World Pump Festival

World Pump Festival better known as WPF, is an annual competition/event on the dance game Pump It Up which takes place at the end of each year.^[1] Pump It Up is a Korean game that requires physical movement of the feet. The game is open for breakdancing, and many people have accomplished this feat by memorizing the steps and creating dance moves to hit the arrows on time. What separates this from other Machine dance tournaments is the large amount of prize money on offer and national qualifiers around the world.

At WPF, the best technical and freestyle players are flown from several countries to compete in their respective categories: Speed and Freestyle. As of 2006, a Female Speed category was introduced. The candidates are selected by tournaments held in their respective country by Supporters and Club Leaders - Members of the Pump community who work unpaid for Andamiro, organise tournaments and social events during the year. As well as the competition itself, Andamiro takes players and spectators on a tour of the host country, as a form of tourism aiming to promote the game as a sport for [[e weight loss]] using videogames and Korean culture to create friendship between players. Previous locations of WPF have been held in Korea at G Star, Lotte World and more recently, Mexico City. Nationals (qualifiers for WPF) in Mexico and Brazil have been held in sports stadiums.

Competitors in the freestyle category incorporate elements of locking, salsa, funk styles, popping, hip hop dance, breakdance and street dance into performances. It has become the norm to make a routine using choreography while facing the audience.

Sponsorship

Andamiro provides a round trip flight, hotel, meals, transportation and tour at WPF for national winners. Spectators wishing to travel also have accommodation and all expenses covered (except their flight). The total prize money on offer for 2005 was $129 000, 2006: $146,000 and for 2007 it was $148 000.^[2]

Tournament categories

Speed category: Rankings based on high scores. Normally technical players, in order to better focus on timing and pattern reading, will minimize any extraneous body movement during gameplay. These players are commonly referred to in the Pump Community as "Speed" players. Speed entrants (both in the male and female category) will practice the game on the most difficult songs/highest difficulty levels in an attempt to perfect their scores.

Preliminary ~ Quarterfinal (M, F): Crazy
Semifinal ~ Final (M, F): Nightmare
Male: use of the bar is permitted, according to WPF 2011 rules. (Some tournaments may stipulate use of the bar as forbidden)
Female: use of the bar is permitted

Free Style category: Pump players will choose to incorporate complex or flashy techniques into their play movements, and develop intricate dance routines to perform during a song. Freestyle players tend to choose songs on lower difficulty levels, so that the player is not restricted in their movements by large quantities of required steps.^[3]

Performance Part (50 points)
Apparel & Makeup (20)
Machine Score (20) - S+ (20), A (16), B (12), C (8), D(4), F (0 and automatic elimination)
Judge's Evaluation (10 points)

Supporters and clubs

A Supporter is a person who is the main point of contact between their respective country and Andamiro Korea. Any events and tournaments held require a written report with photos/videos sent to Andamiro, in exchange for prizes and recognition of athletes to enter WPF. A Club Leader is the person in charge of their respective club and should use their best efforts to maintain a close relationship with their Supporter. Clubs are normally (but not exclusively) town specific and focus on events in their area. As of 2007 a minimum of 10 officially recognised clubs are required per country to validate them for WPF (150 club members). Excellent club organisers can be designated as jurors in competitions for selecting national team members and also the WPF competition itself. If this is the case, Andamiro pays for all WPF jurors expenses, like WPF athletes. Andamiro gives prize money two times a year to the club’s treasurer for club activities. Members who make a forum post, upload a picture/video or high score for the home/arcade versions of the game receive points. These can be exchanged in the online store for T-shirts, Sweatbands, Visors, CD's/DVD's and signed MP3 players by Banya (musical group).