The Pro/Am Dancesport/Superbowl thread

[elisedance]

Its time we had our own thread on this. So there!

Copying over from

Originally Posted by Laura
The exception to all these perceptions are the DanceSport Series Team Match Qualifying events, which have no Syllabus restrictions and yet both open-level and syllabus-level dancers enter. And what reb meant by consistency with these events is that you have to pick one age level in the Team Match Qualifiers to compete, and stay with that throughout the season.

I wrote:
What happens in the dancseport series if you start at one age group and then shift to an older one? Do your points dissapear or do they accumulate in the same way?

As it turned out, the Crustal Leaf had the dancesport event entry form for B age class listed as 35 to 60 instead of 35 to 50, as it shoudl be. This meant that a lot of us that should have been in C were actually in B - and because this was my first dancesport event that means that I am B for the season. I am going to compete in C in Montreal next week - will any points I get not count?

Reb replied:
Easy part - it sounds like you're already familiar with the rules from w w w.dancesportsuperbowl . com.

"5. Age qualification is based on the first entry of a World Pro-Am DanceSport
Series Events qualifying team match event. That age will continue through out the series."

Your age group is determined by you - by your entry, and the points accumulate.

Harder part - I'll bet the challenge will not be in getting your points to accumulate, but in getting the series to recognize you as a 'C'. I could see this as very important to you and would want to get it straightened out quickly. Perhaps try the Contact Us on the w w w.dancesportsuperbowl . com.

Most likely, the points will accumulate - you will still want to get it straightened out before the end of the season so that you can represent your area in the 'C's at the Ohio Star Ball.

Related topic - Since dancing down an age group in the adult age brackets is generally regarded as 'tougher', no one will think you're sandbagging - in fact, occasionally, some of the best in the 'C's and 'B's can be seen competing in 'A's.

Then Laura added:
Or so the rules indicate. But what do the words mean? To me it means that if you started the year entered in "B", you would only accumulate points for "B" throughout the year. Yet I see people currently in the Regional Team Match standings who have points in *both* the A and B age groups -- this comes from entering "A" in some competitions and "B" in the others. Which makes perfect sense, but to me doesn't match what the rules say.

and...
at this point, I'd just ask Sam!:D

Hope you like the story thus far.

On the other hand, maybe that really is the end oif the thread and I did a whole one in one post!

Oh, no - then Samina added:
huh... did not know this... so... hmm.

i'm a B but have danced so far as an A. plan on dancing both A & B @ next comps... does that mean i'm officially recognized as an A as far as the proam superbowl goes, and that i don't receive points for B?

asking rhetorically... i know i have to read through these rules to understand what this is all about...

and Laura said:
The "B" that's being defined there is for the DanceSport Series Team Match Qualifying events. These are different from the A, B, C that comps use for the single dances, and non-Team Match Qualifying events. So, if you're just talking about picking up points from your overall dancing, then it doesn't matter -- all your points accumulate. If you're talking about picking up points for the Team Match, then you only get points earned in any Team Match Qualifying events that you enter, and the points appear to be kept separate by the A B C ages.

and Samina said:
gotcha... yes, that's what i gathered from reading the rules.

so... it's accumulation of points from one age & one style that can accrue into being invited to be part of a regional team, which competes at the dancesport superbowl? is that the point of all this?

trying to understand why i should care about this...

And finishing this post (which sounds more like a play-by-play) whith the first quote:

Because, based upon reports of friends who have danced in it, being in the Team Match is hella fun!!!

[elisedance]

So just to make sure this thread does not have one post!

With the confusion in my age catagory I did try 'contact us' at the web site - indeed I tried it many times but I have never yet heard anything back!

One interesting development with the dancesport series is the new divisions of North america. I think I posted this a while back but it may not have been noticed. It was announced at Crystal Leaf that Canada will be separated into its own division. Indeed, at Michigan we were introduced as coming from Region 7 (though they did not mention what that was). That means the map has to be re-drawn on the web page and, presumably, there will be changes in the other divisions too. I suspect that the idea here is to make the team match truly 'international' rather than inter-regional.

[DancingJools]

There is a limit to how "international" the series can be, since its culminating event (and when the count starts for next year's series) is at Ohio, which is closed to international competitors, except from Canada. It is a "North American" only event.
It's interesting to contemplate turning the superbowl into a more international series.
Will give the new fangled world title a run for its money.

