>... Suppose this is your second competition- you min proficiency level
>is Beginner. Now suppose you entered a Beginner ChaCha and a
>Intermediate Waltz. If you won Beginner ChaCha, at your next
>competition, you would be required to enter Latin at the Intermediate
>level. Likewise, if you placed in Intermediate Waltz (higher
>proficiency level), then you would be required to enter Standard at the
>next competition as an Intermediate. However, a semi-final round MUST
>be danced for this to apply. ...
The problem with this rule is that it's way too complicated.
In general, the three problems with last years' system (beginner meant
having been ballroom dancing for 18 months or less) were:
(1) you could have been ballet dancing for years, which gave you an
edge;
(2) you could misunderstand the rule and end up at the wrong level
by accident;
(3) you could intentionally pick the wrong level and hope no one
noticed, so that you'd have a better chance of winning
something.
In theory, using the A/B system in the beginner category addresses
problem (1), since talented but inexperienced ballroom dancers go to A
and less talented dancers go to B.
As for problem (2), having a more complicated rule will make this
problem worse, not better.
Finally, I have a possible solution to problem (3): make the awards
more elaborate and impressive for successively higher levels. For
example, give out itty bitty ribbons for beginner (both A & B),
medium-sized ribbons for advanced/semi-open B, and big ribbons and/or
trophies for advanced/semi-open A. That way, people who win in the
lower levels can't pretend that they've done better than people who
made it to, but didn't win, in the higher levels.
The flip side of this approach is that people who never had a shot at
the higher levels may feel less welcome than their more experienced
peers.
>... The existing system and this system both depend on the honor system,
>which is unavoidable. ...
True. But the more complicated the rules, the less likely the honor
system is to work, both because people are less likely to know what
their level should be, and because their peers can't tell when they're
cheating.
For example, a couple of years ago I saw an advanced woman start out
onto the floor for a beginner event, and one of her clubmates pulled
her back and made her sit it out, since it was clear she didn't belong.
But that's a lot less likely to work if the rules are complicated; how
would anyone know what someone else won at their last comp, especially
if their last comp was a year ago?
Henry Neeman