WSDC Points and Event Registry Rules

WSDC Registry Event Rules

Overview

WSDC

The World Swing Dance Council (WSDC) is a non-profit organization focused on promoting and growing swing dance at the global level. Its mission is, “To inspire swing dancing around the world and guide events in creating the ideal environment to promote community growth.”

The WSDC respects the interests of both new and existing members of the entire swing dance community. As a governing body of WSDC Registry Events (“Registry Events”), the WSDC Board of Directors (“Board”) has developed these Registry Event rules to ensure integrity, consistency and fairness at Registry Events.

Registry Events

Registry Events are swing dance events organized and hosted by Professional Members (“Members”) of the WSDC and approved by its Board. Registry Events must meet standards set by the WSDC Board, demonstrating integrity and the highest ethical standards; sufficient event size, scope, and structure; and financial viability and stability. Registry Events offer a mix of social dancing, instruction and competition, bringing together local, regional, national and international dancers.

WSDC Registry Event Rules govern the entire Registry Event, not just WSDC Jack and Jill contests. All Registry Events must hold WSDC Jack and Jill contests. The WSDC tracks the contest results for WSDC Jack and Jill competitions at Registry Events; points awarded for placements are included in the WSDC Points Registry.

Points Registry

The WSDC Points Registry was developed and is maintained by the WSDC. The Points Registry is the official record used to track individual competitors’ results in WSDC Jack and Jill competitions at Registry Events. The Points Registry is used to determine a competitor’s appropriate skill level for WSDC Jack and Jill competitions. The Points Registry tracks the following skill-level and age-based categories: Newcomer, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, All Star, Champions; and Juniors, Sophisticated, and Masters, respectively.

Competitors who have earned at least one WSDC Jack and Jill competition point are assigned a unique WSDC Competitor ID number in the Points Registry. The Points Registry is available at worldsdc.com/registry-points.

Definitions

Venue

Registry Events must be held in an approved venue that meets the following minimum requirements:

1. Dance floor in main ballroom must be a minimum of 150 sq meters (1600 sq ft).
2. Recommended accommodations must be available within a 10 min walk or event must provide a shuttle that goes to/from accommodations suggested by event. If the latter, shuttles must run until the end of social dancing and are of sufficient frequency and capacity needed.
3. Venue must provide full service (food and drink) and/or options must be available nearby.
4. Studios that meet the above requirements must be approved and have additional restrictions as follows:
   1. A maximum of two (2) Registry Events may be held in the same studio per calendar year.
   2. A studio owner who is also the Event Owner / Event Director may hold a maximum of one (1) Registry Event in their studio.
5. Registry Events in venues that do not currently meet these requirements have a three (3) year grace period (ending December 31, 2025) to meet the venue minimum requirements.

Time / Distance Rule

Global Rule: If the proposed event change (i.e., Trial Event or change to existing Registry Event) is within 200 miles (322 km) driving distance of an existing Registry Event(s), then the proposed change and existing Registry Event(s) must be five (5) weekends apart (i.e., the events must have four (4) weekends between them).

The following exceptions to the Time / Distance Rule may be allowed with Trial Events. All exceptions listed below will require approval by the Board.^[1]

1. Country-specific rule: The first / only event that is located in a specific country. A majority of the Owner(s) / Event Director(s) must be resident(s) of the country.
2. Exceptional extenuating circumstances: The Board reserves the right to approve Time / Distance Rule conflicts as part of our mission and vision (“focused on promoting and growing swing dance”). Examples are extenuating circumstances, hardship, or local market conditions that warrant approval of an exception.

Designated WSDC Growth Region

Designated WSDC growth regions for 2025: Asia, Australia/New Zealand, South America/Central America, and Africa. Additional countries / regions may be added upon request and agreement by the Board.

Age-based Contests

Juniors are defined as those younger than 18 years of age by close of the event.
Sophisticated are defined as 35 years of age or older by close of the event.
Masters are defined as 50 years of age or older by close of the event.

Chief Judge

The Chief Judge is responsible for the oversight of the event’s contests and for ensuring the integrity of every contest. Chief Judge may not compete (for other limitations and requirements, see Section 3.4: Contest Oversight).

Secondary Chief Judge

The Secondary Chief Judge has similar or the same duties and responsibilities as the Chief Judge during the Event, and may replace the Chief Judge as needed. The Secondary Chief Judge is subject to the same rules and restrictions as the Chief Judge. Secondary Chief Judge may not compete (for other limitations and requirements, see Section 3.4: Contest Oversight). Some events may refer to this role as the Co-Chief Judge or Assistant Chief Judge.

Raw Score Judge

A Raw Score Judge is a separate judge, not part of a contest’s judging panel. The Raw Score Judge may be used in a contest (or multiple contests) during prelims only, to raw score one role while the Chief Judge is scoring the other role. The Raw Score Judge must assign each competitor a unique numerical raw score. The Raw Score Judge does not have access to scores and does not determine heats / number of callbacks / cuts to finals / any other contest structure decisions; those duties must be performed by the Chief Judge (or Secondary Chief Judge). The Raw Score Judge is allowed to compete in other contests.

