UDO CHAMPIONSHIP RULES
IMPORTANT CHANGES TO QUALIFICATIONS
PLEASE NOTE: (EFFECTIVE FROM 1st JANUARY 2013)
UK qualifications for Worlds & Europeans:
If you are outside the UK please contact your UDO head of country, if this is not known then please contact Caroline Prothero at caroline@udostreetdance.com.
Teams
• The Top five placed teams in each division (Beginners, Novice, Intermediate and Advanced) for each age category (under 10, under 14, under 18 and over 18) at any UDO world qualifying events will qualify to compete at The UDO World Championships.
• The top placed team in the Intermediate and Advanced divisions will qualify to compete the UDO European championships
Solos
• The top 5 placed soloists in any division (Beginners, Novice, Intermediate and Advanced) for each age category (under 6, under 8, under 10, under 12, under 14, under 16 and over 16) will qualify to compete at the UDO World Championships. If you have qualified with a team at any UDO world qualifying event you will also qualify to compete at the UDO World Championships.
• The top soloist in the Intermediate and Advanced divisions will qualify for the UDO European championships. If you have qualified with a team to compete at UDO Europeans, you may also compete in Solo at the UDO European Championships.
Duos
• The top 5 placed duos in any division (Beginners, Novice, Intermediate and Advanced) for each age category (under 6, under 8, under 10, under 12, under 14, under 16 and over 16) will qualify to compete at the UDO World Championships. If at least one of you has qualified with a team at any UDO world qualifying event you will also qualify to compete at the UDO World Championships.
• The top duo in the Intermediate and Advanced divisions will qualify for the European championships.
If you have qualified with a team to compete at UDO Europeans, you may also compete in Duo at the UDO European Championships
If you are outside the UK please contact your UDO head of country, if this is not known then please contact Caroline Prothero at caroline@udostreetdance.com.
Solos & Duos
Solos
• Each dancer must be a member.
• Dancers are not permitted to dance in more than one age division or category at each competition.
• Dance entry forms must be submitted on line no later than 6 days before a regional competition and 10 days before the British, European and World competitions.
• Dancers must remain in their permitted floor space whilst dancing.
• Dancers cannot touch the judges.
• Dancers cannot perform acrobatics or any move they are not in full control of, i.e. – back flips in early rounds of a competition; such moves are only allowed in a FINAL where there is room on the dance floor. Judges are pre-advised not to recall anyone that has breached this rule.
• Clarification on ages, i.e. – if you are 9 you must compete in the Under 10, if you are 10 you must compete in under 12 and so on.
• Teachers or professional dancers must compete in Advanced.
• Student teachers must compete in Intermediate or Advanced.
• Breach of any of these rules will result in a warning or disqualification.
• Age appropriate clothing and footwear must be worn
There will be set BPM (beats per minute) for each category:-
Dancers can expect tracks with the following BPM’s:
• Beginner/Novice 110 –130 BPM
• Intermediate 100 - 130 BPM
• Advanced 90 - 130 BPM
Judging criteria for solos
• Dancers must be dancing in time with the track
• Show a variety of movement & choreo
• Dancers must stay on the spot
Advanced solos:
• Dancers must return to the same space that they start in for solo spots
• Maximum of 12 bars (6 counts of 8), music will be turned off after this point
• The first dancer can start when he / she is ready, they are permitted to listen to section of track first if they wish
Competing age categories for solos
Under 6, under 8, under 10, under 12, under 14, under 16, and over 16.
Competing categories
Beginners
• This division is open to all dancers who have never competed in any UDO street dance competition.
• This division is open to all dancers who have never been placed at any UDO event.
• Dancers will be permitted to compete in this division until they get placed in the top 5, 3 times.
• If you win a Beginner division you will automatically move up to the Novice division.
Novice
• Dancers will be permitted to dance in this division if they have never been to a UDO competition.
• Dancers are able to dance in this division if they have previously been placed in the Newcomer division.
• Once you have danced in this division you are unable to move back to the Beginners section.
• Dancers will be permitted to compete in this division until they get placed in the top 5, 3 times.
Intermediate
• Dancers will be permitted to dance in this category until they have won twice in the division
• Dancers are able to dance in this category if they have won at the UDO championships or have been placed in the top 3 five times.
• On achieving any of these you must move up to Advanced.
• You cannot move back to Novice unless you move up an age group.
Advanced
• You must qualify as previously stated to dance in the Advanced Category.
• You cannot go back to Intermediate unless you move up an age group
• Advanced heats will run in the same way as all other divisions, on reaching the final each dancer will perform a solo spot of their routine for a maximum of 12 bars (48 beats).
• On achieving 5 advanced wins with over 6 dancers or you win Top Advanced dancer at the UDO World Street Dance Championships you will then be permitted to dance in Junior all Stars or senior all stars.
