Hello Dancers!
One of the most common rules questions we are asked is “How do I become eligible for the Country Dance World Championships?”
There are two parts to eligibility. The first part is that all competitors must have danced for Overall if they compete in Line Dance, ProAm/ProPro or Couples. They must have danced in the specific division for the single Dance Championship if they do Teams or ProAm/ProPro Spotlight. They must do this in all divisions where they want to compete during the Dance Season leading up to the Country Dance World Championships (or Worlds as many call it).
The second part is each competitor must dance a specific number of regional events. The number depends on where the competitor lives. Because of the unique challenges this year, the number of events required is reduced for this Dance Season, leading up to the World Championships to be held in January 2022, in Orlando, Florida. We announced at UCWDC® meeting in February the the current eligibility requirements would be reduced by one event. Our eligibility requirements are by region, so this means the number of events required for a competitor is as follows:
When the competitor is from: Events required this year: Usual number of events:
United States ……………………………………………… 2 …………………………………….. 3
Eastern Canada ………………………………………….. 2 …………………………………….. 3
Western Canada ………………………………….……… 1 …………………………………….. 2
Europe ………………………………………………………… 2 …………………………………….. 3
Asia ……………………………………………………………… 0 …………………………………….. 1
Africa …………………………………………………………… 0 …………………………………….. 1
All Juniors (where more than 1 is required) ….. 1 ………………………..……….….. 2
These requirements will be re-evaluated as the year progresses.
Often a competitor wants to become eligible in more than one age division. For example, if a Line Dance Novice competitor from Europe wants to be eligible in both Silver and Diamond divisions, they would dance the following:
- Event 1: Overall in Line Dance Silver Novice
- Event 2: Overall in Line Dance Diamond Novice
Or, if they were not ready for overall at their first event, they would dance the following:
- Event 1: Dances that were ready -could be one dance in Line Dance Silver OR Diamond Novice
- Event 2: Overall in Line Dance Diamond Novice AND Overall in Line Dance Silver Novice
In both examples, the competitor would be eligible for the Country Dance World Championships in both divisions.
If a Team from Eastern Canada wanted to dance in three Team divisions they would dance the following:
- Event 1: Team Line Dance Open
- Event 2: Team Partner Classic Country and Team Cabaret
The Team would then be eligible in all three divisions.
Please remember that eligibility is specific to the Dance Type. The four Dance Types are Line Dance, ProAm/ProPro, Couples and Teams. Eligibility in one Dance Type does not count in another. For instance, dancing in ProAm does not count towards Couples eligibility or vice versa.
If this does not answer your eligibility questions, feel free to contact me at rules@ucwdc.org.
Stay Safe and Happy Dancing!
Kind Regards,
UNITED COUNTRY WESTERN DANCE COUNCIL
Beth Emerson
UCWDC VP Rules
w: www.ucwdc.org p: 405.535.3073 e: rules@ucwdc.org 04.02.2021