Primary and Secondary Roles

For the purpose of these rules, a competitor’s primary and secondary roles are based on the number of points in the WSDC Skill Level Jack and Jill Advancement Chart (Chart 3). The primary role is the one in which they have points at a higher skill level or, if they have points in both roles at their highest skill level, the one in which they have more points. The secondary role is the one in which they have points only at a lower skill level or, if they have points in both roles at their highest skill division, the one in which they have fewer points.

Section 1: Registry Events Structure and Ownership

The following section outlines the minimum standards and requirements for Registry Events.

Membership and Registry Event approval / denial, rule changes, and penalties shall be at the discretion of the Board.

1.1. Professional Membership

All Registry Events must be owned by Professional Members of the WSDC. Members may be individuals, groups, clubs (e.g., swing dance clubs), or organizations. Members must remain in good standing by completing the following:

1. Follow WSDC Registry Event Rules.
2. Be current with WSDC annual membership dues.
3. Conduct their Registry Event(s), contests and business functions in an ethical manner.
4. Submit their Registry Event Update Form annually – a minimum of six (6) months prior to event date – to be listed as a confirmed Event on the WSDC Events calendar (worldsdc.com/submit-event-updates).
5. Meet their financial obligations and stated rules & policies.
6. Provide fair, unbiased and untampered competitions, judging and scoring.
7. Submit competition results and Competitor Surcharge in a timely manner.
8. Be compliant with the WSDC Code of Conduct; reflect the WSDC mission, values and brand; and be a member in good standing in the swing dance community. This applies to both Event Owner(s) and Event Director(s).

If an event loses its Registry Event status, the Member must reapply for Registry Event approval (see Section 1.3: Trial Events and New Registry Events), starting with Trial Event approval.

1.2. Registry Event Structure

Registry Events must comply with the following event structure, unless otherwise approved by the Board:

1. Registry Events must have a minimum of three (3) days of swing dance activities / functions (e.g., social dancing, lessons, workshops, competitions).
2. Registry Events must be open to any dancers. Restricted or closed city, state, regional events are not eligible.
3. Registry Events must be held in an approved venue (see Definitions: Venue).
4. Registry Events must offer a minimum of two (2) skill level WSDC Jack and Jill contests at Tier 2 size and a minimum of 120 competitor entries in WSDC Jack and Jill contests. (New! Contest entries include all WSDC skill- and age-based contests. Individuals competing in multiple contests will count per contest, not per person).
   1. Registry Events in a designated WSDC growth region (see Definitions: Designated WSDC Growth Region) may meet an alternate required minimum of eighty (80) WSDC Jack and Jill competitor entries and one hundred (100) attendees instead of the required minimum of 120 WSDC Jack and Jill competitor entries.
   2. If the event has fewer than the required minimum (120 WSDC Jack and Jill competitor entries for Registry Events, or the alternate minimum of eighty (80) WSDC Jack and Jill competitor entries and one hundred (100) attendees for Registry Events in a designated WSDC growth region), competition results will be posted and Registry Points awarded. The Registry Event will be placed on probation for one (1) year and must meet the required minimum number of competitors.
   3. If the event has fewer than the required minimum (120 WSDC Jack and Jill competitor entries for Registry Events, or the alternate minimum of eighty (80) WSDC Jack and Jill competitor entries and one hundred (100) attendees for Registry Events in a designated WSDC growth region) during the probation year’s event, the event will lose its Registry Event status. Competition results during probation will be posted and Registry Points awarded. Member may reapply for Registry Event approval.
5. Registry Events must occur annually and maintain the same date and location. All changes to ownership, event name, location, venue and/or date must be approved by the Board. (See Section 1.4.1: Registry Event Changes and Definitions: Venue and Time / Distance Rule)

1.3. Trial Events and New Registry Events

Event Owners / Event Directors must demonstrate that their event is viable and of sufficient size and scope to warrant Registry Event status. An approved preliminary event (“Trial Event”) must be held prior to applying for Registry Event status.