[elisedance]

I hadn't realized that the OSB was closed to N america. I wonder why? Its nice to have high-profile event to showcase Namerican talent, but on the other hand, it would be interesting to see the rest. As you say, it could serve as a nucleating point for international pro/am.

Whats odd then is that the organizers call it the 'World Pro-Am DanceSport
Series' on the web site! Sort of like the World Series - with only US entrants... I suppose we stand a chance huh?

[saludas]

I hadn't realized that the OSB was closed to N america. I wonder why? Its nice to have high-profile event to showcase Namerican talent, but on the other hand, it would be interesting to see the rest. As you say, it could serve as a nucleating point for international pro/am.

Whats odd then is that the organizers call it the 'World Pro-Am DanceSport
Series' on the web site! Sort of like the World Series - with only US entrants... I suppose we stand a chance huh?

If it was a world event 2 things might happen to embarrass - either no foreigners would enter (the "Ohio Star Ball" started as a local Arthur Murray comp) is a big deal locally, but worldwide, there are much more significant comps to travel to, and foreign competitors have to decide where to go to maximize theor travel etc) OR the foreign competitors will trounce the Am pros, leaving "the PBS show to showcase folks that will not play well with Midlle America's idea that Dancesport is represented strongly by US competitors.

What to do about all the "American Style' stuff worldwide? And, will the American Pros not show, knowing they will see no prize money? Remember, the Proam teachers who show at Ohio are not always competitive in the Pro arena.

Finally, as a Proam comp, it is significant, but Proam is not significant worldwide, so the Proams would see zero changes in the heats, as there are no competitors from (for instance) Italy or England to fill the ranks.

[fascination]

people who watch dancesport on PBS don't give a fig whether the dancers are from the U.S. or not...as evidenced by the comp from denmark being on just a few weeks ago

[saludas]

people who watch dancesport on PBS don't give a fig whether the dancers are from the U.S. or not...as evidenced by the comp from denmark being on just a few weeks ago

Well, it's named "America's Balrroom Challenge" - and the winner is the 'best ballroom couple in America', so I would tend to think that it would tend to be more US-centric...

[fascination]

as I said, there are other televised events on PBS that are NOT US-centric

[Chris Stratton]

Given that your typical television viewer isn't going to identify with the competitors (in the sense of believing that what they see is something they could personally attempt), it probably doesn't matter much where those competitors currently call home.

[fascination]

exactly

[DancingJools]

OSB is this way and kind of distinguishes itself by being this way. I don't see it changing its character soon. It's plenty successful as it is and I think Sam Sodano is no fool. Besides, he is a co-owner of so many other comps (which are not closed to N. America), he doesn't need to fiddle with a formula that is obviously working and unique.
For international pro-am, the real events are:
1- The USDSC. Its championship events typically attract the best of the best worldwide. USDSC is, by definition, an open to the world event, and that's its distinguishing character.
2- Manhattan, which in the past couple of years has surpassed the USDSC in the number and quality of top-level pro-am dancing, but that's partly because of the turmoil in the USDSC at the time. We'll have to wait and see how things look a couple of years down the road.
There are some other really nice events where pro-ams from overseas sometimes show up.
Keep in mind that the term "international" really is a stretch. AFAIK, the only pro-am dancing that exists at a level where competitors are willing and able to cross oceans to compete is in Hong Kong. You can have all the events you want in the US, and you will still end up with the same handful of dancers from HK showing up, at least in the foreseeable future.
And for events held outside the US, and before someone says "Buenes Aires" or "Barcelona", I'll clarify by saying I am talking about intensive competitive dancing, where a competition can sustain itself repeatedly by attracting adequate numbers of dancers from various countries dancing at a high level (as opposed to what I think of as dance tourism, which is perfectly fine but not really what I have in mind here).
Canadian dancers compete in US events (and vice versa) so often that I (for one) don't think of their participation as an "international" phenomenon. They are an integral part of the dance scene.

[elisedance]

Canadian dancers compete in US events (and vice versa) so often that I (for one) don't think of their participation as an "international" phenomenon. They are an integral part of the dance scene.

Let me preface this by saying that I am actually a US citizen but what you say about canadians being incorporated into the US culture is what upsets people a lot up here (I am not saying it is necessarily incorrect). Howeve, after living here for 7 years I have discovered that the culture is quite different when viewed long term from this side of the border (but thats another discussion).

