NATIONAL SMOOTH DANCERS, INCORPORATED

(NSD)

(A NON-PROFIT SOCIAL DANCE ORGANIZATION)

NSD OFFICIALLY APPROVED DANCE RULES

2009

Recognizing that NSD is a social organization dedicated to promoting friendliness and goodwill within its membership through greater interest in ballroom dancing, it is deemed prudent to create a set of dance rules that will apply to NSD dance competitions.

This document covers the rules to be followed for officially approved NSD competitions. Its purpose is to promote a level of high quality dance contests and guarantee that every effort has been made to establish fairness and equity in NSD competitions.

I. OFFICIAL APPROVAL

A. In order to obtain NSD approval for Convention and inter-chapter NSD only events, the Contest Chair of the hosting chapter must submit to the Dance Rules Committee in the person of its Chair a statement setting forth the contests for which Official Approval is desired and the details thereof, confirming conformance to the rules contained hereinafter. International Latin may be excluded from the competitions offered at Convention without jeopardizing Official Approval.

1. The only events for which Official Approval is required are those held at the annual State Convention. All others (Coronation Balls, Board of Directors Ball, weekend competitions, etc.) may seek Official Approval if they so desire.

B. Said Statement of Conformance must state style(s), dance(s), tempi, dress, judges, and contestant eligibility for each contest for which Official Approval is desired.

C. This Statement must be submitted a minimum of 45 days prior to the event. The Dance Rules Chair must respond within 14 days of receipt of the Statement.

D. The Chair is instructed to review Statements in the name of the Committee and issue written approval or denial within the stated 14-day period, and is responsible solely to the Committee in case of claim of error. The Chair may delegate this task at his/her discretion but retains full responsibility for its execution.

E. The original contest results, pre-registration forms and judges’ marks shall be forwarded to the Dance Rules Committee Chair as specified in the written statement granting Official Approval. Any challenge to scoring in a Convention competition must be presented to the State Chair in writing postmarked within 30 days of the event for consideration. No action will be taken on any challenge brought after the 30-day period.

F. Files containing the Statement of Conformance, the Statement of Official Approval, and the contest results shall be available at the official bi-annual meetings of the State Dance Rules Committee and shall be kept for a period of three years following the date of the event. With this file shall be kept a current roster of NSD amateur dancers ineligibility as described below.

II. ELIGIBILITY/INELIGIBILITY

A. An NSD amateur dancer is a paid up member of NSD in good standing for at least 90 days, for whom ballroom dancing is strictly a hobby or a recreational activity. Each chapter’s current membership roster, exchanged during the State Board meeting, will be the official eligibility list for any amateur allowed to enter sanctioned competitions during the subsequent NSD State Convention. If a chapter does not present a current membership roster at the State Board meeting, the chapter’s membership roster that was distributed during the previous State Convention will become that chapter’s official eligibility roster.

No professional may compete in NSD competitions. A Professional is defined as anyone who falls into any or all of the following categories.

1. Operates a dance studio (defined as a business enterprise that charges a fee for dance lessons)

2. Receives remuneration (money or other benefits) as a prearranged fee for teaching dance lessons other than actual expenses (travel, room and board)

3. Receives remuneration (money or other benefits) as a prearranged fee for dance performances other than actual expenses (travel, room and board)

A person who has continuously given up all professional activities for the immediate past five years is eligible to compete in NSD competitions.

B. The Dance Rules Chair shall maintain a current roster of NSD amateur competitive dancers who are ineligible for certain competitive levels. The roster shall include date and place of the win(s) which make them ineligible. A current copy of this roster will be made available to each chapter chair no later than 90 days after a convention.

C. There must be at least three couples entered in a contest to hold that competition. If the hosting chapter requires pre-registration as a condition for holding a competition (minimum of three couples registered) the hosting chapter must specify in writing a registration deadline date. The pre-registration must be in written form to the hosting chapter. If a competition is not canceled, any eligible competitor may elect in writing to enter said competition after the registration deadline.

D. If there are nine or more couples entered in a contest, an additional round (semi-final) will be held, instructing each judge to select six couples to return for a “final”. If a hosting chapter has stated in writing that no additional rounds would be scheduled, then the hosting chapter has the right to refuse to allow late registration to any couple whose registration would force the scheduling of additional rounds.

