Dan - In response to all the replies you got regarding a letter written several weeks ago which was critical of overly packed floors ("moving the meat around"), I think there was a point made and a reply that did not address that point.

However rude or crude the original author's comment regarding "moving the meat" - and I agree that it was unseemly at best - they did give voice to a legitimate concern with which a lot of us have to contend; namely, over packed floors.

In response to this, John DePalma wrote a humorous article about getting entries in on time; also an important issue. However, whereas there may occasionally be some overlap between these two issues, I don't believe that the one addresses the other. Over crowded floors are a function of the inability of the organizer to organize the sheer number of entries in the time frame allotted, and does not reflect 'when' those entries arrived on his or her desk. Don't misunderstand me here; I'm not necessarily blaming the organizers. It just might be an impossibility to get the job done in the time allotted.

It is important to get entries in on time, and it very definitely will help the organizer to organize. However, the end result is still this: if you only have 3 days to run your comp, and you don't want to start at 5:00 in the morning and go till 2:00am, then you can't run through 5000 pro/am entries without crowding them on. And, although the expression may have been crude or rude, I dare say there's not a pro/am teacher in this country who has experienced eleven couples in the American Open Silver Viennese Waltz on a split floor, who didn't feel as though the organizer didn't care about them or their dancing more than just the dollars they brought in. (Whether or not this is a fair assessment, it is a true feeling.) Furthermore, when you're in line with those 10 other couples waiting to go out onto that split floor, you do feel a little bit as though you were being shifted into a pen like cattle. In fact, it's not an uncommon joke to hear somebody in the line-up start mooing.

My point, obviously, is this: whether or not the comment of "moving the meat" was appropriate, the point that the author raised is still valid. The issue of over crowded split floors is real and it should be addressed. The issue of getting entries in on time is also very real, but is a separate issue, and doesn't address the original concern. - A Reader

Well said! I have been in that situation and you’re right, it does not feel great to be on a split floor with too many people and nowhere to move. One of the best things that the NDCA did was to implement the rule that only 8 couples (maximum) can be on the floor at one time. Many organizers have extended the size of their floors to accommodate this problem but, unfortunately, some have had to deal with the small size of the hotel ballroom and maybe the lack of the number of venues in their own city. There is also some responsibility that is still left to the teacher and the student. If you have the good fortune of practicing in a large ballroom, you still have to make preparations for dancing your routines at a competition. Since you don’t always have the ability to know the type of floor you’re going to be competing on, you need to practice your dancing in a smaller space. I also think it’s important to practice to different speeds of music so you are ready to handle some tempos that you otherwise might not be used to. If you attend an event and you feel that the organizer has not made any attempts to give you the largest floor possible, then you can either discuss this with them or choose another event. Overall, thanks to the NDCA rule along with the organizers and concerned competitors, I think this dilema has improved greatly! - Dan
 
Dear Dan - I just returned from the Desert Classic Dancesport Festival in Desert Springs, California. What a great competition! The organizers, Glenn Weiss and Kandi Blick were fantastic and I would recommend this competition to anyone in the future. The hotel was wonderful; the organization of the competition was awesome, and the On Deck Coordinator, Yolanda Vargas, had the heats running smoothly and on time. But, I would like to make a comment or two about some of the judges. I usually have the utmost respect for judges due to their time and experience in the ballroom industry. I always felt that judges were people that had the most professionalism about them. These are/were people that I looked up to due to their accomplishments in ballroom dancing. But at this competition a couple of the judges have now made me reevaluate my opinion of this important position.

When dancing on the floor with one of my students, during the second day of the competition, American Smooth division, I didn’t want to believe my ears when I overheard one judge say to another, "Mr. C. will never receive higher than last place from me." At first I thought I was mistaken at what this judge said. But, when my student came up to me after the heat and said she heard the judge say those exact same words (without me asking her if she heard anything) I was overwhelmed. This was something I never, in all my years of attending competitions, thought I would hear. But the unprofessional action of this judge does not end yet. During the American Rhythm section of this competition another student and I were competing against another couple. The music started and my student and I took one step and the judge handed the score sheet to the runner. We were judged and scored on one step. How can this be possible? Was this judge going to prove the point that, "Mr. C will never receive higher than last place" - apparently so.

The third unprofessional action from another judge at this competition was when this judge made a comment while handing out awards in front of teachers and students that, "This teacher is my favorite because I trained him". In my book this is something that should never be said in front of students. Doesn't this point out to students that judges have favorites and judge them higher? Maybe this is not what this judge meant but students sure could take it that way.

I know I have written to you before about the lack of professionalism at some competitions and how it greatly disturbs me. And maybe I should just forget about it and move on. But, attending competitions is a major part of my studio’s income. And with these types of comments and with the unprofessional actions of instructors that I wrote to you before it is making it harder and harder for me to convince my students to do more competitions. Am I wrong in feeling this way? My students spend thousands of dollars a year on competitions and when we attend I usually have more than 200 entries. I explain to my students that the competitions that we attend are professional and everyone that will be there will be professional and show them how beautiful and wonderful this industry is. So I have a hard time understanding why this happens. Is politics even a part of the ballroom industry? – I guess so.

I love ballroom dancing and supporting the industry by trying to go to as many competitions as possible. When preparing for competitions I can see my students getting better and better and feeling more confident in their dancing. To me competitions are a very important part of their learning because it gives them a new goal to achieve. But, when the actions that I have written about continue to happen it does make you stop and think. Maybe you, since you run your own competition, or your readers may have some answers for me. Thank you for reading this letter and any help or advice you or your readers can give. - Mark Cohen

Mark, If you truly heard correctly, this sounds like unacceptable behavior completely unbecoming of an NDCA adjudicator. I would suggest that you or anyone in this position register a complaint with the NDCA. Good luck! - Dan