From this side of the border it really does feel 'international'. There are a number of quite high-profile competitions here such as the Montreal Classique and the Toronto Crystal Leaf and Maple Leaf that definitely have a Canadian air [The (niagara) Falls Premiere is right on the border and has more of a US participation.] And there are Canadian Amateur and professional championships and also Canadian representatives to all the major world events - sponsored by the local organizations. Thus, in that sense there really is a 'Canadian' dancesport entity. However, whether this constitutes one that is truly separate from the US one is a good question. Its one of the reasons I think it is good to see inter-country competitions - the OSB and the North American Championships (cherry hill) pro/am 'World' and 'North american' team matches for example. Such matches can only help to generate a national sense of the sport - though as far as I know there are not any am or pro equivalents.

[reb]

what you say about canadians being incorporated into the US culture is what upsets people a lot up here

Hi Elise - I didn't read that in DancingJools words. DancingJools seemed so neutral in her discussion that it could also have been read the other way ;)

Canadian dancers compete in US events (and vice versa) so often that I (for one) don't think of their participation as an "international" phenomenon. They are an integral part of the dance scene.

DancingJools has generally posted enlightening and positive discussions about her international experiences and insights.

[DancingJools]

Thanks, reb. Let me clarify, I am a great fan of Canadian competitions (having danced in quite a few myself), and a great fan of Canadian competitors, pro, am and pro-am. Several pro-am champions in the three age divisions are Canadians, and I love watching them. And I totally agree with elisedance, the Canadian dance scene is a well established community with a high profile. It's about time Canada gets assigned a separate region in the Superbowl series. All I was saying was that the "international" pro-am dance scene is essentially a combination of the US, Canadian, and a few individual dancers from Hong Kong. I may wish for this to change, but so far this is what we have and I doubt it is likely to change anytime soon. So, there is already a number of "international" pro-am comps, in the sense that they cover the existing dance community, even though they only take place in the US and in Canada.

[elisedance]

:oops: Oops, what I wrotereally was a bit ambiguous wasn't it, sorry DancingJools. I know that there was no intent to denigrate Canadian identity but that that is how it can be percieved up here- sometimes with a bit of a paranoia. Its interesting that the 'canadian identity' has become much more defined in the last few years ever since 9/11, or rather the changes in the States that ensued. Prior to this it seemed that every time a canadian achievement of person of note was mentioned it was followed by 'and thats Canadian' (invention) or, 'and she's a canadian' (notable star or something). I have not heard these phrases for quite a while - there seems to be less need to distinguish 'Canadian' from 'American'.

I wonder if we were the first couple to be introduced as coming from 'region 7' (Canada) in the dancesport series - this happened at the Michigan Challenge March 29th. I had heard about the change at the Crystal Leaf (Toronto) when it was announced for the first time but it was quite a thrill to be introduced that way in Detroit.

[elisedance]

The dancesport series map is redrawn!!

I just checked the dancesport series and Canada is now Region 7 on the map. The other regions seem to be unchanged, less their Canadian provinces. I don't think there will be much effect on placements in the other groups - and they do not have the Canadian team scores sorted out yet.

[elisedance]

So, there is the dancesport series ballyhoo with points and everything. The (stated) idea is that the top scorers compete at the OSB in team matches representing the 7 areas of north america. OK, so as far as I can guage (its not easy from the points on the site since they do not accumulate scores from regions outside your own and at least two comps that I know never reported their scores at all) I have the top score in Standard B for region 7. But what now? I have not heard anything from the organizers so how do they compile the teams for the team matches - or was it all a large joke?

[Laura]

There are still some more competitions in the DanceSport series before Ohio, so it's not over yet. Scores right now are only listed as of Embassy Ball, which means that there are still scores to come from at least eight other competitions -- some of which have not even taken place. The organizers can hardly be expected to say anything about who is on the team at this point. Also, if you are missing points, contact them and let them know. Right now I see for 7B Standard:

1) Michael Otero - 30
2) you - 30

I don't know how they break ties.

As far as "not accumulating points from Regions outside your own" I'm not sure what you mean. If you look at someone else, like Yaniv Geler at the top of the 7A Rhythm, you'll see comps listed from outside of Canada (Region 7).

Anyway, there's a link on the right hand side of the page, "Report discrepancy in scoring," that might help you get things straightened out.

[elisedance]

You've put your finger on several of the really stupid things. Michael Otero lives in Massachusetts but attended a competition in Montreal - but they list points according to where you got them not according to where you are from so there is no real way to tell who is in the lead.