III. COMPETITIVE DIVISIONS

A. Competitive Divisions shall be defined as International Standard, International Latin, American Smooth, American Rhythm, and Novelty. These divisions shall be considered separately in determining a particular dancer’s level classification. Thus, an advanced dancer in one division may yet be a beginner in a different division.

1. International Standard Division

The recognized contest dances shall be Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, and Quickstep

2. International Latin Division

The recognized contest dances shall be Cha Cha, Samba, and Rumba

3. American Smooth Division

The recognized contest dances shall be Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, and Viennese Waltz

4. American Rhythm Division

The recognized contest dances shall be Cha Cha, Bolero, and Swing

5. Novelty Division

The recognized contest dances shall be Disco (in any form), Country Western (in any form), Paso Doble, and Mambo. Other dance forms, such as Cabaret, may be referred to the Dance Rules Committee for consideration at its normal bi-annual meetings.

IV. AMATEUR COMPETITIVE LEVELS

A. These level classifications apply independently within each of the first four competitive divisions described above and a specific level standing within one division shall not affect a dancer’s eligibility in any other division, except if any competitor has won any sanctioned event with three or more couples at the Two-Star level or above, he/she may not dance in a One-Star competition in any division.

B. There shall be three (3) recognized levels within each of the International Latin Division and the American Rhythm Division.

1. One Star

Any NSD amateur dancer shall be classified One Star in the International Latin or American Rhythm Division until winning first place in a Sanctioned One Star or higher level competition of that Division comprising five or more couples. Contests at this level shall consist of one dance as follows:

International Latin – Rumba

American Rhythm – Cha Cha

2. Two Star

Any NSD amateur dancer shall be classified Two Star in the International Latin or American Rhythm Division until winning first place in a Sanctioned Two Star or higher level competition of that Division comprising five or more couples. Contests at this level shall consist of two dances as follows:

International Latin – Cha Cha, Rumba

American Rhythm – Cha Cha, Bolero

3. Three Star

Any NSD amateur dancer shall be classified Three Star in International Latin Division or American Rhythm Division upon winning first place in a Sanctioned Two Star competition of that Division comprising five or more couples. This Level is to be considered the Championship Level of Sanctioned events in International Latin and American Rhythm. Contests at this Level shall consist of three dances as follows:

International Latin – Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba

American Rhythm – Cha Cha, Bolero, Swing

C. There shall be four (4) recognized levels within each of the International Standard Division and the American Smooth Division.

1. One Star

Any NSD amateur dancer shall be classified One Star in the International Standard or American Smooth Division until winning first place in a Sanctioned One Star or higher level competition of that Division comprising five or more couples. Contests at this level shall consist of one dance as follows:

International Standard – Waltz

American Smooth – Waltz

2. Two Star

Any NSD amateur dancer shall be classified Two Star in the International Standard or American Smooth Division until winning first place in a Sanctioned Two Star or higher level competition of that Division comprising five or more couples. Contests at this level shall consist of two dances as follows:

International Standard – Waltz, Foxtrot

American Smooth – Waltz, Foxtrot

3. Three Star

Any NSD amateur dancer shall be classified Three Star in International Standard or American Smooth until winning first place in a Sanctioned Three Star or higher level competition of that Division comprising five or more couples. Contests at this Level shall consist of three dances as follows:

International Standard – Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot

American Smooth – Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot

4. Four Star

This Level is to be considered the Championship Level of Sanctioned events. Any NSD amateur dancer shall be classified Four Star in the International Standard Division and the American Smooth Division upon winning first place in a Sanctioned Three Star competition of that Division comprising five or more couples. Contests at this Level shall consist of four dances as follows:

International Standard – Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Quickstep

American Smooth – Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz

D. Novelty & Titled Competitions

1. Novelty Competitions. Novelty Competitions may be open to any or all levels of dancers at the discretion of the organizer. Because of the wide latitude of this Division, each competition placing must be considered as a wholly separate entity and shall not effect any Level standing within or without this Division.

2. Titled Competition. A Titled Competition is one which is opened to dancers of all Levels within its Division and may consist of any or all of the recognized dances selected from the various Divisions, but maintaining conformance in Style (e.g., International Waltz/Tango, both Standard dances, or American Foxtrot/Cha Cha, both American Style). As this, like the Novelty Division, is a wholly separate section, Level standings in Titled Competitions shall be at the discretion of the organizer, and a win in any specific Title Competition shall not be reflected in any other Level standings within the system.

