Preamble
Pau Brasil is a Brazilian capoeira tournament platform committed to fair play, mutual respect, and structural integrity in the sport. This Code of Conduct defines community standards, prohibited conduct, and disciplinary consequences for participation in Pau Brasil tournaments and use of the Pau Brasil platform.
Who this Code applies to. This Code of Conduct applies to all Pau Brasil participants: capoeira competitors, music ensemble participants, spectators, sponsors, and platform users. Sport-specific provisions (anti-doping, cordão / lineage verification) apply only to the relevant participant pathway.
How this Code binds you. This Code of Conduct is incorporated by reference into the Pau Brasil Terms of Service. By accepting the Terms of Service, you agree to abide by this Code of Conduct as in effect from time to time. Material changes to this Code of Conduct require advance notice as set out in § 11.
Versions and publication. Every published version of this Code of Conduct is timestamped and archived. Your acceptance binds you to the version in effect at the time of acceptance and to any subsequent updates communicated to you under § 11.
1. Sportsmanship and fair play
Compliance with the decisions of judges and referees during competition is mandatory. Protests are handled exclusively through the published appeals process — not on the mat, not in the venue, and not online.
The following conduct is prohibited:
- Coaching interference during a match
- Unsportsmanlike conduct toward opponents, judges, officials, or other participants
- Collusion, fight-fixing, or pre-arranged outcomes of any kind
Music participants are subject to equivalent provisions covering conduct toward judges, MCs, and event crew.
2. Anti-doping
Applies to: capoeira pathway. Music participants are not subject to this section.
Pau Brasil maintains a no-tolerance anti-doping policy aligned with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List as adopted by the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) and the Brazilian Anti-Doping Authority (ABCD). The most current ABCD-adopted banned-substance list governs at any time.
Athletes agree:
- Not to use any prohibited substance or method in connection with Pau Brasil competition
- To consent to drug testing when required at any Pau Brasil tournament
- To consent to publication of sanctions in the event of a confirmed anti-doping violation, consistent with WADA-aligned sport governance practice
Pau Brasil reserves the right to:
- Require drug testing at any Pau Brasil tournament. Initial implementation may rely primarily on athlete attestation supplemented by targeted testing at championship-level events; the right to test is reserved from the effective date of this Code of Conduct.
- Revise its testing protocol, sample-collection methodology, and laboratory partnership over time, with notice as set out in § 11.
Refusal to test. Refusal to submit to drug testing when required results in automatic disqualification and a tournament ban, consistent with WADA standards.
Consequences for confirmed violations:
- First-time, in-competition, lower-severity substance: voiding of competition results, prize forfeiture, and a tournament ban of a defined duration determined by the severity of the substance
- Repeat offenses or higher-severity substances: extended tournament bans, with possible platform ban
- Refusal to test, evasion, or sample tampering: treated as the most serious category of violation
Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs). Athletes who require a prohibited substance for legitimate medical reasons may apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption through Pau Brasil's published TUE process. Initial review is case-by-case; a formal TUE committee will be constituted as the platform scales.
3. Anti-harassment and anti-discrimination
Applies to: all participants and platform users.
Pau Brasil prohibits harassment and discrimination on the basis of:
- Sex, gender, gender identity, or gender expression
- Sexual orientation
- Race, color, ethnicity, or national origin
- Religion or religious practice
- Age (within the adult-only participant boundary)
- Disability
- Pregnancy
- Capoeira lineage, group affiliation, or cordão level
- Socioeconomic status
The following conduct is prohibited:
- Harassment of any kind — verbal, physical, online, or at any Pau Brasil event
- Sexual harassment — zero tolerance. Including, but not limited to, unwelcome physical contact, sexualized comments, distribution of sexualized imagery, and quid pro quo conduct (such as suggesting favorable judging in exchange for personal favors)
- Discrimination in any decision related to participation, judging, sponsorship, or platform access
- Retaliation against any person who reports a violation or participates in an investigation
Reporting. Pau Brasil maintains a dedicated reporting channel — email and an in-app form when available — routed to a designated safety contact. Reports are kept confidential to the maximum extent permitted by law. Anonymous reports are accepted and investigated to the extent feasible given available information.
4. Respect for the capoeira tradition
Applies to: capoeira pathway primarily. Music participants are subject to analogous provisions in § 4a.
Capoeira is a lineage-based tradition. The credibility of Pau Brasil's rankings, broadcast records, and sponsor reporting depends on accurate credential and lineage data. Accordingly, the following commitments are required of all capoeira-pathway participants:
- Cordão accuracy. Athletes must register with the cordão (graduation rank) they currently hold under their primary mestre.
- Lineage disclosure. Athletes must accurately disclose their primary mestre, group (
grupo), and lineage during registration. - Verification consent. As a condition of participation, athletes consent to Pau Brasil contacting their stated mestre or group leadership directly to verify their cordão and lineage.
- Misrepresentation. Misrepresentation of cordão, lineage, or mestre affiliation is grounds for immediate disqualification and a tournament ban, regardless of competitive performance. Repeated misrepresentation across tournaments may result in a platform ban.
- Lineage changes. Athletes who change groups or mestres between tournaments must update their registered affiliation. Pau Brasil maintains a history of lineage changes in each athlete's profile.
- Respectful conduct. Athletes must conduct themselves respectfully toward mestres, contramestres, and elder practitioners at Pau Brasil events — in the roda, on the sidelines, and in the public spaces of the venue.
- No public denigration. Public denigration of other capoeira groups, lineages, or styles at Pau Brasil events is prohibited. Healthy rivalry is welcome; sectarian attacks are not.
