Settings

While there are formal rules governing larger events like Dance-O-Ramas, studio hosted events may vary considerably.

Event Description

The information you enter in this section is used largely for the printed materials - for example heat sheets, complete heat books, and even a display counter should you opt to use one.

Event Options

• Heat column order - which should come first - student or leader - in printed materials?

• Ballrooms - smaller events will typically have one ballroom, but larger events may chose to split the floor with stanchions into two ballrooms. If you do decide to split the ballroom, you can put the amateur followers in one and the amateur leaders (including amateur couples) in the other. Or you can chose to evenly split couples. Note this choice is not all or nothing: you can chose to split the ballrooms for only certain agenda items.

• Open Scoring - typically open scoring is 1/2/3/F, but you can elect to change this to match closed scoring (GH/G/S/B), a number, or feedback on areas that are particularly notable or need improvement (e.g. Dance Frame, Footwork, Timing), or a combination of number of feedback.

• Multi Scoring - similar options are available for mulit-heats (which go various names: all arounds, triple threats, threepeats…), except for feedback.

• Closed scoring generally is GH/G/S/B, but can be the same as open.

• Heats can be ordered to generally progress from newcomer to advanced within each agenda item, typically resulting in large breaks for each participant. Random will space things out.

• Intermix dances within category - this is best explained by example. If set, smooth heats may be Waltz, Tango, Fox Trot, Waltz, Tango, Fox Trot, etc.. If unset, smooth may be Waltz, Walz, Waltz, Tango, Tango, Tango, etc..

• Use back numbers? - Uncheck this if leaders won’t be wearing back numbers. Unchecking this will slightly streamline some entry forms and printed results.

• Track student ages? - Uncheck this is ages aren’t tracked. Again, unchecking this will slightly streamline some entry forms and printed results.

• Include open freestyles? - While most events will have open and closed freestyles, your event may only have one or neither. Unchecking this will simplify data entry and can reduce the number of accidentally miscategorized entries.

• Include closed freestyles? - Similar to the above, but for closed freestyles.

• Include pro heats? - Checking this allows you to create agenda items where pros compete against each other.

• Match entry forms to agenda? - this is useful if you have a small pre-specified set of freestyle dances to chose from but allow a much larger set of dances for solos.

• Enable Judge comments - in addition to scoring, some judges will want to be able to enter short text comments

• Assign judges couples to evaluate? - this is useful if you have several judges and a large number of couples on the floor at a time. This doesn’t limit judges to only evaluate those couples, instead it indicates which couples a judge should to focus on.

• Include independent instructors? - use this if your studio has instructors that are invoiced separately but otherwise participate with your studio.

• Limit number of dances per category - prevent any student from having more than this number of entries in any dance.

Event Staff

• Enter Judges, DJs, Emcees, Officials, Organizers, and Conference Guests. The first three have specific roles.

Prices

• Enter packages, options, and per-heat fees here. For more information see Invoicing.

Adjust the number of heats

By default the application will allow an unlimited number of couples on the floor at once, avoid scheduling Gold and Newcomer competitors on the dance floor, and allow all age categories on the floor at once.

In practice the number of couples on the floor tends to be limited by the number of instructors, it is rare that the number of heats can be reduced much by allowing gold and bronze on the floor at the same time; but if you are seeing heats with too many on the floor, or have a problem with your event having too many heats, sometimes these controls can help.

Advanced

Normally the predefined levels and ages will work, and dances can be individually added or removed from the page that you get to by clicking on the Dances button from the front page for your event. But a few events have wanted to tailor these so an interface has been provided allowing these to be updated in bulk. Be forewarned that these actions should only be done before other data has been entered as these changes will modify your existing data.

For events that use different levels for freestyles and solos, list the freestyle levels first and indicate what the first level to be used for solos is.