Promotion through the ranks - how does it work where you are?

[SwingWaltz]

In AM we are Senior I (over 35) gold/prechamp - but I think we established in an earlier topic that this was not equivalent to you - we start doing open steps much later.  Maybe its easier to compare from the top down?  Pre/champ is litterally that - the next level down from championship .

So is championship like level 5? 

[elisedance]

I suppose so.  If thats what you do if, say, you compete overseas  

[QPO]

anybody can enter.  There are only a few closed events and they are open ones. - mummsie

Yes I was thinking the same thing. we hope to compete in Europe next year and would interested to know how that works?

QPO I will ask our resident couple who compete overseas regularly. - mummsie

that will be great. it all seems to work well when you are in your own country but when you travel overseas it must become very gray

[ttd]

My friend and I talked about it the other day (just regarding pro-am events, since that's what we do), and one observation she made was that people tend to stay in silver for a really long time. There isn't as much incentive to move up from silver to gold, because once you're there, you have to do open scholarships, and it would take a long time to be competitive in them. Especially, when there are no A and B age groups, so someone her age (B) has to compete against semi-pro girls young enough to be her daughters. There is a major incentive to move up from bronze to silver - you don't have to get up at 5am to get ready to dance, you're fine with 8am wake-up call. But after that people seem to be content staying in silver for a really long time. One indirect confirmation of her theory is the heat sizes - she routinely has quarter finals in her silver single dance events, while gold events have 1 or 2 people in them. Silver scholarships for her are usually at least semi, while open scholarships at our mid-sized comps are usually straight finals.

[elisedance]

Very interesting - I had never thought of silver as a competitor 'pooling' place - people tend to move out of gold fast because they either give up dancing (it gets too demanding) or they feel if they are at that level why not step up to schollarship. 

Quarterfinals in silve single dance?  Surely that has to be in a major event?

[ttd]

Very interesting - I had never thought of silver as a competitor 'pooling' place - people tend to move out of gold fast because they either give up dancing (it gets too demanding) or they feel if they are at that level why not step up to schollarship. 

Quarterfinals in silve single dance?  Surely that has to be in a major event?

No, we were talking about our mid-sized comps we go to like HOA, or St. Louis. She is in the 45-55 age group, and she quite often has quarter finals in her single dances in that group. I don't, since I am in 36-45, the most I ever had was a semi. Open scholarships are semis at most for american style and straight finals for international.

[elisedance]

Wow.  So that was in American style?  I think the only comps I been to with quarters were Emerald and Ohio...

[ttd]

Wow.  So that was in American style?  I think the only comps I been to with quarters were Emerald and Ohio...

Yes, American style field is bigger her in Midwest. They usually allocate full day for rhythm and smooth each, and entire international style fits into 1 day. But yes, on bronze and silver levels in the most populous age groups both smooth and rhythm have quarterfinals in single dances and closed scholarships. Some of lower level international events have a semi. I've seem rhythm and smooth open scholarships have a semi, but not standard or latin. Those competitors are lucky if they get a full final here.

[Dora-Satya Veda]

Yes I was thinking the same thing. we hope to compete in Europe next year and would interested to know how that works?

Its very different - but we don't seem to have a regular poster from Europe to ask right now - we need to find one!

Even if you did have somebody from Europe posting it would still not give you the full story as every country in Europe run competitions differently.

Most countries in Europe do the syllabus restrictions in the Juvenile and Junior divisions. As most countries only have enough competitors for a semifinal or final in the adult divisions there are only open levels. There are a few exceptions to this like Germany, Italy and Russia, but other then those exceptions there just aren’t enough competitors to runs all the levels in adult. 

DSV

[ttd]

Wow.  So that was in American style?  I think the only comps I been to with quarters were Emerald and Ohio...

Yes, American style field is bigger her in Midwest. They usually allocate full day for rhythm and smooth each, and entire international style fits into 1 day. But yes, on bronze and silver levels in the most populous age groups both smooth and rhythm have quarterfinals in single dances and closed scholarships. Some of lower level international events have a semi. I've seem rhythm and smooth open scholarships have a semi, but not standard or latin. Those competitors are lucky if they get a full final here.

We both do silver with the same teacher, btw. She is a B and I am an A. If you think about it, moving up from silver actually has even fewer incentives until you're actually competitive in the open scholarship (since there's no such thing as closed gold scholarship, or it is extremely rare). Suddenly your scholarships are in a different session or even on a different day from the singles, so you don't get to relax and watch evening events, or you have to pay for an evening session, whereas before you could just skip it and save $$. And if one feels like messing with open (like I do), they can always do dancesport series, which is in the same session as closed events. And that theory sort of has another confirmation, too. Smooth dancesport series events here are semis and quarter finals. More than half of those competitors did not compete in open scholarship, they did closed sliver instead.

[elisedance]

Maybe my difference is that I do pro/am always with an eye towards AM - I use it to train and I want to do championship AM before I die

[ttd]

Maybe my difference is that I do pro/am always with an eye towards AM - I use it to train and I want to do championship AM before I die

You have to have a competent other half for that sort of thing.

[elisedance]

yes, but the better you get the more attractive you become for the competent other half.
besides I have one, all I have to do is set a fire under his feet....

[ttd]

I don't have any am-am aspirations. I won't be able to find a partner of comparable level close enough to make it a viable partnership, unless one moves here, and local guys aren't that great. I shudder to think about how long I would have to wait until one of them improves to the point where I'd also be getting something out of practicing together besides shoulder pain. The only way I can see myself getting into am-am is getting a divorce and relocating to an area with bigger dance scene, like NY metro area, but then if I look at the bigger picture, whatever I save in competition costs probably won't offset the cost of living there, so overall I will be worse off than now.

So I plan to stick with pro-am and get as good as I can get there.

[etp777]

Luckily, I'm a guy, and not all that good.    So if I ever decide to look for an am partner, I should be on opposite side of TTD's problem.