UBEA Rules

Utah Ballroom Education Association (UBEA) competitions are not always NDCA recognized competitions. However, the UBEA will abide by rules and regulations governing competitions and championships recognized by the National Dance Council of America, Inc. Some of the NDCA rules that directly apply to amateur competitors, along with additional rules applied by the organizer, follow:

  1. ALL COMPETITOR AND SPECTATORS must have an admission ticket for the day.
  2. No couple is exempt from competing in any round. Any couple who fails to appear at the scheduled time for the first round of any event will be disqualified from the event.
  3. No entry may be accepted that does not include any required entry fee. Requests for refunds will only be honored up to the closing date.
  4. No person may compete in an age classification lower than their own. A couple’s age classification eligibility is defined as the age of the older partner. However, this definition does not allow the younger member of the partnership to dance up two age levels. Specifics are listed below:

Age Category Classifications

OPEN CATEGORIES

Age classifications will become effective on the individual’s actual birthday. On a year where a competitor is going to move from one classification to the next they may make this change anytime during a 60-day period that begins 30 days prior to their birthday and ends 30 days following their birthday.

  • Pre-Teen I: 9 years or younger
  • Pre-Teen II: 10th or 11th birthday
  • Junior I: 12th or 13th birthday
  • Junior II: 14th or 15th birthday
  • Youth: 16th, 17th or 18th birthday
  • Adult: 19th birthday or greater

SYLLABUS CATEGORIES

The following designations will be used for the syllabus categories. The following categories will be used for competitors who will be in the that grades in the same school year:

  • Elementary School: Grades K – 6
  • Junior High School: Grades 7 – 9
  • High School: Grades 10 – 12
  • Adult: Graduated high school

Youth competitors turning 19 years of age during the school year may still dance in the Youth or High School age categories until they have graduated from high school.

Elementary school competitors may not dance in the High School category even if partnered by a Junior High or High School competitor. Junior High competitors may dance up one designation to the High School category, but only as defined in entry restrictions below.

Entry Restrictions

  1. Competitors who dance in a syllabus event may not dance in any open event of the same style, and vice versa.
  2. Competitors dancing in a Newcomer event may not dance in any open event in any style, and vice versa.
  3. Competitors may dance up one age classification only in each competition style.
  4. All competitors may dance in a maximum of two proficiency or age categories in a particular dance style. For example, a Youth competitor may only compete in two of the following for the Open Ballroom style: Youth Pre-Championship, Youth Championship, Adult Novice, Adult Pre-Championship, or Adult Championship.
  5. A competitor is eligible to dance in the “Syllabus”, “Novice” or “Pre-Championship” classifications until they accumulate three proficiency points. Please refer to the NDCA rulebook for point accumulation information
  6. For the UBEA State Title Match events, couples may enter only if both dancers are either
    1. currently enrolled in a public school ballroom program, or
    2. were enrolled in a public school ballroom program for at least 2 terms during the current school year.
  7. All international style syllabus competitions are restricted to the ISTD Bronze, Silver & Gold syllabus. Newcomer and American style syllabus events may use any syllabus from member organizations of the NDCA as well as the BYU or UBEA syllabus. Couples must dance within the framework of the accepted syllabi, including precedes and follows, and without embellishment. For ISTD syllabus events, all figures must be danced as defined in the ISTD technique book. Partial figures may not be utilized unless so specified in the “precedes and follows” sections. Couples dancing out of syllabus will be penalized per the specifications in NDCA rule III. D3a.8. All international style syllabus competitions are restricted to the ISTD Bronze, Silver & Gold syllabus. Newcomer and American style syllabus events may use any syllabus from member organizations of the NDCA as well as the BYU or UBEA syllabus. Couples must dance within the framework of the accepted syllabi, including precedes and follows, and without embellishment. For ISTD syllabus events, all figures must be danced as defined in the ISTD technique book. Partial figures may not be utilized unless so specified in the “precedes and follows” sections. Couples dancing out of syllabus will be penalized per the specifications in NDCA rule III. D3a.
  8. A competitor is eligible to dance in the “Newcomer” event (Elementary, Junior High, High School) until they have placed in a final of any event at an NDCA recognized competition, provided a semi-final was danced.
  9. Any competitor who wears a costume deemed by the organizers to be unsuitable will be requested to change. If such request is not followed, the competitor will not be allowed to dance and their entry will be canceled without a refund of fees. See below for specific costume rules.
  10. Competitors in the Latin American divisions must not be overly suggestive in their movements at all times while on the floor. Couples who are viewed as inappropriate will be warned once, and then will be subject to disqualification.

INFRINGEMENTS OF THE RULES WILL BE GIVEN A WARNING AND ASKED TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. IF THE INFRINGEMENT IS NOT RESOLVED BY THE NEXT ROUND, ORGANIZERS RESERVE THE RIGHT TO DISQUALIFY A COMPETITOR.