E. The Level classification of a partnership, in case of discrepancies, shall be the higher of the classification of the partners.

1. A partnership may compete at the next lower Level than currently classified if it has not won first place in a Sanctioned competition at its currently classified Level involving five or more couples in the last immediate three years. However, in no case will a partnership be permitted to drop down to the one-star level in violation of Rule IV A.

2. A partnership may compete at its current classified Level and at the next higher Level. Winning first place in a Sanctioned competition at any Level in which there are five or more couples shall serve to classify a couple into the next higher Level.

V. OPEN AND CLOSED CATEGORIES

A. A Closed competition is one, which is open to qualified NSD amateur dancers only.

B. An Open competition is one, which is open to all qualified amateur dancers, regardless of NSD membership.

1. Determination of the Level of a non-NSD partnership or dancer is to be the responsibility of the hosting chapter’s Competition Chair.

VI. TEMPO OF MUSIC

A. The tempo of music shall be in accordance with that suggested by recognized amateur societies; it shall be defined in terms of measures per minute.

Intl. Style Dance Amer. Style

28 Waltz 30 - 1 & 2 Star

28 Waltz 28 - 3 & 4 Star

28 Foxtrot 30

32 Tango 30

50 Quickstep N/A

N/A Viennese Waltz 54

50-52 Samba N/A

26-28 Rumba N/A

30 Cha Cha 30

N/A Bolero 24-25

N/A Cuban Rumba 32

N/A Competition Swing 32-34

B. In the Novelty Division, the tempo of each dance shall be at the discretion of the hosting chapter.

C. The duration of any single dance within a Sanctioned competition shall be limited to 90 seconds. If any judge has not completed marking the dancers within that time, an additional 30 seconds may be run at his or her request.

D. All multiple dance events shall be danced in the following order:

International Standard – W/T/F/Q

International Latin – CC/S/R

American Smooth – W/T/F/VW

American Rhythm – CC/B/SW

VII. LIFTS

Lifts are allowed only when the feet of the lifted dancer do not come above the waist of the partner doing the lifting. A lift is defined as a movement during which one dancer is supported by the partner and has both feet off the floor at the same time.

VIII. ATTIRE

A. Dress for all approved competitions, preliminaries, semi-finals and finals shall be of the appropriate formal mode for the Division.

1. International Standard Divisions

One-Star – Semi-formal attire suggested; costumes optional

Two Star – Ball gown or formal gown for ladies; tuxedo or tails for gentlemen

Three Star – Ball gowns for ladies; tuxedo or tails for gentlemen

Four Star – Ball gowns for ladies; tails for gentlemen

2. International Latin/American Rhythm Division

One Star – Semi-formal attire suggested; costumes optional

Two Star/Three Star – Appropriate Latin attire

3. American Smooth Division

One Star – Semi-formal attire suggested: costumes optional

Two Star – Ball gown or formal gown for ladies: tuxedo, tails or elegant coordinated competition attire for gentlemen

Three/Four Star – Ball gown for ladies: tuxedo, tails or elegant coordinated competition attire for gentlemen.

B. Attire for Novelty Division contests shall be at the discretion of the hosting chapter.

IX. JUDGING AND SCORING

A. Qualification of Judges -- Judges should be qualified pertinent to the Division(s) they are to judge. Normally, they would be from a society such as NDCA. If approval of NDCA members is not available, other similarly qualified judges may be obtained at the discretion of the hosting chapter’s Competition Chair and approved by the Dance Rules Executive Committee.

B. Number of Judges – A minimum of three judges is required for Two Star, Titled, and Novelty events. A minimum of three judges is required for Three Star and Four Star events; five is recommended.

C. Scoring – All scoring shall be by the Skating System as defined by the publication The Skating System by Arthur Dawson, published in 1963, Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. If there is a tie after Rule 11 is applied, the tie shall be broken by weighting the dances in the order in which they are performed with the first dance getting the most weight.

1. The results of all contests shall be signed by the Scrutineer, the Chair of judges, and the Contest Chair of the event.

2. Scrutineer’s forms shall be displayed at or immediately after the presentation of awards. Photocopies of all scrutineer forms and contest results shall be mailed to the Dance Rules Chair of each chapter within 30 days of the event. It is then that person’s responsibility to make them available to interested parties on request for a reasonable reproduction fee. Originals shall be placed on file with the State Dance Rules Committee for a period of three years following the event.

