event observed by a Council regional director, before its results ever feed into the regional series' standings.

It's a deliberately slower process than simply publishing self-reported times, and it's why some states don't yet contribute any ranked competitors to their region: not because nobody there competes informally, but because no chapter has yet cleared certification. The Council maintains an open application process for organizers in any state who want to start one.