Module #3: Tiers/ Moving Up/ Reporting Form

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 WSDC Registry Events (“Event”). The Points Registry is used to determine a competitor’s appropriate skill level for WSDC Jack and Jill competitions (see WSDC Jack and Jill Advancement Chart). The Points Registry also tracks three (3) age-based levels:  Juniors (defined as 17 years of age or younger by close of the event), Sophisticated (defined as 35 years or older by close of the event) and Masters (defined as 50 years of age or older by close of the event).   

Competitor I.D. Numbers:   

Competitors who have earned at least one WSDC point, are assigned a unique WSDC

Competitor ID number in the Points Registry. WSDC points are awarded at WSDC Registry Events, as outlined in the Contest Tier section below. The Points Registry is available at worldsdc.com/registry-points.  

Contest Tier Minimums and Guidelines:   

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.  

Tiers and Points Awarded Per Tier:   

Tiers are defined by the number of competitors in each role (Leader or Follower). There may be two different tiers within the same division (e.g., a Novice competition may have 18 leaders and 35 followers, which would result in a Tier 2 for leaders and Tier 3 for followers).  The greater the number of competitors within a division, the higher the Tier, and the greater the points potential.  

Dancing in finals does not guarantee that a competitor will be awarded points (if there are more finalists beyond the number of placements that are awarded points in that Tier). Points awarded to leaders and followers may not be identical (as they may be different Tiers). 

The Points Awarded per Tier chart lists the points awarded to a competitor, according to their placement in finals contests.  

Points Awarded Per Tier Chart:  

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 are listed in Chart 4.  

Chart 4: Points Awarded per Tier   

  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 number of rounds for tiers is mandatory (see Chart 5: Competition Rounds based on Tier Size).  

Chart 5: Competition Rounds based on Tier Size 

  Specific Rules Regarding Competitor Divisions and Points:   

1. Each competitor with at least one (1) point has one (1) WSDC Competitor ID number for the Points Registry.
2. Petitioning “Up” effective July 1, 2024.
   1. Competitors who wish to petition “up” will no longer be reviewed or approved by an event’s Chief Judge, but will now be approved/disapproved by our Chief Judge Committee. Competitors must submit their petition to the Chief Judge Committee 15 days prior to the event.  Not at the event.
   2. The Chief Judge Committee may approve a “petition up” if a competitor exhibits an extraordinary level of skill and in those exceptional and rare cases, the Chief Judges Committee may approve the petition. If a competitor does not earn a point in the higher division, they may use the approved petition for 6  months.
3. Petitioning “Down”
   1. Competitors who wish to petition “down” (i.e., in a lower division than their points would allow) this process will continue with the competitors submitting a petition to the Chief Judge at the event.
   2. WSDC recommends the Chief Judge coordinate with other instructors or judges for input, or who may have knowledge of the dancer; or to evaluate the dancer as a group.
   3. Competitors with no or limited competition success in their secondary role may submit a petition to dance one (1) additional level down in that role (so they would be dancing two (2) levels down from their primary role). Petitions to move down a level are event-specific and not transferable. Competitors must submit a new petition to move down at their next event.
   4. The event must include all petitions “down” with the WSDC Event Reporting form.
4. Points are recorded only for those who place in the finals, according to the Points Awarded per Tier Chart.
5. If a competitor places twice in a division, the competitor is only awarded points for the higher placement.
6. Competitors’ points will be tracked separately for each role and competitors will advance through the division levels on separate tracks.
   1. Competitors primary skill-level is based on their Leader or Follower points.
   2. Competitors compete in one level down in their secondary role unless they qualify for both roles in the same skill-level.
   3. Competitors may not dance in both roles in the same division. If the Competitor qualifies for a division in both roles, they must choose which role in which they compete for that event.
   4. Events are required to offer the option for dancers to dance in both roles, unless specifically approved to not offer that option by the WSDC.
7. In Partner (couples) contests based on skill-levels:
   1. If the partners are of mixed skill levels, the partnership must compete in the higher skill-level.
   2. The lower skill-level partner may still compete in their regular skill-level in a Jack & Jill contest.
8. For Events with combined divisions (e.g., Novice/Intermediate), points will be awarded to the lower of the two divisions.
9. For Events that have different category names for their skill-level divisions, WSDC may choose not to record them.  Please refer to the WSDC Jack & Jill Advancement Chart for the list of recognized WSDC skill-level divisions.
10. WSDC will record WSDC points for one Junior, one Sophisticated and one Master contest.
11. The intent of the Registry Points system is to have all competitors move up through the system by earning their points at each level. The Registry Points system has “may move up” and “must move up” points in each division to allow for significant flexibility for competitors to decide their path to the next level.  Effective July 1, 2024: If a competitor earns one (1) point in a higher level, they must dance in that level.
    1. Newcomer Division: This 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).
    2. Novice Division: Dancers are allowed to move up to Intermediate with 16 Novice points; but may remain in Novice until they have earned 30 Novice points at which time they must move up to Intermediate.
    3. Intermediate Division: Dancers are allowed to move up to Advance with 30 Intermediate points; but may remain in Intermediate until they have earned 45 Intermediate points at which time they must move up to Intermediate.
    4. Advance Division:  Dancers are allowed to move up to All Star with 60 Advance points, but may remain in Advance until they have earned 90 Advance points at which time they must move up to All Stars.  
    5. All Star Division: Dancers are allowed to move up with 150 All Star points, but may remain in All Star until they have earned 225 All Star points at which time they must move up to Champions.   
    6. Champions Division.  Effective July 1, 2024 registry events will no longer define this division.  Dancers are allowed to dance in Champions with 150 All Stars points or one (1) Champion point.  Note: Competitors in Growth Regions are allowed to dance in Champions with 100 All Star points or one (1) Champion point. Competitors who are eligible to compete in this division are not required to compete in Champions unless they have 225+ All Star points. 
12. The WSDC has a reporting form that needs to be submitted by the event to report the results of its WSDC Jack & Jill contests.
    1. It is the responsibility of the event director (typically assigned to or provided by the score person). The Chief Judge may assist in completing the form.
    2. The form requests the competitors’ names and WSDC competitors’ ID number for all dancers who place in finals in the WSDC Jack & Jill divisions, up to the number of finalists eligible as determined by the Tiers Chart.
    3. The report is due no later than three (3) days after the event takes place.
13. Competitors who desire to compete in a division other than the division for which they qualify via the WSDC Points Registry  may only do so with an approved petition.

Chart 3: WSDC Skill-Level Jack & Jill Advancement Chart

 (1)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. 

(2) 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).

WSDC Registry Event Rules, effective July 1, 2024