4a. Respect for the tradition — music variant
Applies to: music participants.
- Music participants must accurately disclose their primary group and the group leader or mestre under whom they study or perform.
- Pau Brasil may verify group affiliation directly with the named group leader.
- Misrepresentation of group affiliation is grounds for disqualification.
- Respectful conduct toward elder musicians and tradition-bearers is required at all Pau Brasil events.
5. No fighting outside competition areas
All physical contact between athletes must occur within designated competition spaces (roda, ring, or match floor) during officially sanctioned bouts.
Fighting, brawling, or any physical altercation in parking lots, hotels, transit, social spaces, or online — including livestreamed rodas not sanctioned by Pau Brasil — is grounds for immediate disqualification and a tournament ban.
Self-defense exception. A reasonable response to an unprovoked attack is not a violation of this section. The incident must, however, be reported to event operations immediately and is subject to investigation under § 10.
6. Honest registration data
All registration data — including weight, age, medical disclosures, identity, contact information, and credentials — must be truthful.
The consequences of false registration data include:
- False weight at weigh-in: automatic disqualification from the affected weight class; possible tournament ban depending on severity.
- False medical disclosures (concealing a condition that affected safety decisions): tournament ban and potential exclusion from future Pau Brasil events.
- Identity fraud (registering under another person's name, using another person's CPF or passport, or impersonation at check-in): permanent platform ban and, where appropriate, referral to authorities.
- Music participants: false instrument-competency claims or misrepresentation of ensemble membership are equivalent violations and subject to equivalent consequences.
7. Social media and public conduct
Pau Brasil welcomes open discussion, critique, and disagreement with Pau Brasil decisions. Healthy debate is part of the sport.
The following conduct, however, is prohibited:
- Targeted harassment campaigns against other athletes, judges, mestres, or Pau Brasil staff, including organized online pile-ons
- False statements of fact about other participants or about Pau Brasil decisions (defamation)
- Doxxing — sharing private contact information, residential address, or identifying details of other participants without consent
- Incitement — encouraging others to engage in any conduct prohibited by this Code of Conduct
8. Spectator and sponsor conduct
- Spectators. Spectators agree, as a condition of attendance, to abide by applicable venue rules and the relevant provisions of this Code of Conduct (in particular, the anti-harassment, no-fighting, and no-doxxing provisions).
- Sponsors. Sponsors agree to honor their commercial agreements with Pau Brasil and to refrain from conduct that harms the tournament, the athletes, or the platform.
- Credentials. Pau Brasil may revoke credentials or eject any spectator or sponsor representative for violations of this Code of Conduct.
9. Consequences
Disciplinary consequences are tiered:
- Warning — for first-time minor violations; delivered as a private notice from event operations.
- Match disqualification — for in-match violations, decided by the responsible judges or officials on the day.
- Tournament disqualification — for serious violations during a specific event, resulting in forfeiture of results and prizes from that tournament.
- Tournament ban — exclusion from a specific tournament or a defined set of future tournaments for a stated duration.
- Platform ban — removal from the Pau Brasil platform; the individual may not register for future events.
- Permanent ban — reserved for the most severe or repeated violations (such as sexual harassment, doping, fraud, or violence outside competition).
Pau Brasil retains discretion to escalate or de-escalate consequences based on the severity of the conduct, the intent behind it, and the participant's prior history. Multiple lesser violations may escalate to more serious consequences.
10. Disciplinary process
Disciplinary decisions under this Code of Conduct are made through the following process.
Investigation. Pau Brasil (or, once incorporated, the Brazilian operating entity) investigates reported or observed violations. The investigation may include consultation with judges, event operations, medical staff, witnesses, and the accused.
Notice. The accused is notified in writing — by email is sufficient — of the alleged violation, the evidence considered, and the proposed consequence. Notice is given within a reasonable time after the conclusion of the investigation (target: 7 calendar days).
Response opportunity. The accused has 7 calendar days from receipt of the notice to respond in writing before consequences become final. In cases of immediate safety risk, consequences may take effect immediately; in such cases the response opportunity is preserved post-imposition.
Decision. Pau Brasil issues a final written decision with stated reasoning.
Appeal. The accused may appeal the final decision in writing within 14 calendar days of receipt. Appeals are reviewed by a designated appeals reviewer who was not involved in the original investigation or decision. Appeals decisions are final.
No public disclosure of disciplinary outcomes. Pau Brasil does not publish the identities of individuals subject to disciplinary action, nor anonymized summaries, in the current phase of the platform's operation. This policy may be revisited only when the investigation and appeals process has matured — specifically, when an independent committee is in place, formal anti-doping protocols (including chain of custody) are operational, and the appeals body is separate from the investigators — and only with appropriate legal review and a change-notification cycle under § 11.
Transition to independent appeals body. When Pau Brasil reaches an objective scale threshold to be defined and published, the appeals function will transition from a designated Pau Brasil reviewer to an independent disciplinary committee that includes athlete representation.
11. Changes to this Code of Conduct
- Material changes require 30 days' advance notice to registered users, delivered by email and by notice on the Pau Brasil platform.
- Non-material changes (typographical corrections, clarifications, examples) may be made without advance notice. A public change log is maintained.
- "Material" means any of the following: adding a new prohibited conduct category; changing a consequence tier; changing the disciplinary process; changing the anti-doping or anti-harassment provisions.
12. Reporting and contact
- Anti-harassment and safety reports:
[REPORTING EMAIL TBD] - General Code of Conduct questions:
hello@paubrasilchampionship.com - LGPD / privacy matters:
privacy@paubrasilchampionship.com