I also have points from the Michigan dance sport (6) and 15 from the Monteral dancesport competition. The former is listed in the michigan area and the latter were never uploaded to the site at all. Sorry, but it looks like a shambles to me.... Besides, if they do not get back to you before the registration deadline how can you make arrangements to go?

Post Edit: the Montreal dancesport points were in the C division so probably will not be counted, forgot to mention that - though they are still not listed anywhere.

[Casey]

Sam calls your teacher to invite you to be on the team. So he's the decision-maker if there are ties or near ties. Someone might qualify in smooth and rhythm, and he would choose the category for the person. And you might want to check w/ him about the North American restriction - that's just for the pros, I think, not for pro-am people in the scholarships.

What comp from Denmark was on PBS recently?

[elisedance]

Casey: thanks for the input. I had no idea that was how it goes. Has Sam made these calls to anyone yet? Or does that happen closer to the event. If so, can one enter other events at the same time or is the closing date for OSB a true final one?

[Casey]

People who enter late might be put on a waiting list for the scholarships, and then they might not get in if the additional entries would cause another round because the schedule is so tight. But the team is really separate from the rest of the comp. It's on Thursday evening, which I think might affect people doing smooth, but you can check on the schedule. If you are on the border of being on the team in terms of points and weren't planning to be there on Thursday, your travel arrangements could be affected. I think the calls would be after the October comps, at least, though. They seemed kind of late last year, but your coach could probably consult w/ other colleagues about that.

[elisedance]

Well, I had sort of decided not to go since I had not heard anything. Seems it would make more sense to finish the decision process prior to the entry deadline so that we would know where we stand. If selectd for the team I would probably have gone and entered the other events but without that I can't justify putting off other committments.

Thanks again for the info.

[Casey]

That's too bad. The more prevalent pattern would be that someone who does open is going to Ohio anyway and the team match is just a bonus. But using it as a decision-maker would be possible only if you are the clear point winner in your style and region. But you can't really have the decision made any sooner - I know some people who are battling it out until the very end, including a comp in late October. And there are even a couple in early November.

[Laura]

You've put your finger on several of the really stupid things. Michael Otero lives in Massachusetts but attended a competition in Montreal - but they list points according to where you got them not according to where you are from so there is no real way to tell who is in the lead.
No, that's not true...I can look in other Regions and see things reported appropriately. I think things are messed up in your case because Region 7 is new and was created during the "season." That's no excuse for them not getting it right, of course.

Besides, if they do not get back to you before the registration deadline how can you make arrangements to go?
I think the theory is that the top contenders would be going to Ohio Star Ball anyway, so it's not like people need to sit around and wait for an invitation (especially since they don't pay anyone's way or anything). I agree that this isn't clear, just stating the theory....

[elisedance]

That's too bad. The more prevalent pattern would be that someone who does open is going to Ohio anyway and the team match is just a bonus. But using it as a decision-maker would be possible only if you are the clear point winner in your style and region. But you can't really have the decision made any sooner - I know some people who are battling it out until the very end, including a comp in late October. And there are even a couple in early November.

I see. My issue is that I recently switched from pro/am to am but would be tempted to do one more pro/am for fun of the team match. Maybe I should contact Sam directly - but I don't want to be a bother.

[elisedance]

No, that's not true...I can look in other Regions and see things reported appropriately. I think things are messed up in your case because Region 7 is new and was created during the "season." That's no excuse for them not getting it right, of course.


Well, it seems to work both ways because at least the last time I looked Otero's result in Canad was not listed in the relevant region either. Anyone who competed in Canada may be under-reported.

I suppose one could try to contact the organizers but I tried to do so many times before but never had a reply and gave up - seemed like a bit of a black hole.

[Casey]

The dancesportseries website administrator used to be David Kloss - at any rate, there's a separate person on that website you can contact. And errors are supposed to be reported w/in 30 days, but that might not be a strict rule. I had some points a while back for a style I don't compete in, and if you are trying to gauge your points vis-a-vis those of someone else, you need to go all the way down the list to get all the variant spellings. The database is definitely not clean, but the whole system seems to work out once Sam gets involved to get the teams together. And then he chooses the dances depending on who is on the team - for example, if for some reason someone has to do rhythm who really just does latin, he can't choose bolero and mambo. So the team is a tailored event, not a computer one in tone. Hotlanta has something similar that has a great prize (last year it was dresses from Maria McGill for a whole year for the winner), but last year, one of the East team members didn't even know she was on the team until she got to the comp and saw her name in the program.

