Mr 4 styles
Forum Master
Bad maggie........ 
Uncontested heats - how to be sure there will be competition at the competition
- Thread starter flying_backwards
- Start date
MaggieMoves
Forum Master
Bad maggie........
I never dance for the judges. What's the point in dancing so technically sound if no one enjoys it?
Besides it was basically a warm up heat.
newcomerdivision
New Member
Does that potentially sour the judge's opinion of you and influence your next heats? Or were you sure the judges would be different?
MaggieMoves
Forum Master
I'm willing to bet it does as it comes off as a bit unsportsmanlike. I can name one prominent judge who hates things like that.
Honestly though I've never danced for positions in pro am. Being a crowd favorite is much more fun anyway. Top 3 is suitable for me.
fascination
Site Moderator
in a word, "no"...but, as others have noted you can certainly make selections (age, level, comp) that give you a greater chance of competition....and a word about entering late;....in addition to it not making you an organizers's best friend, sometimes, if it means turning a multi from a final to a semi they may not do it...so beware of glitches if you want to dance the multis
flying_backwards
Well-Known Member
Yes I can see how late registration makes unnecessary extra hassle for the event organizers so I will not advocate that strategy.
I like the suggestion that DF members choose an event and all go to that one so we can get some full fields. I asked a DF moderator and she said it would be ok to start a new thread called "Lets all go to Nor-Cal NQE". I looked at their o2cm and it already shows one Standard couple registered. So there will be no mystery about uncontested heats, and no motivation to register late, unless one wanted to make a surprise appearance to avoid paparazzi
I like the suggestion that DF members choose an event and all go to that one so we can get some full fields. I asked a DF moderator and she said it would be ok to start a new thread called "Lets all go to Nor-Cal NQE". I looked at their o2cm and it already shows one Standard couple registered. So there will be no mystery about uncontested heats, and no motivation to register late, unless one wanted to make a surprise appearance to avoid paparazzi
fascination
Site Moderator
only thing is, there might not be enough local dfers of similar style, age, and level...but you are free to try...I still think your best bet is to go to the comps that you know will be big and if you live in california you're in pretty good shape to begin with
flying_backwards
Well-Known Member
Maybe only a few DF members will go, but with such a small community, even one more couple is significant.
As someone who often is between the keyboard and the chair at the registrar's table, add me to the chorus of people saying "please don't do this." Scheduling a competition's heats so that the most number of people get the most breaks possible to ensure there is a somewhat level playing field is hard enough as it is. You're also gambling on the scrutineer/registrar letting you do it ("Oh, there are are fourteen couples in this heat already? Nope, not adding a quarterfinal round just for you").
For competitions where there is no per-entry fee (i.e. most collegiate / USA Dance), I recommend the opposite approach: Sign up for anything you might be remotely interested in doing and drop it at the competition if you think it is necessary. It is still extra work for the registrar, but it is so much easier to drop you from a heat than to add you; and there are few things that make a registrar happier than hearing that we got five minutes back because a quarter-final just turned into a semi-final...
flying_backwards
Well-Known Member
Now we're looking at maybe the Hot Ballroom comp on May 21 in Long Beach. It is a USA Dance one but it looks like the fee is per entry. No prior years that I can find (maybe this is its first year) so hard to guess what size the fields might be until registration opens. Luckily, they will use oc2m so we can see entries ahead of the early-reg cut-off. This will help a lot. I wish all comps provided that information.
We had hoped to do Emerald because our teacher's studio is going. But the entry we were going to do was uncontested last year, pre-novice am-am. I realize that is a self-fulfilling complaint! Instead we should do something to increase the chances of having enough other couples enter. Such as?
I do not mind at all not knowing how we'll place in a competition. But I dislike gambling whether there will exist other competitors. I wish there were a conditional entry where you get a full refund if your event is uncontested.
Mr 4 styles
Forum Master
flying backwards... in USA Dance terms what is your age level and style.. Ill help you find a good event
flying_backwards
Well-Known Member
Thank you Mr 4 styles. Your help is welcome.
Standard, bronze, Senior III
Geography is a problem, with only 2 USA Dance comps in California that I know of, the NQE in Oakland in December(?) and this new(?) one in Long Beach in May.
We do not mind competing with young couples, especially if it means a bigger field. That's why we enjoy the intercollegiate comps. That, and they're cheap. Money is a big issue for us. But we were hoping to do either a commercial comp or a USA Dance comp also this year. The YouTube of the 2016 Nor-Cal NQE looked really nice. That would be far for us but we will consider it.
I looked on the Senior Calendar. I keep looking again, hoping something will magically appear that is close and had full fields last year.
Standard, bronze, Senior III
Geography is a problem, with only 2 USA Dance comps in California that I know of, the NQE in Oakland in December(?) and this new(?) one in Long Beach in May.
We do not mind competing with young couples, especially if it means a bigger field. That's why we enjoy the intercollegiate comps. That, and they're cheap. Money is a big issue for us. But we were hoping to do either a commercial comp or a USA Dance comp also this year. The YouTube of the 2016 Nor-Cal NQE looked really nice. That would be far for us but we will consider it.
I looked on the Senior Calendar. I keep looking again, hoping something will magically appear that is close and had full fields last year.
bia
Forum Master
The Gumbo is always great for senior syllabus standard. Of course that helps you not at all geographically. But if a plane ticket is at all possible, it would make sense to then look into the variation in other expenses (e.g., hotel, food (the Gumbo gives you dinner on Saturday night and has a hospitality room with food at least one other day), etc.). Hopefully Mr4styles will have some good west coast advice.