New or Existing Members who wish to hold a Registry Event must meet the following requirements:

1. Submit Trial Event application and application fee ($100) a minimum of six (6) months prior to Trial Event (worldsdc.com/event-application). Application must include all required event criteria, including, but not limited to the following: Event Owner(s), Event Director(s), name, date, location, venue, format, competition divisions, staff, and potential conflicts as defined according to the Time / Distance Rule (see Definitions: Venue and Time / Distance Rule)
2. Receive approval from the Board for a Trial Event, and submit request to list event on WSDC website (worldsdc.com/submit-event-updates).
3. Run the Trial Event, following all WSDC Registry Event Rules.
   1. New! Trial Events must use a WSDC Certified Chief Judge^[2].
4. Submit WSDC Event Reporting form and all competition and scoring reports (e.g., list of competitors, preliminary and final contest scores, contest tabulation sheets, petitions) for verification within five (5) days of close of Trial Event.
   1. New! Points will be awarded to competitors during the Trial Event.
   2. New! Trial Events must also submit the Competitor Surcharge fee (See Section 2.2: Competitor Surcharge).
5. WSDC Board will review the Trial Event results for Registry Event approval. Trial Events may receive one of the following designations:
   1. Approval as a Registry Event in full (i.e., no restrictions);
   2. Approval on probation (see Action Plan requirements under Section 4: WSDC Enforcement and Penalties), or;
   3. Denial, due to any event change during the Trial Event and/or failure to meet all Registry Event rules during the Trial Event. If denied, a second Trial Event may be permitted.
6. Approved Events must submit the annual Membership fee (see Section 2.1: Membership Fee). Event must also submit Registry Event Update Form annually to be listed as a confirmed Registry Event on the WSDC Event calendar (worldsdc.com/submit-event-updates).
7. Become a WSDC Professional Member (see Section 1.1: Professional Membership). Be compliant with the WSDC Code of Conduct; reflect the WSDC mission, values and brand; and be a member in good standing in the swing dance community. This applies to both Event Owner(s) and Event Director(s).

Existing Members with current Registry Event(s) who wish to apply for a Trial Event must also meet the following requirements:

1. All of the Member’s existing events must have a minimum of two (2) years of history as Registry Events in good standing. Members may not hold two (2) Trial Events at the same time.
2. All of the Member’s existing events must have a minimum of three (3) WSDC skill level Jack and Jill divisions and 150 competitor entries in WSDC Jack and Jill contests. Exceptions may be allowed for designated WSDC growth regions (see Definitions: Designated WSDC Growth Region).

1.4. Existing Registry Events

Registry Event Changes:

Members to notify Board of proposed change(s) six (6) months prior to Registry Events. Changes are subject to the written approval of the Board and include the following:

1. Transfer of ownership
2. New location
   1. Exception: An Event in a hotel may make a change from one location to another in the same metropolitan area, if the new venue remains a hotel.
3. Venue (see Definitions: Venue)
4. New date
   1. Exception: An Event may make a one (1) week change before / after an event’s original weekend without Board approval. Registry Events associated with a specific date / holiday may be held either the weekend before / after that specific date / holiday.
5. New event name

New event location or date change (unless listed as an exception above) must not create a new conflict to the Time / Distance Rule (see Definitions: Time / Distance Rule).

During the first two (2) years of running an event as a Registry Event, the original Owner(s) must retain at least 50% ownership or WSDC status will not transfer to the new Owners.

Registry Event Hiatus:

Registry Events are permitted a one (1) year break without jeopardizing their Registry Event status. New Registry Events must hold two (2) Registry Events before being eligible for hiatus. Hiatus may be a cancellation of the current or upcoming year. The event may be listed on the WSDC Events Calendar with a note that the event is on hiatus. Registry Events on hiatus will keep their date and location on the WSDC Events Calendar for assessing Time / Distance Rule conflicts (see Definitions: Time / Distance Rule).

A one (1) year break is automatically allowed by the Board if the following criteria are met:

1. Members notify the Board that their Registry Event is on hiatus in writing six (6) months in advance
2. Members maintain their WSDC Professional Membership during the hiatus (i.e., Members pay their membership fee). Members will receive no partial or full refunds for a canceled event.

Post-hiatus, an event must complete a minimum of two (2) consecutive Registry Events before it may go on hiatus again. If no event is held in the year following the break (i.e., the event is not held for two (2) consecutive years), the event will lose its Registry Event status. Members would need to reapply for Registry Event status, including holding a new Trial Event.

Section 2: Membership Fee, Competition Surcharges, and Competitor Results Reporting

2.1 Membership Fee

New! Members must pay an annual fee ($200) for each Registry Event. Membership Fee is due within 30 days after the close of the Registry Event (invoiced separately from Competitor Surcharge).

Late submission of Membership Fee may result in penalties (see Chart 1: Penalty Chart for Late Membership Fees / Competitor Surcharge).

2.2. Competitor Surcharge

Members must pay a Competitor Surcharge to the WSDC for all competitor entries in WSDC Jack and Jill contests. Competitors entering multiple WSDC Jack and Jill contests would result in a Competitor Surcharge for each WSDC Jack and Jill contest (e.g., a competitor entering an Advanced as Follower; Intermediate as Leader; and Masters WSDC Jack and Jill contests would result in a $3 Competitor Surcharge). The Competitor Surcharge is due within 30 days after the close of the Registry Event (invoiced separately from Membership Fee). The Competitor Surcharge is set as follows:

• $1 per competitor entry, per contest entered (WSDC Jack and Jill contests only)^[3]

Late submission of Competitor Surcharge may result in penalties (see Chart 1: Penalty Chart for Late Membership Fees / Competitor Surcharge).