[reb]

Elise,

Thanks for bringnig this thread forward.

It look like many of the questions were answered, but I found it interesting that it looks like there was one web-type misunderstanding - maybe its clear now, but just to check.

'Sam' was intended to be Sam Sodano, OSB organizer, not samina, our DF sam!


and...

Quote:
Originally Posted by reb http://www.dance-forums.com/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.dance-forums.com/showthread.php?p=414206#post414206)
at this point, I'd just ask Sam!:grin:

Hope you like the story thus far.

On the other hand, maybe that really is the end oif the thread and I did a whole one in one post!

Oh, no - then Samina added:
huh... did not know this... so... hmm.

[reb]

Casey, thanks for the explanations, they've been helpful.

However . . . I just don't get this one?!

And then he chooses the dances depending on who is on the team - for example, if for some reason someone has to do rhythm who really just does latin, he can't choose bolero and mambo

Isn't everyone tracked by whether they're accumulating points in Latin, Standard, Rhythm, and Smooth - and by age group and region?

I'd find it odd if I was a Latin dancer and the rep for my region was not in the running in the Latin category. If the leader's not there, then it would seem better if the next in-line, or even another age category, were chosen before a rep from another style. It seems to make sense to cultivate the incentive from the contenders.

If this is true - wow!

If this is not 1st-hand knowledge, or if I misread it, then please clarify . . .

[DancingJools]

It's also good to keep in mind that, in spite of the intense competitiveness of the top-pro am dancers, the event on Thursday night at the OSB is more of a fun event - kind of a reward for a whole year of hard work.
Also, there are a couple of competitions that take place just before the OSB, and which are part of the series, so they can affect the scores.
The Commonwealth Classic is one of them. This is an otherwise smallish comp (though very pleasant and the organizers are great), but it takes place on the first week of November and is (I think) the last event in the series before the OSB.
I've known competitors who travel to dance in this event from faraway regions, hoping to get those couple extra points that will make the difference.
There's a good chance to actually do so, because it is a smallish comp so one's chances of winning are quite high.
(hint, hint).

[Casey]

Hi, REB - it's firsthand knowledge. Sometimes regions are short on people for a given category for whatever reason. The point leader might have qualified in several styles, say, but can't dress for rhythm and smooth, for example, in the team match because there's no time to change. It's kind of a blitz type event, fun and yelling and stomping, and someone has to get out there for each age group for each style for each region. One year I know of, at least one latin person who was 2d or 3d in points represented the region in rhythm, and another year a latin person did latin & rhythm. I was mainly pointing out that Sam Sodano takes care of this in a personal way to make sure there's a full team for each region. The team match is fun, but there's an excellent prize system, which is that each member of the team that gets first place gets $600 in vouchers to be used in comps throughout the year in other regions. 2d place team members get $500 and so on.

[ChelD]

It used to be, and I think still is, that one is only allowed to dance in one category, so if one person is the leader in several styles, he/she has to choose one. The region would then be represented in the other style(s) by the next highest point holder who is planning to be at the OSB.

[reb]

The region would then be represented in the other style(s) by the next highest point holder who is planning to be at the OSB.
Ahh.

Thanks for the extra explanation.

[Laura]

All I can say is that I think I should move to Canada! Top people in my category are showing as having 30 points (we know it's messed up and Elise has more than that) in Region 7, but in Region 6 the top person in my category is currently showing 198 points :)

My goal for this year was to finish in the top 10 in my Region, but injury kept me out of four comps that I had planned to do, plus travel problems made me miss a fifth. So I only ended up doing two DanceSport Series events for the 2006-2007 season. Oh well...we're getting revved up to start all over again after OSB.

It was kind of fun to have a goal like that to shoot for, though. It made the year a little more interesting to me than just going from comp to comp.

[elisedance]

I like the idea - but it pales a bit if there is no follow through with the leadershp. In my opinion, they should finish the point scoring something like a month ahead and have the rest of the pre-OSB comps count to the following year. That way they could tally the points and contact the top scorers to see if they want to compete in the event. We would then have something meaningful at OSB - and the winning team would really be that. Right now it sounds as if the scores do not mean very much and the team is simply put together from the best dancers that show up. Personally, I think that is a too light-hearted conclusion for something that a lot of dancers have taken very seriously - not to mention spent a lot of resources on.

