@Miss Silly I agree with your friend - seriously competitive fields this year in everything that I saw.
For singles, they called out each pro-am dancer by name and gave all their placements at the same time. So, for example: "Jane Smith: 4 first places, 3 second and 1 third". Much calmer - and quicker. I'm a fan.
Multis and scholarships got line-ups, with scholarships being danced in the evening and getting the whole podium treatment for awards.
Just following up after Capital - thanks for the recommendation!
Competed in the A age group for Silver Smooth (and Open Scholarship just to get out there) and I did have some competition (between 2-5 couples) but was still uncontested in some singles and championships. I did better than I thought I would. The competition in Open really fired me up to improve for next year
It was also kind of awesome to share the floor with some beautiful dancers!
I think Capital is the one comp I've gone to consistently since I started competing again. It's always a really nicely done comp, and the organizers are so welcoming. The swag for competitors was also excellent. I finally have a Dore dress bag!
this was my first time at Capital...I too, felt that it was a great field for smooth and I thought that the comp gifts were far and away some of the most useful ones I have received in a very long time....the layout was also exceedingly user friendly in terms of convenience from room to ballroom and the schedule ran like clockwork...room service was decent