Cardinal Classic

Events

• Individual events are offered in American style, International style, and Nightclub dances. All events are open to leaders and followers of either gender. Two or more dances separated by a slash constitute a multi-dance event. Contestants in multi-dance events must dance all dances. Dancers in international style categories must dance international style and dancers in American style categories must dance American style.

Formation Teams

• Formation team competitions are open to groups of four to ten couples. Coaches/Organizers of Formation Teams should register their teams through the main registration system. Please bring your music on the day of the competition on a clearly labeled CD. The length of the performance should be approximately 6 minutes or less.
• Formation team entries are included in the flat per-person registration fee ($30 student/$45 non-student). For those dancing only in Formation events, we offer a discounted rate of $20/person, including general admission to the evening session.
• Lifts are allowed.

Shoe Policy

• All shoes worn by competitors must not have the capacity to damage or alter fundamental characteristics of the floor. In particular, shoes should be non-marking and non–gouging. Shoes with suede soles (i.e. actual ballroom dance shoes) are naturally recommended but not required as we recognize that not all dancers are willing to invest in a set of ballroom dance shoes.
• All ladies’ shoes must have heel protectors. Heel protectors can take on a variety of forms – clear plastic covers, suede taped to the heel, etc. Suede heel protectors will be for sale at the registration table for $3 per pair.
• All competitors should note that at no time are they allowed to apply powder, oil, or other dance aids to their shoes in an attempt to alter the coefficient of static and kinetic friction between their shoe’s soles and the floor. Dance aids on the shoes will transfer to the floor and over the course of a competition will seep and become ingrained into the floor, making it unsuitable for dancing and other activities. Please familiarize yourself with this policy to avoid the frustration of getting pulled from an event due to a shoe policy infraction.

Levels

• American and international style events are offered in these levels. Please read and understand the eligibility guidelines below and choose your level accordingly. Eligibility, costume, and syllabus restrictions will be enforced strictly in all levels; couples found breaking these rules may be disqualified without advance notice.
• All competitors are allowed to dance at one’s proficiency level and the level above for each style. For instance, it is acceptable for a syllabus level couple to dance in Bronze and Silver Standard and then also compete in Silver and Gold Latin.
• To determine one’s level of eligibility, one should utilize the YCN Proficiency Points system. Calculation of one’s aggregate YCN points should be based on all DanceSport competitions that one has attended regardless of whether or not the competition was YCN sanctioned. For more information on calculating YCN Proficiency Points, see “YCN Proficiency Points” below.
• For international style events, syllabus restrictions refer to the ISTD Specified Figures, at the Associate level for bronze, through the Fellow level for gold. For American style events, any published syllabus may be used. ISTD step lists for international and American styles are available from http://www.usistd.org/. The chairman of judges will be strictly invigilating syllabus events.
• Newcomer events are open to those who have never competed in a ballroom dance competition of any kind before. Costumes are not permitted, and only bronze choreography may be danced.
• Bronze events are for dancers relatively inexperienced with ballroom dance competitions. Costumes are permitted, and only bronze choreography may be danced.
• Silver events are only available in International Style dances. These events are for relatively experienced competitors. Costumes are permitted, and only bronze and silver choreography may be danced.
• Gold events are for more experienced competitors. Costumes are permitted, and any syllabus choreography (bronze, silver, or gold) may be used.
• Prechamp/Advanced events are for serious competitors at the level of USABDA amateur competitions. Competitors who have placed out of Prenovice level in USABDA events are only eligible for the Advanced and/or Open level at Cardinal Classic. Costumes are encouraged, and there are no restrictions on choreography.
• Champ/Open events are for competitors dancing at the highest levels of amateur competition. Competitors who have placed out of Novice level in USABDA events are only eligible for the Open level at Cardinal Classic. Costumes are very encouraged, and there are no restrictions on choreography.
• Nightclub events are open to all competitors and carry no restrictions on costumes or choreography. However, lifts, drops, and aerials are not permitted.

Costumes

• Costumes are not permitted for Newcomer level only, (i.e.: no outfits made especially for ballroom dancing). No rhinestones.
• All other Syllabus and Open levelsNo costume restrictions.
• Costume restrictions apply to custom-made or custom-enhanced garments specifically for ballroom dance competitions. Unaltered off-the-rack costumes are permitted in all categories, as are ballroom dance shoes.

Age Categories

Junior events are open to couples in which both dancers will be 15 years old or younger on the day of the competition.

Senior events are open to couples in which both dancers will be 35 years old or older on the day of the competition. Senior couples are encouraged to compete in the Adult age category as well as Senior. For safety concerns, we request that Juniors do not compete in Adult.

Scholarships

We will award scholarships of $100 to the first-place couples in Open Standard and Open Latin, for the Adult and Junior ages.

YCN Proficiency Points

The YCN system recognizes five consecutive levels, in increasing order: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Pre-Champ and Champ.

Placing in the final of a certain level earns you points simultaneously in that level and the ones below it. Once you earn 7 (seven) points in a level, you can no longer dance at that level.

Events qualify only if there was at least a semifinal danced. Points are earned as follows:

In the level you danced in:

• 3 points for 1st place
• 2 points for 2nd place
• 1 point for 3rd place
• If there was a quarterfinal danced, 1 point for 4th-6th place

In the level below the one you danced in:

• 6 points for 1st place
• 4 points for 2nd place
• 2 points for 3rd place
• If there was a quarterfinal danced, 2 points for 4th-6th place

For all levels below that…

• 7 points for 1st-6th place

So, that means…

• placing 3rd in a Silver International Cha Cha event with a semifinal round will give you 1 point in Silver International Cha Cha and 2 points in Bronze International Cha Cha.
• placing 5th in Bronze American waltz will give you no points if there was only a final or semi-final and 1 point in Bronze American Waltz if there was a quarterfinal.
• placing 2nd in Gold American Bolero with a quarterfinal round will give you 2 points in Gold American Bolero, 4 points in Silver, and 7 points in Bronze (thus automatically eliminating you from any Bronze American Bolero events).
• As always, points are awarded to each member of the couple, and couples must always dance to the higher level of the two competitors.
• In multiple-dance events, points are earned for each dance according to the combined placement. E.g. if you place 3rd in a Silver Samba/Jive event, you earn points for placing 3rd in Silver Samba and 3rd in Silver Jive, even if the actual separate placement was different (like 2nd and 4th).
• If there is only one open level at a competition, points are earned as if it were Pre-Champ. Similarly, if there is a merged-level event (e.g., Silver/Gold or a Gold event when there is no Silver offered at that competition), then points are earned at the lower level (in both cases of our example, Silver).