2.3. Competitor Results Reporting

Members must report results for all WSDC Jack and Jill competitions to the WSDC, using the WSDC Event Reporting Form, including the following information:

• All petitions.
• Finalists’ WSDC ID numbers (if assigned by the Points Registry) must be included.
• The number of competitors in each division, so the appropriate Tier level for recording points can be determined.
• List of all unique competitors registered in WSDC Jack and Jill contests

The Event Director and/or the Chief Judge shall verify contest results and the number of contestants.

Competition results are due to the WSDC at the close of the Registry Event, and no later than three (3) days after the event closes. Submission of contest results within a timely manner is required out of respect for our competitors, so the Points Registry is current for upcoming Registry Events.

Late submission of competition results may result in penalties (see Chart 2: Penalty Chart for Late Submission of Competition Results).

Section 3: Competition Requirements

3.1. Contest Structure / Format Requirements

1. Registry Event must hire sufficient judging staff to run contests and avoid conflicts of interest (see Section 3.4 #5).
2. Registry Events must offer a minimum of two (2) skill level WSDC Jack and Jill divisions.
   1. Events are responsible for informing competitors of the Registry Points skill levels and points awards as defined by the WSDC.
   2. Events may restrict the number of Jack and Jill contests a competitor may enter. This must be published in the Event’s rules.
   3. Events that wish to require male/Leader and female/Follower roles must be pre-approved by the Board and this restriction must be published in the Event’s rules.
   4. Events may restrict their staff from participating in Jack and Jill or other contests.
3. Registry Events may offer only one (1) WSDC Jack and Jill for each skill level or age-based contest.
   1. WSDC will record WSDC points for only one (1) Junior, one (1) Sophisticated, and one (1) Masters contest per event (see Definitions: Age-based Contests). WSDC age-based Jack and Jill contests must be open to competitors of all skill levels who meet the age-based requirement (see restrictions listed in Section 3.1 #2).
   2. Events must clearly state in the Event’s rules which contests qualify for WSDC points (e.g., WSDC Champions Jack and Jill vs Invitational or non-WSDC Champions contest)
4. WSDC Jack and Jill competitions must have a minimum of five (5) unique Leaders and five (5) unique Followers in finals for points to be awarded and the results to be included in the Points Registry (see limitations in Section 3.1 #6b).
5. Registry Events must use the Points Registry, this rules document, and the WSDC Skill Level Jack and Jill Advancement Chart to determine competitors’ appropriate skill levels. All dancers in a contest must be registered for their contest.
6. Registry Events must offer a petition process for competitors who wish to dance in a different skill division
   1. Petitions can be submitted for one skill level up or one skill level down only. Competitors may submit petitions for their primary role only. Competitors may not submit petitions for their secondary role (see Section 3.2 #7.)
   2. Petitions shall not be approved at the Event for the purpose of making a Tier (i.e., to meet the minimum number of required competitors for a Tier).
   3. All petitions must be submitted to the WSDC with the WSDC Event Reporting form.
   4. For petitions down only (primary role only):
      1. The Chief Judge, or qualified individual(s)/committee designated by the Chief Judge, may approve or deny the petition after reviewing competitor’s Points Registry record.
      2. Petitions are event-specific and not transferable. Competitors must submit a petition at their next event.
   5. For petitions up only:
      1. Petitions must be submitted to the WSDC Chief Judges Committee (“CJC”) at least fifteen (15) days in advance of the event, along with two (2) videos of the competitor’s dancing. Petitions and videos must be submitted via this link: worldsdc.com/level-up-petition. The CJC may approve or deny the petition after reviewing the competitor’s Points Registry record and videos.
      2. Petitions will be approved for six (6) months and are transferrable to other events. Competitors who obtain a point in the higher division will remain in the higher division.
7. Registry Events may combine divisions. The WSDC recommends avoiding combining skill level divisions if at all possible, but the limitations that may be imposed due to a lack of entrants, time/schedule constraints, judges’ fees, and award costs are recognized. For events with combined divisions, points will be awarded to the lower of the two divisions (e.g., an Advanced / All Star combined contest would award Advanced points), with the exception of combined Newcomer/Novice contests, which will be awarded Novice points.
   1. Competitors are not permitted to dance “down” in a lower skill level contest if the division that they qualify for is not offered (e.g., Advanced dancer may not compete in an Intermediate contest if an Advanced contest is not offered at the event; Champion dancer may not dance in an All Star contest if a Champion contest is not offered).
8. Contest “restarts” (e.g., due to incorrect song, clothing malfunction, sound or lighting issues) may be initiated by the Chief Judge and/or competitor, but only approved by the Chief Judge. Chief Judge may use their discretion to allow the competitors to “restart” immediately or at a later time (e.g., at the end of the contest).
9. Registry Events must publish their contest rules on their website in advance of the event.
10. Registry Events must post contest results at the event and those results shall be open to all competitors for a minimum of 30 days. Contest results include contest rounds (e.g., prelims, semis, finals), placements and score reports. (Judges may be listed anonymously (e.g., as Judge 1, Judge 2, etc.) on the score report, at the Event Director / Owner / Chief Judge’s discretion.) If results are inaccurate (e.g., scoring issues, violations), corrected results must be posted.
11. For Registry Events held over the New Year’s holiday, points will be assigned to December of the outgoing year, not January of the incoming year (e.g., points would be awarded for December 2022, not January 2023).

