Blackpool 2021
- Thread starter scullystwin42
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scullystwin42
Forum Master
dancesport info has the results
https://www.dancesportinfo.net/Comp...ssional_Ballroom_716172/Results#RoundHeader12
Seems like a lot of the big names were not there and the number of competitors seemed low. Was it poorly attended due to Covid?
Seems like a lot of the big names were not there and the number of competitors seemed low. Was it poorly attended due to Covid?
scullystwin42
Forum Master
yes, the heats were much smaller. And almost no couples from Hong Kong or China were there, which really made the numbers small.
Arun Garg
Well-Known Member
I noticed that as well. Almost a completely novel final!
Warren J. Dew
Forum Master
If you don't attend, you can't win. I doubt many of the potential competitors have many of the health conditions that make covid dangerous - over 50, overweight, etc. - though.
Nice to see Natasha Karabey get her turn at the top, and she and Domen Krapez would have been in the running anyway.
bronzesusie
Well-Known Member
Covid can be dangerous for younger people too, and many might be returning home to vulnerable friends and family.
Arun Garg
Well-Known Member
This is an important point. Many young people have just as large a risk or have at risk people in their lives. Competing right now is both a risk and a privilege all things considered in this global pandemic, IMO.
scullystwin42
Forum Master
Bump… might not be the right thread but didn’t want to start a new one.
Carmen and a couple other dancer/judges are posting about blackpool and how they aren’t attending this year because it’s lost its independence or something? I couldn’t figure out what actually happened, anyone have an idea?
Carmen and a couple other dancer/judges are posting about blackpool and how they aren’t attending this year because it’s lost its independence or something? I couldn’t figure out what actually happened, anyone have an idea?
Alstroemeria
Active Member
I think this is because Blackpool council (as in the municipal council, not the dance council) have applied to trademark the Blackpool Dance Festival.
The British Dance Council is the governing body that awards championships, so they're unhappy because their view is that Blackpool council are effectively cutting the British ballroom governing body out of the competition?
It's something like that anyway, let me find a news article for you. It's more mutterings than any official statements at the moment.
Alstroemeria
Active Member
Trademark row sparks threat to axe Blackpool's famous dance championships
The UK's ruling body for dance competitions has threatened to withdraw its prestigious dance championships from Blackpool in a row with the council over trademarks.
www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk
Body threatens to pull competitions from Blackpool after trademark row
Marcus Hilton, president and chairman of the British Dance Council, said there had been no consultation over the move
www.lancs.live
Alstroemeria
Active Member
Ok, I've been and looked at the posts and I think some of the upset is because the WDC are getting involved and saying they'll run it with Blackpool — the British Open was never a WDC-run competition.
Possibly. There are too many Dancesport governing bodies!
Possibly. There are too many Dancesport governing bodies!
Alstroemeria
Active Member
And it's all a bit complicated — I'd forgotten this, but Marcus Hilton was the Chairman of the Blackpool Dance Festival until last year. There was a bit of an outcry on social media at the time, about whether he wanted to step down or had been asked to step down.
So now he isn't linked to the Festival itself, but as Chair of the BDC who grants the right to the championship, it's all a bit messy.
So now he isn't linked to the Festival itself, but as Chair of the BDC who grants the right to the championship, it's all a bit messy.
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scullystwin42
Forum Master
ohhhh thanks for the info! that does sound messy. I remember when Marcus was pushed out/left last year. I imagine the blackpool council would ask for more money after the trademarks were provided as well, maybe. crazy times. that would be weird to have a British Open somewhere and then have a Blackpool dance festival - wonder which one the judges/dancers would choose.
i have to say that this sentence right here is SO BRITISH to my american ears lol - "I think the BDC have thrown their toys out of the pram because they were gazumped and hadn’t thought about registering the names themselves"
i have to say that this sentence right here is SO BRITISH to my american ears lol - "I think the BDC have thrown their toys out of the pram because they were gazumped and hadn’t thought about registering the names themselves"