IDSF President’s New Years Message

[SDsalsaguy]

Press Release 17/2005
December 29, 2005


International DanceSport Federations President’s New Years Message

I write to all of you at the most festive time of the year, when we take time to remember the most important things in life: family, friends, good health, kindness to others, peace on earth. These things are uppermost in my mind as I write another New Year's Message as your President, as we say in German, "mit freundlichen Grüßen" -- 'with friendly greetings'. Looking at my family around me and thinking of the DanceSport friends in my own community in Switzerland, this year I wish to call to mind and honour all of the people around the world who work so hard for our Sport all year long, organizing large and small competitions, maintaining competition ratings -- all the jobs without which our Sport would not function and IDSF would not exist. These people are our friends, our 'family', and part of a great world community of which we are so privileged to be a part.

One of the issues I would like to discuss in this message is the question about “personal freedoms”. I think that we would all welcome the ability not to pay taxes, or to ignore laws which we did not agree with. However, laws, rules, regulations and obligations provide a framework which exists to protect and guarantee the very personal freedoms which we all cherish.

An example of the need to work within established structures relates to the fact that there are many Sports which have as a goal acceptance of their Sport in the Olympic Program. However, just because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is not prepared to accept a particular Sport does not mean that these Sports should go out and establish their own structure to try to compete with the IOC. Rather, all these Sports accept that we must work within the Olympic family to show the value of our particular Sport to gain acceptance into the Olympic Program.

We live in a society which works not because we can all do want we want to do when we want to do it, but because as individuals or sporting, business or cultural organizations, we must all abide by laws, rules, systems and structures which mould our behaviour to ensure that society is able to function properly. It is for this reason that as a DanceSport community we cannot tolerate anarchic groups or organizations that use shallow arguments about “personal freedoms” to justify their existence.

The International DanceSport Federation (IDSF) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the peak International Federation covering all aspects of DanceSport. As such, we have detailed rules in accordance with IOC practice and requirements including the World Anti-Doping Code, Competition Rules, Adjudication and Codes of conduct, to name just a few.

Let me also remind you that it was IDSF which in 1990 created and made popular the use of the term “DanceSport” worldwide. Although we are happy for people to use this term in connection with our sport, we will not accept people taking advantage of our vision, foresight and rights to undermine the philosophical sports basis upon which we continue to develop DanceSport.

We look forward to working with any individual or group or body that is prepared to work within our framework for the development of DanceSport - the ultimate mixed contact artistic sport!
Let us take time at this year-end to remember that our first goals must always be fairness, friendship and good will in Sport, and in all our other activities. I wish you a happy and healthy holiday season, and a Happy New Year in 2006!

Rudolf P. Baumann

President

International DanceSport Federation (IDSF)

[Chris Stratton]

We live in a society which works not because we can all do want we want to do when we want to do it, but because as individuals or sporting, business or cultural organizations, we must all abide by laws, rules, systems and structures which mould our behaviour to ensure that society is able to function properly. It is for this reason that as a DanceSport community we cannot tolerate anarchic groups or organizations that use shallow arguments about “personal freedoms” to justify their existence.

He's still lacking any specific argument to connect his introduction to his conclusion: how do alternatives to the IDSF prevent the dance community from functioning?

[Laura]

I am shaking my head in that "whaaa" kind of way as I read this message. I get what he's saying, but a few things spring to mind:

Not everyone is as hell-bent as the IDSF is on getting dancesport (I'm not going to intercap it like he did in bold everywhere, that's just stupid looking) into the Olympics. Perhaps the IDSF should look at itself and figure out how and what they are doing that is pushing dancers, coaches, and organizers to form their own non-IDSF dance organizations. Believe it or not, there are people out there who don't give a flying fig about being in the over-professionalized carnival that the Olympics has become, and would rather just create something that really services their own constituency. Although he doesn't mention them by name, I am sure he is referring to the new group that formed in Central/Eastern Europe that he was denouncing earlier this year.

On the other hand, I do agree that if we're going to have rules, then they need to be followed, or else what is the point in having them. Dancers simply must follow the competitive rules of the competition system they choose to belong to.

And anyone who wishes to dance on the IDSF/Olympic track of competitions of course must follow the IDSF and Olympic rules. But I don't think that every single competitive dancer on the planet needs to belong to one monolithic organization, especially if that organization has little or no meaning to them. If some dancers really can't stand the IDSF rules, and can get enough traction to get another organization off the ground, then that's the way it goes.