3.2. Competitors: Skill Levels and Points Registry

1. Competitors are responsible for following the WSDC Registry Rules. Competitors will not receive WSDC points for placement if they fail to follow the WSDC Points Registry Rules.
2. Competitors have one (1) unique WSDC Competitor ID number for the Points Registry.
   1. Competitors are responsible for using their WSDC Competitor ID number when registering for Jack and Jill competitions at WSDC Registry Events.
   2. Competitors are responsible for correcting their WSDC Competitor ID number errors, either at the event or with the WSDC directly (email [email protected]).
   3. Competitors will be assigned a WSDC Competitor ID number only after they receive a point.
3. Competitors may compete in a maximum of two (2) skill level WSDC Jack and Jill competitions, once in their primary role and once in their secondary role (see limitations in Section 3.1 #2 and Section 3.2. #7). Competitors may compete in multiple age-based WSDC Jack and Jill competitions.
4. Competitors may compete in either their primary or secondary role in other contests (see limitations in Section 3.1 #2).
5. Competitors must use the Points Registry, this rules document, and the WSDC Skill Level Jack and Jill Advancement Chart (Chart 3) to determine the skill level for their primary role.^[4]
   1. Competitors may submit petitions to dance one level “up” or “down” for their primary role only (see Section 3.1 #6.) Competitors may not submit petitions for their secondary role (see Section 3.2 #7.) Petitions must be approved or the competitor will not receive points for placement.
6. Competitors will be awarded points as either a Leader or Follower. Those points are tracked separately in the Points Registry.
7. Competitors may dance one (1) or two (2) levels down in their secondary role as indicated on the Points Registry, with the following clarifications:
   1. Competitors with points in both their primary and secondary roles at the same skill level must select only one (1) role to compete in (either their primary or secondary role) for that event’s skill level Jack and Jill contest (e.g., competitor with 5 Advanced points as a Leader and 10 Advanced points as a Follower must decide whether to compete as either Leader or Follower in Advanced).
   2. New! The division a competitor selects for their primary role at the Event determines what level they may compete at for their secondary role. WSDC recommends competitors dance one (1) level down, but based on their skills, competitors may dance two (2) levels down from their primary role unless they are required to move up based on the WSDC Skill Level Jack and Jill Advancement Chart (Chart 3) for their secondary role (i.e., based on their points in their secondary role). Petitions are not allowed for secondary roles. (E.g., a competitor with 63 Advanced points as a Leader is allowed to dance in Advanced or All Star as a Leader in their primary role. If they choose to dance in Advanced as a Leader, they may dance in Novice or Intermediate as a Follower; if they choose to dance in All Star as a Leader, they may dance in Intermediate or Advanced as a Follower. However, if they have 1+ Intermediate points, they must dance in Intermediate as a Follower, even if they choose to dance in Advanced as a Leader.)
      1. Exception: To maintain the intent of the Newcomer division, competitors competing in Intermediate in their primary role may not compete in Newcomer (i.e., Intermediate competitors may only dance down one level down in their secondary role).
   3. Competitors who are Novice in their primary role may choose to compete in their secondary role in the Newcomer division, if they have no points in their secondary role (see Chart 3: WSDC Skill Level Jack and Jill Advancement Chart), or the Novice division. They may not compete twice in the same skill level Jack and Jill contest.
   4. Competitors may dance in Newcomer in the following scenarios:
      1. In either their primary or secondary role if they have no points in either role; or
      2. In their secondary role if they compete in Novice in their primary role and have no points in Newcomer or Novice in their secondary role.
8. Points are recorded only for those who place in WSDC Jack and Jill finals (see Chart 4: Points Awarded per Tier).
   1. WSDC Jack and Jill competitions must have a minimum of five (5) unique Leaders and five (5) unique Followers in finals for points to be awarded and the results to be included in the Points Registry (see limitations in Section 3.1 #6b).
9. If a competitor places twice in a division, the competitor is only awarded points for the higher placement (e.g., contest goes straight to finals with uneven numbers; competitor places 2nd and 5th; competitor is awarded points for 2nd place).
10. For WSDC Champion Jack and Jill contests, competitors may compete (“are allowed”) if they have 1 Champion point or 150 All Star points and must compete (“are required”) if they have 10 Champion points or 225 All Star points, assuming the event offers a WSDC Champion Jack and Jill contest.
    1. Events may no longer define their Champion division by including other qualifications (e.g., alternative predefined number of Champion / Invitational points, NASDE Classic or Showcase placements), but may offer a non-WSDC Champions contest, Invitational, or show as an alternative with different qualifications for entry.^[5]
    2. Competitors with 10+ Champion points and/or 225+ All Star points (“are required” to compete in Champions) may not enter All Star contests without an approved petition (see Section 3.1 #6), but may enter a combined All Star / Champion contest (see Section 3.1 #7).

