Hello Members,
We hope you are having a great 2025 Dance Season! We are looking forward to seeing you in January at the World Championships of Country Dance in Phoenix, Arizona.
The new dance season will begin January 15, 2026 – after the world championships. In preparation for the new year, here is a preview of the rules updates that will be published after Worlds and in place for the new dance season.
Here are some updates:
- We have added a path for competitors to ascend to SuperStars/Masters/Crown using grades exclusively.
- Line intro verbiage will be updated.
- Line Choreography divisions will be based on whether the dance is Motion-Specific or not rather than whether
the music is country or not. - SupersStars Solo Medleys will be allowed to be longer (4-7 minutes with 45 seconds of 4 motions). Line
Crown will not change. - Mixed Roles Spotlights will no longer be separated by lead and follow. This allows for the lead/follow roles to
alternate. - World Championship Eligibility for competitors who live in Asia will change to 2 regional events.
- Classic Masters and Crown movement allowances will be expanded to allow drags.
- ProPro I movement allowances will be expanded to allow shine and 1 foot spins.
- Invigilation language will be standardized and added to both Rules and Judge Certification.
This short list of highlights is not intended to include all the changes or be a substitute for reading the published rules.
The new Dance Season (which starts January 16, 2026) will kick off the 2026-2028 Rules Cycle.
The full rules are available at ucwdc.org/general-resources/rules/.
Just like driving a car or playing football/futbol, you need to know the rules. Take some time to read the document(s) that are relevant to your dance journey. Please reach out to me at rules@ucwdc.org if you have questions or need further explanation.
Wishing you the very best in this and every dance season,
Beth Emerson
Beth Emerson | VP Rules
UNITED COUNTRY WESTERN DANCE COUNCIL
rules@ucwdc.org | +1 405.535.3073 cell