Yes, that other organization (I wish I could recall its name) is making a power grab of sorts, but really -- who the heck cares!? This is just ballroom dancing! It's not the breakdown of society! There is more than one governing body for figure skating out there -- but if you want to go to the Olympics you must compete in the system run by the ISU (International Skating Union) and follow every single one of their eligibility, costuming, anti-doping, etc. etc. rules. But the other skating organizations out there do exist, simply because they provide something that their members want and need that the ISU and its national member organizations does not provide.

So rather than browbeating people into submitting to the IDSF rules, perhaps the IDSF should look at what is making people break away. Is it egomanical concentration of power? Is it too much concentration on the elite track leading to the Olympics? Is it just too many rules? And who is it that is breaking away? Is it merely another set of egocentric sports administrators who want to be the ones in charge and famous for getting into the Olympics? Or is it a group with a different vision altogether?

When snowboarding got into the Olympics, a number of the top riders chose not to participate. They didn't want to be part of the huge system of rules that Olympic-inclusion engenders. Now, because of the massive marketing power of the Olympics, Johnny Mosely (who did decide to follow the rules) is a household name in parts of the world, whereas these other former top people who didn't choose to join in are bascially complete unknowns. I think the same thing would happen with alternate organizations in dancesport once it gets into the Olympics. So really then, why should the IDSF be so concerned about the also-rans? Get onto the Olympic program, and they will all either die off or will be so marginalized that no one except for the members will know or care that they exist.

My guess is that this is all about numbers and personal power on the part of the sports administrators at the highest level. If the IDSF wants to get dancesport into the Olympics and make rules and declare certain competitions or organizations ineligible, then that's fine. The dancers who want to stay in the IDSF can follow the IDSF rules, and the people who just don't care and want to do their own thing -- and risk being marginalized and/or declared ineligible if the sport ever actually does get into the Olympics -- then that's the risk they take. If the IDSF isn't strong enough to weather the challenge from a competing organization and has to resort to lecturing all of us on a joyful holiday like New Year's, then perhaps they aren't strong enough to achieve their goal of getting into the Olympics anyway.

[Alskling]

I saw a news bulletin from IDSF sometime in the last week that said a bunch of IDSF dancers were somehow "tricked" into attending a so-called World Championship event held by IDU (which I think is the rival organization you're thinking of, Laura) in China. The bulletin said that the dancers would be disciplined by IDSF even though IDSF understood there might have been genuine confusion about what the event actually was. I'm guessing that this is the genesis of this New Year's greeting/pompous lecture.

Just after I saw the IDSF note, the results of the actual comp showed up on Dancesportinfo (sorry, the name escapes me), and there were quite a few European couples who attended. The only names that jumped out at me were Riccardo Cocchi and Joanne Wilkinson, who won the Latin.

I don't begin to know the politics of IDSF vs. IDU, but I suspect the fallout from this one will be interesting.

[wyllo]

The whole message sounds a little childish to me. I'm all for one big organization because it simplifies things and cuts down on duplicate spending. BUT if that organization does not meet everyone's needs and is resistent to change, then people should be able to form their own organization without fear of reprisal. If the new organization meets an unmet need, people will join. If not, it will go out of business.

It'll be intersting to see how things are worked out with the competition in China. I'd say all the competitiors are lucky that one of the world's top couples competed -- IDSF certainly can't ban them or do anything too drastic.

[SDsalsaguy]

IDSF certainly can't ban them or do anything too drastic.
Probably even less of an issue as they will soon be competing as pros and hence be subject to WD&DSC and not IDSFregulation.

[caityrosey]

There's a lot of thinnly veiled fear in his message, and it really seems that he wants to inspire fear in his readers. Fear of fracturing the "dance community" and jeopardizing the changes for dancesport to make it the olympics. Is our claim to recognition as an olymics-worthy sport so tenuous that we must rein in and silence dissenting opinions and other ways of thinking. If the situation is so fragile, then perhaps this is not the time to do it.

He seems to say: "careful, we don't want them to think we don't have any real power and that we're not really in charge"

[Laura]

I saw a news bulletin from IDSF sometime in the last week that said a bunch of IDSF dancers were somehow "tricked" into attending a so-called World Championship event held by IDU (which I think is the rival organization you're thinking of, Laura) in China. The bulletin said that the dancers would be disciplined by IDSF even though IDSF understood there might have been genuine confusion about what the event actually was. I'm guessing that this is the genesis of this New Year's greeting/pompous lecture.

Makes sense...but without that kind of context, the whole message sounded both petulant and ominous! So it seems that the IDU (yes, that is the organization I was thinking of) is trying to usurp the IDSF by tricking people? Now that's not right. I'm all for 'alternate' organizations existing, but they have to exist cleanly and honorably. In my skating example, it's clear which one is the Olympic track. Most people choose to join it, but others join the ISA or ISI or whatever it is called because they find that organization more suited to their needs and goals and don't want/need to be Olympic-eligible.