Skill Level[6]	WSDC Category Definitions	Allowed (Dancers are given the option to move to the next skill level)	Required (Dancers are required to move to the next skill level)
Champion	Champions are defined for WSDC Champion Jack and Jill contests.[7]	Allowed to dance in Champions with 1 Champion points	Required to dance in Champions with 10 Champion points
		Champion
All Star	All Stars should be extremely competitive.	Allowed to move up with 150 All Star points	Required to move up with 225 All Star points
		All Star
Advanced	Advanced should be very competitive.	Allowed to move up with 60 Advanced points	Required to move up with 90 Advanced points or 1+ All Star point
		Advanced
Intermediate	Intermediate dancers are perfecting their competitive skills.	Allowed to move up with 30+ Intermediate points	Required to move up with 45+ Intermediate points or 1+ Advanced point
		Intermediate
Novice	Novice dancers demonstrate basic dance skills.	Allowed to move up with 16+ Novice points	Required to move up with 30+ Novice points or 1+ Intermediate point
		Novice
Newcomer[8]	Newcomers are dancers who are new to competition.	Allowed to move up at the dancer's discretion.	Required to move up with 1+ Newcomer point or 1+ Novice point
		Newcomer

3.3. Contest Tiers, Points Awarded, and Competition Rounds

3.3.1. Point Tier Awards

Tiers are defined by the number of unique competitors in each role (Leader or Follower). Dancing in finals does not guarantee that a competitor will be awarded points. Points awarded to Leaders and Followers may not be identical. The higher the number of competitors within a division, the higher the Tier, and the greater the points potential.

A division may have different tiers for Leaders and Followers. For example, a Novice contest may have 18 Leaders and 35 Followers. Leaders would receive Tier 2 points; Followers would receive Tier 3 points. The points awarded to a competitor according to their placement in finals is listed in Chart 4.

WSDC Jack and Jill competitions must have a minimum of five (5) unique Leaders and five (5) unique Followers in finals for points to be awarded and the results to be included in the Points Registry.

3.3.2. Competition Rounds

If the leaders and followers fall into different tiers, the number of rounds must be determined by the higher tier. The minimum number of rounds for tiers is mandatory (see Chart 5: Competition Rounds based on Tier Size).

3.4. Contest Oversight: Staff Requirements, Conflicts of Interest, Scoring

Registry Events should follow the highest ethical standards regarding the conduct of contests. Disregard of ethical standards, even if not specifically outlined in the Registry Event Rules, may result in penalties by the Board.

Rules that affect the integrity of a contest – particularly where results / scores could be impacted – apply to all contests held at the event. All efforts must be made to conduct unbiased judging and to avoid any tampering with contests and contest results.

Note: For the purposes of this section, Event Director and Owner are defined as follows:

• Event Director is any person involved in decision-making related to the hiring of judges and/or scoring staff and/or identified as the Event Director.
• Owner is any person with a vested financial / ownership interest (e.g., shareholder) in the event.
• Non-profit shareholders or Board members are not considered Owners but may fall under Event Director restrictions, depending on their role.

Registry Events must follow all contest oversight requirements outlined below, unless otherwise approved by the Board:

