2013 MAC

[mindputtee]

Disclaimer: this was my first time competing MAC, I attended a couple years ago as a spectator.

Pros:
Area outside the ballroom was nicer- one floor, tables to sit at, vender area was nice and accessible
The natural light and view from the ballroom was great

Cons:
On deck area was freezing, even Saturday night
Venue was a long, cold, windy walk from any subway stops
To get to the on deck area you had to either leave the ballroom or walk across the floor
Floor was small, made smaller by the judges all standing on one long side

 

[Daphna]

Love everyone's comments, please keep them coming. We really need to hear about the pro's and con's of the venue and the general operation of the MAC. Also, next time there is a problem with one of the staff working the comp, regardless of who it is please come find one of the organizers so that we can speak to the person in question and correct the situation. We really want everyone to have a great time and the only thing that should detract from the experience is, maybe, your placement in the events (that we can't control - can't get the judges to give you a better placement, sorry.)

 

[Joe]

But you might be able to influence the CoJ to place the judges better.

IMO the CoJ fell down on the job in allowing the judges to stand in front of the dais, reducing the usable width of the floor. The floor was the minimum regulation 36' width, but having judges stand on one row of panels essentially reduced it to below minimum. Supposedly it was longer than the old space, but the extra length wasn't as useful as extra width would have been. There were 3 or 4 judges who stood just off the floor on the other three sides, but the majority were along the dais.

 

[Joe]

I'm curious about how the shuttle back and forth to the official hotel went. If the comp stays at this venue, do you think it's okay to rely on the shuttle or would you recommend a car.

Shuttle was fine. $5 ride in each direction. Ran about every 20-30 minutes. Dunno what happened to the folks trying to catch it after the last event Sat nite, though, since the comp ran at least 30 min late.

 

[smidra86]

For those interested, Ryan is already putting up his pictures from the weekend. http://ryankennerphotography.zenfolio.com

Slowly, but surely.

 

[ACtenDance]

Has anyone figured out what happened with PreChamp Standard results? We're still not really sure if we were first or second (we were announced 1st but o2cm results say 2nd).... I was slightly late for the awards presentation (oops!), but the results announced for each dance (so I was told...) didn't match what is now posted on the o2cm website. I wouldn't really raise a fuss about it, but I want to be sure it's an isolated quirk and not a bigger problem. Kayla did mention the problem to an official when we noticed it Saturday evening. They then did a few general dances where I'm guessing they ironed out the bugs.

 

[pygmalion]

For those interested, Ryan is already putting up his pictures from the weekend.

Slowly, but surely.

Almost 8000 photos is slow? Nice galleries.

 

[muyv]

I have to say that as a competitor, I prefer the old location better.

The deal breaker for me is that the floor is much smaller than the previous years. Making those heats with more than 12 couples very chaotic. Also having to walk all the way to 11th Ave to catch a cab at 1am in January NYC is not fun. It is quite far away from the subway, at least a good 15 minutes walk. Not ideal.

Other than these, it was actually a beautiful location. And there is a decent size practice floor!
If only the comp floor can be bigger (especially the short side), but I don't see how it is possible.

But it was a well run comp, as it has been. Thanks for all the hard work!

 

[jerseydancer]

2) Please, find some way to keep the mothers, and partners of youth competitors out of the men's changing room. I've almost gotten used to having to accept that these 16 yos seem to need their moms to get dressed, and I can generally ignore them and they ignore all the guys changing, but keep the 14-16yo girls out of the men's changing room

Please, find some way to keep the parents of all the dancers who are in their teens and older away from dressing rooms, period. They step all over other dancers dresses and shoes, they use hair spray without even looking, if anyone is around, they use tanning spray without any consideration that other dancers costumes may get dirty from that. The parents behave worse than kids. Anyone older than 13 should be able to dress up on their own. This actually goes for all NQEs, but NY and NJ parents won this year the worse behaved parents award.

 

[jerseydancer]

Overall, the competition was great! Very well organized. Beautiful location. Big plus was the proximity of the dressing rooms, to practice rooms, to competition floor, to food stand. I think, also vendor location was selected very well.

 

[jerseydancer]

But you might be able to influence the CoJ to place the judges better.

IMO the CoJ fell down on the job in allowing the judges to stand in front of the dais, reducing the usable width of the floor. The floor was the minimum regulation 36' width, but having judges stand on one row of panels essentially reduced it to below minimum. Supposedly it was longer than the old space, but the extra length wasn't as useful as extra width would have been. There were 3 or 4 judges who stood just off the floor on the other three sides, but the majority were along the dais.

I am not sure that the length of the floor bothered us more that the square floor at Carolina Classic. I think, it depends what one got used to. I will always take longer floor over the short and square.

 

[jerseydancer]

As the competitor, I loved the fact that it was chilly on the competition floor. In winter, the heat creates very dry air and makes it hard to breathe. I would rather wear warm robe between the heats, than choke for air between the dances. I also understand, that the judges were freezing, may be we can find a middle ground.

 

[syncopationator]

Early in the day he gave me a hard time for not having my wrist band on. When I explained I was a competitor he asked for me ticket. I should him that, but he said that didn't count I needed my wrist band or number. (all my stuff was already in the the changing room and I had stepped out to use the rest room, he hadn't given me the extreme treatment when I came in before). Eventually he let me in. This continued throughout the day, even if I was in competition attire and with my number and carrying the ticket. (On friday it was no problem, ticket or number (or lady in gown) was always.

Who's the brainiac who came up with the idea to make competitors wear wristbands? Big Fail!

 

[syncopationator]

2) Please, find some way to keep the mothers, and partners of youth competitors out of the men's changing room. I've almost gotten used to having to accept that these 16 yos seem to need their moms to get dressed, and I can generally ignore them and they ignore all the guys changing, but keep the 14-16yo girls out of the men's changing room.

I've decided that next time I'm going to beat them at their own game. I'm just going to get completely naked and hang out as close to them as possible... But in all seriousness please do something about this. I'm sure if my father was hanging out in the ladies changing room this problem would have been addressed long ago.

 

[Daphna]

Re: parents, we have been dealing with this forever, I will be cutting and pasting your comments onto the JADA page (ballroom parents Facebook page) and hopefully will get some suggestions & help from them. Keep the comments coming.