WHO CAN DANCE

RULES:  This championship will be run in accordance with the USA Dance DanceSport Rulebook, 2012-2013 that took effect January 1, 2012.  You can download the rulebook, which contains several revisions, at the USA DanceSport Rulebook, along with the revised Dress Code Regulations.  
Please read the newest version of the rulebook carefully and comply with the rules when registering (e.g., determining for which proficiency level and age level events you are eligible), preparing for the comp (e.g., conforming with the updated dress code), competing (e.g., allowed or disallowed steps), and afterwards (e.g., interpreting your scores; tracking any proficiency points you earn).

ELIGIBILITY:  To be eligible to compete at the USA Dance 2012 National DanceSport Championship, competitors must meet the following requirements:

1. MEMBERSHIP:  Each competitor must be a current DanceSport Athlete member in good standing of USA Dance.  Please be sure your membership is good through April 2012 before registering; renew, if needed, online at www.usadance.org. There will be a $5.00 charge for renewing your USA Dance membership at the event. Please remember to renew prior to coming to Baltimore. Bring your card or receipt showing that your have renewed your membership.

2. NATIONAL QUALIFYING EVENTS:  Each athlete must have competed in any one of the following USA Dance National Qualifying Events held between April 2011 and March 2012.

THESE NATIONAL QUALIFYING EVENTS QUALIFY FOR NATIONALS 2012

1. Columbia Star Ball; Portland, OR: May 7 - 8, 2011 (csb)
2. Summer Sizzler; West Orange, NJ: May 14 - 15, 2011 (njss)
3. Gumbo DanceSport Championships; Baton Rouge, LA: June 17 - 18, 2011 (gum)
4. Carolina Fall Classic; Greensboro, NC: October 7 - 9, 2011 (cfc)
5. Chicago DanceSport Challenge; Rosemont, IL: Nov. 4 - 6, 2011 (htld)
6. The Quake; San Francisco, CA: Nov 13 - 14, 2011 (qke)
7. Manhattan Amateur Classic; New York, NY: Jan. 13 - 15, 2012 (mac)
8. Northwest DanceSport Championship; Seattle, WA: Jan. 14 - 15, 2012 (nwr)
9. USA Dance Southwest Regional; Laguna Woods Village, CA: Feb. 4, 2012 (nwr)
10. Derby City DanceSport Championships; Louisville, KY: Feb. 18 - 19, 2012 (dcd)
11. Mid-Atlantic DanceSport Championships; Washington DC: Feb. 25 - 26, 2012 (mid)

3. NEW FOR THIS YEAR: you must have reached the 75% of dancers in the event(s) you entered in an NQE and you plan on entering in Nationals. In addition, you will have competed in the same partnership and in the same event (style/age/proficiency level) in an NQE that you, the Athlete Couple, intends to enter in the USA Dance National DanceSport Championships. Should you age out of a Pre-Teen - Youth category, you will be allowed to dance up into your new age grouping. However, you will still only be qualified to dance in the proficiency levels in which you competed.

CLICK HERE TO SEE IF YOU QUALIFIED

4. YEAR OF BIRTH/AGE CATEGORY:

Age Group (and ages at time of Competition)	Year of the Competition	Year of the Competition
	2011	2012 (Nationals)
	Year of birth	Year of birth
Pre-Teen I (9 or less)	2002 or later	2003 or later
Pre-Teen II (10 or 11)	2001 or 2000	2002 or 2001
Junior I (12 or 13)	1999 or 1998	2000 or 1999
Junior II (14 or 15)	1997 or 1996	1998 or 1997
Youth (16, 17, or 18)	1995 or 1994 or 1993	1996 or 1995 or 1994
Adult (19+)	1992 or before	1993 or before
Senior I (35+)	1976 or before	1977 or before
Senior II (45+)	1966 or before	1967 or before
Senior III (55+)	1956 or before	1957 or before

4. RESIDENCY:  In general a couple is eligible to enter the USA Dance National Championship if:

Both athletes are USA citizens
OR
One athlete is a U.S. citizen and the other athlete has appropriate legal documents allowing him/her to travel out of and back into the USA
OR
Both Athletes have been legally residing in the United States for a period of not less than twelve (12) months immediately preceding the date of the USA Dance, National DanceSport Championships
AND
Neither athlete shall have represented another country or competed in another country's national championship within the last eight (8) months, OR a letter of release is received from the original IDSF member body allowing him/her to dance for the USA.

EVERYBODY PARTICIPATING AT THE USA DANCE NATIONAL DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS MUST SHOW PROOF OF MEETING RESIDENCY REQUIRMENTS BY PROVIDING RESIDENCY DOCUMENTATIOn

At least one member of each couple who enters one or more Junior II, Youth, Adult, Senior I and/or Senior II, Championship-level Latin, Standard, and/or 10-Dance event(s) AND all other Adult Championship-level events must submit a photocopy of a document which will demonstrate proof of citizenship, preferably prior to, but no later than, registration check-in. 

Above-designated athletes who do not provide the appropriate documentation will not be allowed to represent the United States at WDSF Championships & World Cup events.

Documents we WILL accept to meet this requirement include any one of the following:
United States birth certificate
United States passport
A Foreign Passport with supporting US Issued Immigration documents

Documents we WILL NOT accept to meet this requirement: 
Driver’s license
Social Security card
Military identification
Utility bill
A non-U.S. birth certificate.

Championship competitors, please provide this documentation to the Registrar BEFORE THE COMPETITION (in our hands no later than March 5, 2012) by either scanning and emailing; faxing; or mailing/overnighting copies of the required documents to the following address:
Ava Kaye Brennan
325 Lexington St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
Phone: (415) 641-9265
Fax: (567) 661-9265
Email: registrar@usadancenationals.org