1. Event Director and/or Owner must not perform Chief Judge, Judge, or Scoring functions or duties.
   1. Event Director(s) or Owner(s)’ spouses and immediate family may also not perform Chief Judge or Scoring duties.
2. Event Director, Owner, Chief Judge, Secondary Chief Judge (see Definitions: Secondary Chief Judge), and Score person (or Contest Administrator with automated scoring systems) must not compete in any swing contests at the event, with the following exceptions/clarifications:
   1. Non-judged contests (e.g., exhibitions).
   2. Any contest of a different dance genre and/or sponsored and run by a separate organization. Exceptions must be authorized by the Board two (2) months prior to the event. (E.g., at UCWDC events only, Event Director, Owner, Chief Judge, and Score person may dance in a UCWDC Pro-Am West Coast Swing contest. This exception is allowed as a carve out to accommodate UCWDC rules.)
3. Chief Judge and Scoring / Tabulation functions and duties must be provided by separate individuals.
4. Judges must make decisions independently. Tampering or altering contest scores is not allowed.
   1. Group judging decisions (instantaneous “on the floor”), “tap out” eliminations during the contest (by an individual judge or as a group), or audience-judging are permitted only in non-WSDC Jack and Jill contests / “fun” contests (e.g., tournament-style contests, costume contests).
5. All conflicts of interest must be identified and avoided. This is the responsibility of Event Directors, Chief Judge, and judges.
   1. Conflicts of interest are defined as the following: any Judge/ Chief Judge who is judging an immediate family member, current spouse / significant other, current dance partner, or current business partner (e.g., co-Owners, Event co-Directors, teaching partners).
      1. The WSDC recommends staff members avoid real or perceived bias (positive or negative) between them and other members of the community, but will enforce only conflicts of interest as defined above. Staff members are responsible for providing conflicts of interest to the Chief Judge and/or Event Directors.
   2. Judging assignments must be made to prevent conflicts. Judges / Chief Judges must recuse themselves from a judging panel to prevent conflicts. The following exceptions are allowed:
      1. Pro-Am Jack and Jill and Pro-Am Strictly Swing competitions when judges are judging the Amateurs only and conflict is with the Pro.
      2. A judge with a conflict of interest to a competitor may judge the opposite role to that competitor during Jack and Jill preliminary rounds.
      3. Self-judging contests are allowed only in the Champions division. Self-judging should occur only if there is an insufficient number of available judges.
      4. When necessary for a specific contest, the Chief Judge may be replaced by the Secondary Chief Judge (see Definitions: Secondary Chief Judge).
6. Judges for WSDC Jack and Jill contests must meet the following standards:
   1. For preliminary Jack and Jill contests, a minimum of four (4) judges per role (plus Chief Judge) are required. The WSDC strongly recommends Registry Events use at least five (5) judges per role in larger (Tier 5 and 6) preliminary contests to avoid ties. The following exception for contests is allowed:
      1. New! An Event may assign some or all of the judges in the judging panel to score both roles for contests in Tiers 1-3. Additional songs per round may be needed. A minimum of four (4) scores per role is still required.
   2. For final Jack and Jill contests, a minimum of five (5) judges (plus Chief Judge) are required. An even number of judges shall not be used. The WSDC requires Events use seven (7) judges for finals in Tiers 5- 6.
   3. The Chief Judge may join the general judging panel only if there is an unforeseen / unavoidable shortage of general judges.
   4. Self-judging contests are allowed only in the Champions division. Self-judging should occur only if there is an insufficient number of available judges.
   5. Virtual judging is not permitted
7. All WSDC Jack and Jill contests must maintain the integrity of random and unbiased selection (i.e., rotating partners, pairing of partners, and music selection). For example, rotation of partners in prelims and the selection of partners in finals should be random; music assignments should be fair to all competitors. Note: a choice of music categories (e.g., slow blues / fast contemporary) for finals may be offered.
8. All WSDC Jack and Jill contests must use the WSDC-approved Callback system for preliminary competitions and Relative Placement scoring system for finals.
   1. Judges are allowed to use paper or an electronic system.
   2. All events must use a computerized system to calculate scores. Score person and/or Chief Judge may do calculations for contest results by hand (“hand scoring”) only in emergency situations.
      1. New! Transfer of judges’ paper score sheet results to computerized systems must be audited by the Chief Judge and/or scoring team approved by the Chief Judge (i.e, verified by a separate person than the Score person inputting the data).
   3. Chief Judges must assign unique numerical raw scores to all competitors in preliminary rounds. If necessary, the Chief Judge may raw score one role and assign a Secondary Chief Judge or Raw Score Judge (see Definitions: Secondary Chief Judge and Raw Score Judge) to raw score the other role (e.g., Chief Judge scores Leaders; Secondary Chief Judge / Raw Score Judge scores Followers). (Note: Secondary Chief Judge or Raw Score Judge must also assign unique numerical raw scores to the competitors.)
   4. Details on the Callback system standardization and requirements are listed in the Appendix (see Section 5: Callback System for Preliminary Contests). Additional information on the Callback system and Relative Placement is available on the WSDC website under Rules (worldsdc.com/rules, see Prelim Scoring and Relative Placement, respectively).
   5. Requirements for computerized scoring systems is listed in the Appendix (see Section 6: Computerized Scoring System Requirements).
   6. For non-WSDC contests, Registry Events must publish if and for which contest(s) they opt not to use the Callback and/or Relative Placement scoring systems (see Section 3.1. #9).

Section 4: WSDC Enforcement Policy and Penalties

All events must implement a Code of Conduct policy and post it on their website, with appropriate plans for reporting and implementation. Sample policies are linked from the Code of Conduct section under Rules & Info on the WSDC website.

Registry Event rules are enforced by the WSDC. Membership and Registry Event approval / denial, rule changes, and penalties shall be at the discretion of the Board. Unless otherwise approved, any WSDC Professional Member or Registry Event that does not comply with the WSDC Registry Event Rules will be considered in default of their membership and subject to penalties and/or loss of Registry Event status.

