Calisthenics competition formats explained

There is no single kind of calisthenics competition. There are several format families, each with its own demands and its own way of deciding a winner. Some reward holding a brutal position dead still. Others reward explosive moves, or the most reps, or the most weight. This guide breaks down each one, how it is scored, and a real event where you can see it. If you are new to the sport, start with what a calisthenics competition is, then come back here for the detail.

The formats compared

Format	What is asked	How you win	Example event
Statics	Hold strength positions	Difficulty, cleanliness, hold time	Sthenos Xbition
Freestyle	Chain skills in 1v1 battles	Judges score difficulty and execution	SWUB
Power moves	Explosive bar moves	Difficulty and landing	Free Power
Dynamics	Continuous dynamic sequences	Flow, difficulty, control	SWUB
Sets and reps	Most reps, often weighted	Highest count, knockout bracket	Calisthenics Cup
Street lifting	Most weight on basics	Heaviest total	Dedicated circuits

Statics

Statics is about holding hard positions still. Think planche, front lever, back lever, human flag, one arm handstand, and at the elite end the maltese and hefesto. The harder the position and the longer and cleaner the hold, the better the score.

The pure version of this format is called OnlyStatic. Athletes meet in a single-elimination bracket, and judges score each hold on difficulty, cleanliness, and how long it is controlled. A shaky planche held for one second loses to a locked planche held for five.

Sthenos Xbition in Lausanne runs an OnlyStatic knockout, and Queen of Statics in Spain is an all women statics event. You can see every statics event on the statics discipline page.

Freestyle

Freestyle is the headline format. Two athletes face off in timed 1v1 rounds, and each run mixes statics, dynamics, and power moves into a routine. Judges score difficulty, execution, creativity, and variety, then award the round.

This is the format with the biggest events. SWUB in Spain has run since 2017. Calisthenics Cup at FIBO in Germany uses four judges and a three way final. Free Power in Brazil runs a Power Freestyle bracket. Browse them all on the freestyle discipline page.

Power moves

Power moves are the explosive elements: the 360, the giant swing, the shrimp flip, the 540. They demand speed and air time rather than a held position. Power moves often appear as one scored field inside a freestyle run, but some events treat them as their own category. They are judged on the difficulty of the move and whether it is landed cleanly. See the power moves discipline page.

Dynamics

Dynamics is continuous movement around the bar: linked swings and transitions that keep flowing rather than stopping on a single explosive trick. Where power moves reward one big hit, dynamics rewards stringing movement together with control. At SWUB VIII, dynamics is one of the four scored fields. See the dynamics discipline page.

Sets and reps, and strength endurance

This format drops the judges almost entirely. Athletes do as many reps as they can on a basic movement, sometimes with added weight, in a knockout bracket where the lower count goes home.

Calisthenics Cup runs a Strength Endurance bracket alongside its freestyle. Simone Alfano won the men’s endurance in 2026 and Christian Mariani in 2025, while Solveig Berg has taken the women’s endurance two years running. Because the result is a counted number, there is far less to argue about than in a judged battle.

Street lifting

Street lifting is the strength end of the sport. Athletes load weight onto the basics, weighted pull-ups, weighted dips, muscle ups, sometimes a squat, and the winner is whoever moves the most weight, by total or by lift. It sits close to powerlifting in spirit and usually runs on its own dedicated circuits rather than inside a freestyle event.

Combined events and mixed categories

Plenty of competitions stack several disciplines into one event. Sthenos Xbition edition IV ran five: pro and semi-pro freestyle, set and reps, a strength war duo battle, and OnlyStatic. Events that span disciplines show up on the combined discipline page.

Pick the format that fits your strengths. If you can hold positions, statics is your stage. If you are explosive, freestyle and power moves reward you. If your engine is endurance, sets and reps is where you shine. To see which formats run near you, check the competitions calendar, and read how competitions are judged to understand the scoring behind each one.