Record-breaking Attendance at first WDSF Online Adjudicators’ Congress 2021 04/03/2021

The World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) is pleased to announce that its first congress since the start of the pandemic in 2020 was successfully held virtually on 28 February 2021.

Interest in the WDSF Online Adjudicators’ Congress 2021 was so great that it broke the record for the number of attendees of past congresses. In total, 483 participants took part in the three-hour congress, more than double the previous record of 220. Around 57 countries were represented.

“The numbers alone are proof that the DanceSport community cannot wait to get back into action,” said WDSF President Shawn Tay, adding that attending the congress fulfils the mandatory two-year education requirement for licensed WDSF adjudicators. “Even though the adjudicators don’t know exactly when they will be judging again, their desire to keep their licenses up to date is a very positive sign. We thank everyone who attended the congress and made the online congress so successful.”

The congress was also the first time that facilitators were used to pace the two 1 ½-hour sessions, and to ask the lecturers pertinent questions. This conversational format made the lectures more engaging, while also allowing for immediate feedback from the experts rather than having to wait until the session-closing Q&A periods.

“The facilitators did a terrific job asking all the right questions at all the right times,” Tay continued. “This kept the sessions flowing smoothly while giving the adjudicators watching online instant expert analysis and a much broader overview of what they are required to know.”

The congress, which was open to all WDSF adjudicators, coaches and athletes, was hosted by Sergey Belyaev, WDSF Sports Officer.

The online congress was divided into two sessions: one for Latin and one for Standard. The Latin session was led by WDSF PD World Latin Champions Gabriele Goffredo and Anna Matus and facilitated by WDSF Adjudicator Stefan Green. The Standard session was presented by WDSF PD World Standard Champions Dmitry Zharkov and Olga Kulikova and facilitated by WDSF Adjudicator Anastasia Titkova. 

Topics covered in the Latin session included distinctive qualities of Samba actions with special emphasis on hip and leg actions in Cruzados walk, bounce, hip and leg actions in Botafogos, Travelling and Circular Volta, and Slow and Fast Batucadas.

In the Standard session, topics covered included distinctive qualities of Viennese Waltz actions with special emphasis on the identification of correct swing movement, efficient movement in reverse turns, maintaining the character of Viennese Waltz in open choreographies and maximizing rotations in Fleckerl actions. 

President Tay announced that the congress was the first in a series of online congresses planned by the WDSF, and that all members were encouraged to continue play an active role in upcoming sessions.

WDSF Vice President for Sports Nenad Jeftic closed the congress by thanking the lecturers, facilitators, participants and the WDSF staff for a job well done.