New! The WSDC is developing a new collaborative process for addressing issues (e.g., rule violations) that occur at Registry Events. Events may implement a mutually agreed upon and approved Action Plan to address the issue(s). The draft Action Plan addressing the issue should be submitted within 10 days of notice and be approved by both the Event and Board within 30-60 days. The Action Plan should address the following:

• What happened
• Who was impacted
• How to repair what happened (including communication plan to impacted parties)
• How to prevent it in the future
• Follow up reporting on implementation of the repair and proposed prevention (accountability follow up)

When an approved Action Plan is implemented and followed, the Registry Event is no longer considered in violation or in default. The Action Plan may be implemented by the Event Owner(s), Event Director(s), the Certified Chief Judge and/or other relevant parties.

Members and/or Chief Judges who violate Registry Event rules and/or fail to fully implement the Action Plan will be in default. Default may result one or more of the following options:

1. Warning or Probation
2. Loss of Registry Event status
   1. Events who lose status are allowed to reapply for Registry Event approval, including a new Trial Event.
3. Drop in or Loss of Certified Chief Judge status

Penalties specific to late submission of Membership fees, Competitor Surcharge, and competition results are detailed in Charts 1 and 2. Penalties for all other Registry Event rules violations are detailed in Chart 6. Members in default may reapply for WSDC membership or Registry Event status, subject to approval by the Board.

Section 5: Callback System for Preliminary Competitions

The Callback System for preliminary competitions has been standardized. The following point values must be assigned to judges’ callbacks:

• Yes = 10
• Alternate 1 (Alt 1) = 4.5; Alternate 2 = 4.3; Alternate 3 = 4.2
• No = 0.

Scoring systems should not use more than 3 levels of Alternates (i.e., no Alternate 4). At their discretion, the Chief Judge may ask judges to use Alt 1s; Alt 1s & Alt 2s; or Alt 1, Alt 2 & Alt 3s for any specific contest. In larger contests, to minimize the potential for ties, the Chief Judge may ask for two (2) or more Alt 1s; Alt 1 & Alt 2s; or Alt 1, Alt 2, & Alt 3s.

The outcome for callbacks must be determined by the sum of the values.

• Only after the original calculations are complete, the Chief Judge’s scores break the tie.

Section 6: Computerized Scoring System Requirements

A computerized scoring system should do the following tasks:

1. Place competitors within the various divisions and contests.
2. Create preliminary and finals contest judging sheets with pre-populated information.
3. Tabulate and rank callbacks. See Section 5 (Callback System for Preliminary Competitions) on requirements for ranking callbacks.
4. Create callback announcement sheets.
5. Transfer competitors to finals.
6. Randomly assign partners (if needed).
7. Place paired competitors in random dance order or place competitors in numerical order for “draw for dance order,” as needed.
8. Tabulate and rank finals contests for placement results.
9. Provide limited access to authorized users only, as appropriate (e.g., Chief Judge, judges).
10. Prevent tampering and/or changes to results by unauthorized users.
11. Provide results / announcement / posting sheets.
12. Provide WSDC scoring report to WSDC.

Legend

• [1] Note: Due to the change in the Time/Distance rule, the Cooperating Events exception has been removed.
• [2] Trial Events approved after October 16, 2024.
• [3] Competitor Surcharge to increase to $2, effective January 1, 2026.
• [4] New! The WSDC has eliminated the rule requiring competitors to maintain their same skill level at an Event across all contests (e.g., a competitor who is allowed to dance in either Intermediate or Advanced as a Leader may enter as an Advanced Leader in the WSDC Jack and Jill and as an Intermediate Leader in the strictly swing contest if the Event’s rules allow it). Competitors should review Events’ rules on non-WSDC contests (note: different Events may have different rules and it is the competitor’s responsibility to follow them).
• [5] The WSDC announces this interim definition for WSDC Champion divisions, effective July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025, with the intention to gather additional input for a review by the WSDC Board by June 30, 2025.
• [6] The points required for moving up (or down) is based on the points in the dancer’s primary role, not the combined points in their primary and secondary roles.
• [7] Events must follow rule 3.2 #10 for all WSDC Champion Jack and Jill contests. See footnote for 3.2 #10 for additional details regarding the transition timeframe.
• [8] Newcomer division is not offered at all events. Competitors may select either Newcomer or Novice divisions, but must dance in Novice once they receive one (1) point in either Newcomer OR Novice in their selected role (primary or secondary). Competitors competing in Intermediate may not compete in Newcomer in their secondary role.
• [9] Registry Events are allowed to waive a competition round if the number of competitors is no more than 10% over the previous Tier’s maximum (e.g., a Tier 4 contest with 43 Followers (and fewer than 39 Leaders) could run a prelims and finals only). This is allowed to provide stability for contest planning.