Birmingham Friendly 2022 - Team Captain Information

This page was updated on 16-Dec-2021 with information about entries.

Dear Team Captains,

We welcome your attendance at the Birmingham Friendly Competition 2022, which will take place on Saturday 29th January at the Aston Webb Great Hall at the University of Birmingham.

We are delighted to be back at the same venue as our event in 2019 - it wasn't quite the same at our online competition, but we tried our best to recreate the atmosphere! Those of you who have been before will know that it is a spectacular venue set in the heart of our University.

We are continuing in the trend of previous years of providing a fun and welcoming competition environment. This year we will be running both Novice 1 and 2 along with Pre-Intermediate, as well as separating Beginner/Novice and Intermediate/Advanced Same Sex events. In line with the spirit of our team and our competition, new partnerships may be formed for the Same Sex event. There will, as usual, be a couple of fun dances - one during the Ballroom section and one during the Latin section!

We will be sending a printable pack out to all interested Team Captains - in the meantime, if you have any questions please contact us.

BALADS Committee 2021-22

General Information

Dates and Times

The competition is taking place on Saturday 29th January 2022.

• Doors open: 9am
• First round: 10am
• Expected finish: 9pm

The finish time is subject to change depending on entries.

Venue

We will be welcoming you all once again to the Aston Webb Great
Hall which is set in the centre of our historic campus.

If at any point you are unsure of where to go, look out for Old Joe - the tallest free-standing clocktower in the world - which is situated directly in front of the entrance.

There is an accessible entrance through the Bramall Music Building, which is just to the left of the main entrance.

Parking

There is unfortunately no parking for buses or coaches. The best place to be dropped off is Guild of Students, Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham, B15 2TU. It is then a short walk to the Great Hall through campus.

For those who are driving, there is parking available in the North East Car Park, Pritchatts Road, B15 2SA. Parking here and on campus is free on weekends.

Google Maps Link for directions

Map

Arrival

Please register on arrival at our desk in the atrium, where we will provide you with numbers, Team Match sheets, and copies of the running order.

Food and Drink

We recommend that you bring your own food and drink. There are some places to buy food and drink on campus, such as Costa in University Centre, a short walk from the Aston Webb building, but there will be no food available in the venue itself.

Officials

• Compére: Kevin Allcott
• Music: Scott Blant-Harwood
• Adjudicators:

1. Gary Foster
2. Ronald Jager
3. Morgan Hemphill
4. Richard Rose
5. Leila Stewart

Entry Fees

• Cost per competitor: £16
• Late entry fee: additional £5
• Rock 'n' Roll and Salsa only: £7
• Cost per spectator: £4 (£3 for BALADS members)

Entries will take place online using the IVDA eScrut system. You can sign up here - our competition should be the first one listed. We recommend that competitors register and sign up individually - as Team Captains, you will be able to see all entries for your University. This is the same system that is used for IVDC and it allows competitors to see all of their results, entries etc. in one place. If you prefer to do so, you can enter people yourselves by changing the name of the entry.

With the exception of spectators, we will not be accepting cash on the door! All payments must be paid by BACS. We will be releasing spectator tickets through the Guild website at this link in due course.

Once all entries are completed we will send an invoice. Please let us know who you would like this invoice to be made out to. This invoice will be issued the day after entries close and should be paid two days in advance of the competition at the latest - if this is not possible for any reason, please contact us to arrange alternatives.

Photography

By attending the event, you consent to your photograph being taken by our photographers, and for these photos to be used on our website and social media platforms.

Covid-19

We will be requiring all attendees to complete a lateral flow or PCR test within 48 hours of the competition, and to follow all current government guidance.

Rules

Same-sex events

We will be separating Same-sex into Beginner/Novice and Intermediate/Advanced events. The former category will be restricted syllabus, though both events will be have no dress restrictions. New partnerships can be formed for same sex and competitors can compete in their relevant category (Beginner, Novice, Pre-Inter, Inter etc.) as well as their relevant Same-sex category.

Beginner

Beginner events will be restricted dress and restricted syllabus. To dance in this category a couple must both qualify as beginners according to the IVDA constitution, having received no professional ballroom or Latin tuition prior to February 2021.

Novice

The first round of the Novice event will be danced as a qualifying round. Couples recalled from this round will then compete in the Novice 1 event, while remaining couples will compete in Novice 2. This is aimed at making Novice a more accessible category, though we would advise Team Captains to suggest that Novices who are consistently winning or making finals to move to Pre-Intermediate.

Novice events are restricted syllabus but open dress.

Pre-Intermediate

For the first time, we are offering the Pre-Intermediate category at the Birmingham Friendly, aimed at Novice dancers looking for more of a challenge as well as new Intermediates. This is a two-dance event with no dress or step restrictions.

We are offering both Novice 1/2 as well as Pre-Intermediate because we feel that Novice as a category is still not accessible to recent beginners or those without recent dance experience. It is still our hope that Team Captains will continue to push their top novices to move up to Pre-Intermediate.

Intermediate and Advanced

These will be danced as three-dance events with a qualifying round. Couples recalled from the qualifying round will compete in the Advanced event, while remaining couples will compete in the Intermediate event.

Both of these events are unrestricted in steps and dress.

Open events

These events will have no step or dress restrictions, and are open to any couples.

Ex-students

Ex-students may compete in all events, including Team Match. They may only compete in Beginner categories if they qualify as beginners as per the IVDA constitution, having received no professional ballroom or Latin tuition prior to February 2021.

Team Match

Ex-students may fully participate in the team match. Each team will be treated as if they were a single couple entering a four-dance event, and all couples will be recalled together and not considered individually.

Fun Dances

This year's fun dances will be the Back-to-Back Waltz and the Straight Legged Samba. Entries for these events will only be accepted on the day, and they will only run if time allows. There are no dress or step restrictions for these events.

Behaviour

Team Captains should ensure that all of their team (including any parents / spectators) behave appropriately during the day. We reserve the right to disqualify and/or eject any individual or individuals who are disrupting the event, distressing competitors or disturbing members of the public.

Schedule and Events List

This schedule is not the exact order that events will run in the competition! All times listed are an approximation.

Contact

Please get in touch with us if you have any questions prior to the competition! Our full contact details will be in the printed Team Captain packs.

We look forward to seeing you all there!