I don't begin to know the politics of IDSF vs. IDU, but I suspect the fallout from this one will be interesting.

That's for sure.

[cornutt]

Ah, there's nothing like a sanctioning body war. Let me point up what my particular problem is with this whole thing: it's the idea that there must be one sanctioning body that controls all aspects of any particular sport, worldwide. Lots of people seem to accept this notion without really thinking about it. Why should that be so? I know, everyone thinks that things will be more "efficient" that way, despite the historical evidence.

Let me describe the situation in another sport that is near and dear to my heart: auto racing. In one corner, there is a sanctioning body known as the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) that purports to control all aspects of the sport worldwide. In the other corner, there are the American sanctioning bodies, which have a long history of alternately cooperating with, warring with, and ignoring the FIA, namely NASCAR, ARCA, the IRL, the SCCA, ALMS, the NHRA, the ASA, and a host of smaller organizations. All of these operate mostly or entirely in the United States.

Now, let's take a look at how they are doing. The FIA sanctions the Formula 1 racing circuit, which is probably (it's hard to tell for sure) the most popular form of motorsport in the world. They pull down huge ratings -- or at least they appear to, although it's hard to tell for sure because their TV ratings are a bit suspect. (For instance, in a given African burg of say 5,000 people, if the burg has one TV set and it is tuned to an F1 race, they may count all 5,000 residents as having watched the race.) Formula 1 is run by a tyrannical dictator name of Bernie Ecclestone, who got where he is by a series of machinations. Its most successful team (Ferrari) is more or less an agency of the Italian government, and several other teams are known to be receiving government subsidies. It has little competition in most countries because of deals with various governments to not allow competing types of events in the countries where it has races. Formula 1 makes tons of money, or at least it appears to, although no one knows for sure since most of it disappears into a twisty little maze of holding companies, shell coroprations, rights and royalties payments, insider-held partnerships, etc., that is more typical of organized crime than of a legitimate business. The circuit has a history of thumbing its nose at European Union anti-trust regulations. Oh, and the racing itself: probably the most boring form of racing in the world. Passing almost never happens, and it is commonplace for one driver to lead each race from start to finish. And, the competitors have a habit of blowing off anything that they don't consider "important", which can include entire races (such as the mass team boycott of the U.S. Grand Prix last year).

Other than that, the FIA doesn't do much. It attempts to sanction sports-car racing, although its sports-car attempts keep committing financial suicide every few years. (By far the most successful sports-car event in Europe, the Le Mans 24-hour race, has its own independent sanctioning body.) There are other formula-car events which have almost no audience.

Now, let's take a look at the American situation. NASCAR: stock cars. Nuff said. Huge. The IRL: Indycars. Not so huge, but not doing too badly, and they've got the most well attended sporting event in the world, the Indy 500, in their corner. The SCCA and ALMS: sports car events, not huge but they hold their own, and both bodies have been around a lot longer than the FIA's current sports-car circuits. The NHRA: drag racing. Huge. And a large particpant base. And so on. What do all these have in common? Well, other than the SCCA/ALMS, they all sanction forms of racing that the FIA doesn't bother itself with. And, they all compete with and against each other. Oh, and one other thing: despite the FIA's best efforts, there is no auto racing in the Olympics, and there probably never will be.

So, by analogy, it seems to me that the ISDF would be a lot better off if it would acknowledge the competition and do something about actually competing with it, rather than trying to frighten or threaten dancers. As others have pointed out, the Olympics aren't the be-all-and-end-all, and just being an Olympic sport does not guarantee success for the sport. (How many people watch figure skating or downhill skiing anywhere other than the Olympics themselves?) And consider: if the ISDF had its druthers and controlled all comps worldwide, would American style be competed anywhere? Would it even exist?

[Laura]

Right on, cornutt.

(How many people watch figure skating or downhill skiing anywhere other than the Olympics themselves?)

Nike had an ad campaign during one of the last few Summer Olympics where famous U.S. track stars talked about how, in non-Olympic years, no one "gives them any love" (i.e. even knows who they are). And then there are all the sports where the athletes don't even get Nike deals -- curling, synchronized summing, biathlon, etc.

I love figure skating, but that almost stands to reason since I love ballroom dancing. The figure skating came first, actually, because my mom was a big fan from before I was born. If it weren't for the Tonya Harding thing, figure skating would be MUCH smaller than it is now.

[Chris Stratton]

And then there are all the sports where the athletes don't even get Nike deals -- curling, synchronized summing

Yeah math team!