D. Infractions – Infractions of any and all regulations shall be identified and corrected by the Contest Chair of the event in cooperation with a State Dance Rules Committee Observer, if present. No judge shall score a couple taking the floor in direct violation of any regulation. Couples and judges shall be informed of the violation by the Contest Chair. A written report of the violation and its resolution shall be attached to the scrutineer’s forms and forwarded to the Dance Rules Committee.

1. Subsequent complaints shall be referred to the Dance Rules Committee in the person of its Chair for review at the next bi-annual meeting.

X. IRREGULARITIES

No rules can cover all situations. Therefore, any questions, unusual circumstances, or requests for waivers of any part of the rules that may arise between the bi-annual State Dance Rules Committee meetings shall be directed to the Inter-chapter Dance Rules Executive Committee under the direction of the State Dance Rules Committee Chair. A chapter hosting the convention shall not institute additional dance rules without approval of the Dance Rules Executive Committee.

APPENDIX I

PROCEDURES

I. FUNCTION

A. The Dance Rules Committee shall be responsible to the Delegates.

B. State Dance Rules Chair shall report to the Delegates Meeting.

1. This will not be a discussion of dance rules

2. State Dance Rules Chair will only summarize the results of the year’s work.

II. LOCAL PROCEDURES

A. Each Chapter Chair shall be elected by vote of membership or appointed by the chapter President in January of each year.

B. Each chapter should have a Dance Rules Committee to serve with the Chapter Chair.

C. No professional dance teacher nor owner and/or operator of a dance hall, ballroom, or dance studio shall be eligible to serve on the Dance Rules Committee.

D. If the Chapter Chair is unable to attend an inter-chapter meeting, one of the chapter committee members shall act as substitute for the Chair.

E. NSD OFFICIAL DANCE RULES and all other data pertinent to NSD dance contests and competitors are internal documents and shall not be shared with outside organizations. All requests for such data should be referred to the State Chair.

III. STATE PROCEDURES

A. Meetings

1. Two-thirds of chapters must be represented to constitute a quorum to conduct business.

2. Meetings shall be held at convenient times during the year and conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order.

3. Any modifications to the State Dance Rules shall be handled through the inter-chapter committee and its Chair.

B. State Chair

1. A State Chair shall be elected from the inter-chapter committee on a yearly basis.

2. The State Chair shall not serve more than four consecutive terms.

3. The State Chair shall be responsible for seeing that a record of favorable recommendations is made.

4. The State Chair does not have the authority to share the OFFICIAL DANCE RULES or any other data pertaining to NSD dance contests or competitors unless authorized to do so by the State Dance Rules Committee or, in an emergency, the Executive Committee.

5. If an elected State Chair remains as a Chapter Chair, the State Chair will continue to exercise his/her chapter’s vote. If an elected State Chair is replaced as Chapter Chair, the State Chair shall have no voting privileges.

C. Modifications to State Dance Rules

1. Committee members will bring suggested changes from their chapter committee to the inter-chapter meeting. After discussion, resolutions recommending changes must be approved by a majority of the committee present and voting.

2. These resolutions will be recorded exactly as recommended and distributed by the State Dance Rules Chair to each chapter Dance Rules Chair for chapter vote.

3. The chapter Dance Rules Chair will forward the chapter vote results to the State Dance Rules Chair. If the results of a chapter’s vote are not received by the State Dance Rules Chair by December 15 from the Convention ballot, that chapter’s vote will be deemed to be abstaining.

4. Two thirds of all chapters must record an affirmative vote to approve changes.

5. Upon receipt of a two-thirds vote for acceptance or denial, the State Dance Rules Chair will notify each chapter of the results of the vote.

6. The State Dance Rules Chair will incorporate all changes in a dated, revised set of dance rules.

7. The dated, revised set of dance rules in effect on January 1 will remain in effect until December 31 of that year.

8. The State Dance Rules Chair will submit for reimbursement receipts for photocopying and postage for the purpose of conducting the business of the State Dance Rules Committee only to the Los Angeles chapter treasurer. These costs will be prorated and billed to each chapter.

D. Suggested procedures for running competitions

1. All competitors should be called to the dance floor before individual introductions to save time and allow each couple equal opportunity for floor placement.

2. Judges should be requested to spread themselves around the dance floor in static dances such as Rumba, Cha Cha, and Swing to give all competitors equal exposure to the judges.