Junior all star
• To qualify for this division you must have had 5 advanced wins with more than 6 competitors at a UDO qualifying competition or you win top advanced dancer at the UDO World Street Dance championships.
• You must be 14 or under.
• You will dance a solo spot to your own choice of music for no more than 1 minute 30 seconds.
Senior all star
• To qualify for this division you must achieve 5 advanced wins in the advanced division with more than 6 dancers at a UDO qualifying competition, or you win top advanced dancer at the UDO World Street Dance Championship.
• You must be aged 15 or over.
• You will dance a solo spot to your own choice of music for no more than 1 minute 30 seconds.
The UDO reserves the right to change or combine age categories or divisions as per event.
Duos
Each dancer must be a member.
• Dancers are not permitted to dance in more than one age division or category at each competition.
• Dance entry forms must be submitted on line no later than 6 days before a regional competition and 10 days before the British, European and World competitions.
• All duos must compete in the same Division as their solos or the division and age category of the eldest dancer. If both dancers are the same age they will dance in the highest division. For example if one of the dancers in in the Under 14 Advanced category and the other in Under 14 Intermediate then they must dance in the Advanced and if one is Under 18 Advanced and the other Under 14 Intermediate then they can dance in the Under 18 Intermediate.
• Dancers cannot touch the judges.
• Dancers cannot perform acrobatic or any other move they are not in full control of, i.e. – Front of Back flips in early rounds of a competition. Such moves are only allowed in a FINAL where there is more room on the dance floor. Judges are pre-advised not to recall anyone that has breached this rule.
• Clarification on ages, i.e. if you are 9 you must compete in the under 10, if you are 10 you must compete in the under 12 and so on.
• Teachers or professional dancers must compete in Advanced.
• Student teachers must compete in the Intermediate or Advanced.
• Age appropriate clothing and footwear must be worn
• Breach of any of these rules will result in a warning or disqualification.
• There will be set BPM (beats per minute) for each category.
Dancers can expect tracks with the following BPM’s:
• Beginner/Novice 110 - 130 BPM
• Intermediate 100 - 130 BPM
• Advanced 90 - 130 BPM
Criteria for duos
• Majority of routine should be synchronised (both dancers performing the same movement at same time)
• Dancers must be dancing in time with the track
• Show a variety of movement & choreo
• Dancers must stay on the spot
Age divisions for duos
Under 6, under 8, under 10, under 12, under 14, under 16, over 16.
UDO reserves the right to change or combine the age categories or divisions as per the event.
Quads
Age Categories
Under 10, Under 14, Under 18, Over 18
Rules for Quads
There are no divisions (beginners, newcomer, intermediate, advanced etc.) all dancers compete in the same division.
There is NO 25% age allowance in the quad competition, e.g. if one dancer is 14 and 3 dancers are 12 they MUST dance in Under 18.
Quads are danced to set tracks which are announced approximately 3 months before a major championship. The version of the music track will always be stated, this will be the exact version that the DJ’s will use at an event. This CANNOT be changed.
Teams
Rules for teams
• Each dancer within the team must be a UDO member.
• Team entries for all competitions must be submitted on line via the relevant events page no later than 6 days before a regional competition and 10 days before the British, European and World championships.
• Dancers cannot touch the judges.
• Each team must consist of a minimum of 5 dancers and a maximum of 26.
• Dancers can only perform for one team/crew at any one competition and in only one age category.
• The UDO will however allow a dancer to represent their own academic school in the National Schools section as well as their dance team/crew at the same competition.
• Props are permitted providing they are not dangerous and can be cleared from the dance floor immediately after your performance. (No talc, glitter, water must be thrown down on to the stage!)
• Teams are not allowed to be called by their own school name
Age divisions for teams
Under 10, under 14, under 18 and over 18
There are 4 team categories but not all will be available for each age division, as a general rule the following will apply:-
Under 10 – Beginners and Novice combined
Intermediate and Advanced combined
Under 14 – all 4 categories will apply
Under 18 – all 4 categories will apply
Over 18 – Beginners and Novice combined, Intermediate and Advanced
The UDO reserves the right to change or combine the age categories or divisions as per each event.
Team categories
Beginners
• This division is open to all dancers who have never competed in any UDO street dance competition or never been placed in a previous Newcomer division at any UDO event.
• There must not be more than 50% of the team above the beginner level (in solos and duos)
• Dancers will be permitted to compete in this division until they get placed in the top 5, 3 times. Alternatively, if you win a Beginner division you will automatically move up to the Novice division.
• Dancers will NOT be able to dance in this division if they have ever previously been placed in the Newcomer division.
Novice (This was the old Newcomer division)
Teams are not permitted to dance in this category provided that:
• No more than 50% of the team are above beginner/Novice level (in solo/duos)
• Teams are allowed to stay in this category until they win a competition with more than 6 teams against them, they will then automatically move up to intermediate.
• Teams must not have been placed in the top 5 more than 3 times with 8 or more of the teams in your category.
