The Division

The Italian DanceSport Federation proposed the creation of a professional division to the delegates at the 2006 IDSF General Meeting in Wels, Austria. The 2007 General Meeting then suggested and supported the formation of an independent body, the International Professional DanceSport Council (IPDSC), with an agreement to fully integrate IPDSC into the structures of the World DanceSport Federation, the new name of IDSF as per its VISION 2012 development plans.

By amending the Statutes, the delegates to the 2010 IDSF General Meeting cleared the way for having IPDSC as the Professional Division within IDSF. On 14 June 2010, at the General Meeting of IPDSC, the delegates approved unanimously the establishment of the Professional Division (PD) within the structures of IDSF/WDSF.

Even prior to that, IDSF President Carlos Freitag and IPDSC President Daniele Tondon had encouraged IDSF National Member Bodies as well as IPDSC Members to work on the foundations for a Professional Division in every country. The guidelines for the establishment of such a division at the national level addressed issues such as amendments to statutes and other governing documents. IDSF and IPDSC urged all parties to use their best efforts, in a spirit of sporting friendship, to ensure a successful transition from IPDSC to the Professional Division in their countries, with malice toward none, and fairness to all.

When IPDSC was finally dissolved later in 2010, the IDSF Professional Division became reality, with the first PD World and Continental Championships scheduled to take place in the spring of 2011.

The inaugural PD General Meeting took place in Luxembourg on 18 June 2011. It was followed that same day by a presentation of the division and its programmes to the Open Forum. When the delegates to the 2011 IDSF General Meeting voted to change the name of the organisation to World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), on 19 June, its very first division automatically became the WDSF PD.