Hey, Laura, do come on up to Canada!

[DancingJools]

... In my opinion, they should finish the point scoring something like a month ahead and have the rest of the pre-OSB comps count to the following year. That way they could tally the points and contact the top scorers to see if they want to compete in the event. We would then have something meaningful at OSB - and the winning team would really be that. Right now it sounds as if the scores do not mean very much and the team is simply put together from the best dancers that show up.
....

Hmmm. Not that I have a horse in this business, but people do get very involved in the Team Match event, look forward to it, anticipate it, and form some hard-core rivalries over it. Those who are likely to qualify usually know it well ahead of time. It doesn't just happen by accident. Even the fact that the rivalry continues until the last couple of weeks kind of adds up to the whole spirit. It's the odd occasion when a selected team member cannot go, and that can't be helped no matter how the event is planned.

I also doubt that the OSB would willingly give up its position as the cutting point event where the scores begin getting tallied for the following year.

[elisedance]

My suggestion does not stop that at all - it simply shifts the time at which the tallies are made. Nothing else changes. All that would be given up is giving out the first points for the next year cycle.

[elisedance]

Sorry, but the dancesport series will always be rather a bad joke unless it culminates with the selection of representative teams based on the accumulated scores of its participants. Instead of helping elevate pro-am as a serious dancesport competition in effect it affirms the attitude that this is a non-serious hobby for sport hangers on. Note, I am upset because I know that for many dancers this is really not the case.

The web site now proudly displays a banner announcing the next year. However, there has been no recognition and listing of top scorers either for the total points boards or for the regions. Without this how can the team-match entrants be selected? Indeed, it seems like rather a cheap and rather misleading advertizing gimmic. C'mon guys - follow through. You have the potential to create a real, contested meaningful selection system but instead there is no correspondence between the effort put into winning points (which many take very seriously) and the recognition of winners or selection of team match participants.

By the way, I wrote to the organizers for about the 5th - and I promise last - time to ask about this and about all the scoring mistakes but again received no reply. The web site states that errors must be received within a month of occurance - I replied to all of them within the correct time frame but nothing ever happened. My scores are still incorrect (missing points, wrong catagories, even entire competitions are missing), competitors that are from region ourside my own are still listed on line. Indeed, a personal e-mail to the organizers also fell on deaf ears.

Not impressed - and not playing this waste of time and money game again.

[fascination]

actually, I have reported at least three errors this year...and while admittedly having to be persistant, they have always fixed them

[elisedance]

Whats happened to the dancesport series web page?
http://www.dancesportseries.com/
Instead of the map and regions that came up last year now there are a bunch of videos and I can't find any links to the score pages at all. Have they been moved somewhere else or has the tallying of points not started yet this year?

By the way, the approach of making this thing look like a giant party puts me off - I don't do pro/am currently but the reason I was originally attracted to the series was that it seemed to offer a serious competition between pro/ams.

[fascination]

haven't checked the site lately, also haven't seen that aspect of dancesport be any more or less serious than any other

[samina]

my points are currently not up-to-date on the site, but they got back to me and let me know that the one comp in question hadn't sent in the scores yet, and the organizer of the comp never responded to my email about that, so am going to have to call & chase them down.

perhaps the comps are complicit in the difficulty in keeping the scoring current, and not just sam's team...

as for the website, it is working fine for me right now.

[samina]

fwiw, i find the delay in scoring frustrating and wish they could improve the system. i'm showing 35 team match points when it should now be 80. am wondering how many others' are in the same boat.

[elisedance]

You found the scores? All I could see was the ghastly (sorry) videos... where's the link?

[Cal]

You found the scores? All I could see was the ghastly (sorry) videos... where's the link?

I haven't had any problems using the site either. The link to scores is where I've always found it: in the blue banner at the top of the page, linking to Leaderboard, Events, Rules, etc.

[samina]

You found the scores? All I could see was the ghastly (sorry) videos... where's the link?

on the upper right there's a list of links, "Home, Leaderboard, Events by Region, Rules, Contact Us".

Select Leaderboard.

[elisedance]

How did I miss that? Still no region 7 in the search page but it is in the leaderboard one. Looks like its better organized this year with just region 7 competitors - hopefully they have ironed out last years glitches.

We don't have a lot of competitors yet though!

[elisedance]

hello old thread!
:)