• Teams will be permitted to dance in this division if they have never been to a UDO competition and if they have previously been placed in the Newcomer division.
• Once you have danced in this division you are unable to move back to the Beginners section.
Intermediate
Teams are not permitted to dance in this category until:
• They win twice with more than 6 teams in their division.
• They win at the UDO world championships.
• They have been placed in the top 5 more than 5 times with 8 or more teams in your category.
You will then have to move up to the Advanced Category.
Advanced
Any team is permitted to compete at this level but once you have you cannot go back down to Intermediate or Newcomer.
Music for teams
• Teams will provide their own music on a CD (Please bring a spare copy of your music)
• No swearing allowed within the music.
• The music can be NO more than two minutes for beginners and newcomer teams.
• The music can be NO more than two minutes 30 seconds for Intermediate and Advanced teams.
Rules Regarding Ages Within Teams:
• 75% of the competing team must be within the age division they are competing in. 25% of the team would be allowed to be older. However they can only be older up to the next age division. I.e. – if you had 12 dancers in your under 14 team, 9 dancers would have to be under 13 years of age, 3 dancers could be older either 14, 15, 16 OR 17 years of age. THEY WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO USE DANCERS OVER THE AGE OF 18.
Teams are permitted to use dancers younger than the age division they are entered in. I.e. – An under 10 dancer could compete in an over 18 team.
Judging Criteria for teams
Judges will give scores for teams based on the following criteria:
Each point is out of a maximum 5 points,
1-2 = Below Average 3-4 = average 5-6=good 7-8 = very good 9-10 = excellent
Please note 0.25, 0.5 & 0.75 can also be used.
Variety
• Portrayal & execution of the styles.
• Variety of styles choreography used
10
10
Musicality & creativity
• Interpretation of different beats & phrasing
• Original movement ideas, uniqueness & originality of combinations
10
10
Choreography
• Difficulty level of choreography
• Overall use of space and spatial awareness, and use of smooth transitions.
10
10
Presentation
• Attentiveness, enthusiasm, energy, confidence
• Routine execution and perfection
10
10
Total /80
Penalisations to be recorded by DJ
Music over allocated time (5 sec buffer) -2 points per judge
Music with inappropriate language -2 points per judge
Penalisations to be recorded by contest co-ordinator
Age inappropriate costume -2 points per judge
Age inappropriate movement -2 points per judge
For example if there are 5 judges at an event then each penalisation will carry 10 points.
Judging criteria explained
• Execution – Pattern, rhythm, timing and initial phrasing between the team to the selected music. Synchronicity and precision. Overall use of movement, tricks, body extension and shape.
• Variety – Variety of styles used throughout, and understanding the main features of these styles. Use and portrayal of technique. Clarity of contrasting styles.
• Musicality – Choreography to music, interpretation of different beats, styles, phrasing and synchronisation. Music choices and complexity of musical phrasing.
• Creativity – Original movement and ideas. Uniqueness and originality of combinations. Creating interest in the performance. Use of appropriate and suitable movement.
• The complexity of the choreography throughout
• Shapes and movement – Difficulty of patterns used throughout. Overall use of space and spatial awareness, and use of smooth transitions. Use and complexity of levels and formations.
• Presentation – How clean is choreography, Variety of styles, Team work and connection throughout. Attentiveness, enthusiasm and general team spirit as perceived through appropriate presentation.
• Overall entertainment – Routine execution and perfection, crowd appeal and enjoyment. Projection , Energy, showmanship, presence, confidence, charisma. Creating an atmosphere and mood appropriate to the street/hip hop style.
Competition rules
• The decision of the judges and contest coordinators are final, dancers are not permitted to ask the judges about their placements.
• No one is allowed to approach the scrutineer or judges table during the competition.
• Any questions you have during the competition should be directed to your dance teacher who will then take the question to the contest coordinator.
• Good sportsmanship should be adhered to at all times. The UDO will not tolerate bad sportsmanship.
• The UDO has the right to disqualify or suspend anyone from their competition.
• Any dancer wishing to compete at any UDO competition or an affiliated UDO competition must be members of the UDO. This is free of charge. Membership can be obtained on line at www.udostreetdance.com . Each dancer must complete their own membership form; multiple applications from a dance school will not be permitted.
• UDO competitions can offer a mixture of the following categories – SOLO’S, DUO’S, QUADS, TEAMS, CREW BATTLES AND BREAK DANCE. Not every competition will offer all categories.
• The UDO takes the poaching of students from one dance school to another seriously. Any evidence of this will be dealt with by the executive committee. Schools found guilty of this could see their membership of the UDO taken away.
• The UDO reserves the right to change or combine age categories or divisions as per each event.
Titles
When using titles in any correspondence you must give the full description of your title, which will always start with the UDO then your age category and your level of dance then the championship i.e. – the UDO under 16 Newcomer British Street Dance champion