During the three weeks of competition, teams will earn points based on their performance. The Heartland Cup champions will be decided by the point standings at the end of the third weekend. The point-system structure will be easy to keep track of and follow.
In both the Open and Club divisions, teams will earn points each weekend based on how they place. As an example, If there are a total of 32 teams competing in Open among the different divisions the team winning the highest division (which will be 18 Open the first weekend) will earn 32 points and the team finishing last in the lowest division (which will be the 14 Open the first weekend) will earn 1 point. Additionally, if you win your age or color division tournament, you will receive 3 bonus points and if you finish second you will receive 1 bonus point.
As an example, if there are 32 teams in Open on the first weekend and Club X 181s win the 18 Open title, it will receive 32 points plus 3 bonus points for a total of 35. If Club Z 181s finish second, it will receive 31 points plus 1 bonus point. If Club W 181s finish third, it will receive 30 points. The same system will be in place for the Club division.
At the end of the third weekend, whichever 12s, 13s, 14s, 15s, 16s, 17s and 18s team that finishes with the highest overall point total will be crowned the champion of its age group in both the Open and Club divisions.
Teams, if they choose, can switch between Club and Open divisions from one weekend to another, but their point totals will not transfer with them.
The winning teams in each age group in Open and Club will receive Mizuno apparel, a team tophy and individual medals as well as free entry into the 2018 Heartland Cup. Second-place teams will receive individual medals and free entry into the 2018 Heartland Cup and the third place teams will receive free entry into the 2018 Heartland Cup.