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Unethical competitions
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Though I am relatively new to pole, I have participated in my fair share of local figure skating competitions. I am not particularly interested in participating in a pole competition, but I do agree that USPDF is rather new.
I can recall a time when figure skaters would go to international competitions like the Olympics and be provided with inadequate ice quality to practice on while home country competitors would be treated with immensely better practice conditions.
I think the fact that USPDF submissions are in the form of PUBLIC YouTube videos gives an unfair advantage to late entrants and disadvantage to early entrants. In figure skating basic skills competitions, you compete with skaters at the level listed on your registration form. This level is defined by tests passed at USFSA sanctioned test sessions with qualified judges and clear requirements for passing. Is there some subjectivity? YES. It’s the very nature of such an artistic sport! The problem iswith that there are just so many things that are unregulated and unstandardized in pole dancing that it results in issues like this.
However, this is how organizations and competitions start out, and it is also why changes are made! Was figure skating always perfect and fair? No. But changes were periodically made as the sport evolved so that things could become more regulated and fair. Is it perfect? Of course not, and it certainly doesn’t always seem fair. However, I think USPDF should hear these types of concerns so guidelines can CLEARLY be laid out, unfair advantages/disadvantages can be eliminated, instructors can be properly certified, etc. -
Reading thi discussion I hace two things to say:
-I am personally a big Alethea austin fan. I understand that she is not the best and others can pull out more difficult tricks but she has become this much popular because she is UNIQUE. Her style is what made her one of the best and for what I've seen…millions want to dance like her, so they shouldn't complain about what she can't do if they want to do what she does…nobody can practice everything at the same time, either you focus on tricks or you focus on fluidity, everybody tries to do a bit of everything but you cannot expect anyone to be perfect in every performance. I don't care if she made mistakes in her performance. I've seen felix fall out of her spatchcock in a video, and I've seen that video of butterfly in zurich where she falls….they are still great!!! and their performances were great!!! my thoughts as regards those problems are: even the best fall in public. If I compete, it will happen to me too one day and even if I never get to be that great it will still happen to me one day (LOL). I think people should never lose respect for someone when somehting like this happens because it's natural and it will happen to all one day. If a competition is unfair it is not a dancer's fault….if you win a competition and people think it's unfair…what whould you do? say "oh no, thank you, i don't want the title, some others were better…"?? I don't think so. The issue is not competitors fault, it is the responsability of the organizers and judges.
-If submissions are out of deadline, they shouldn't be accepted. If the submission's dates are not clear….it is the organizer's fault! If a competition is unethical…there should be somehting we can do about it (even though I think there really isn't…everything is unethical in the world…of course sponsors will want their way, of course studios will support their people, etc) I think the community needs to be organized in a way that we can complain if something goes too out of hand in an unethical way. This would require that we organize a group of people to speak for the community and that is recognized by competitions…seems imposible right?? well, it's the only idea i have. I think that an ethical organization should protect competitions from nepotism but also protect competitors. I say this because I think someone who has already proven she deserves to be respected for her talent in the community should not have her career affected because of one performance. I've heard people say horrible things about felix like "she always does the same. I bet she can't do other tricks" (come on, really???that's ridiculous. her signature moves are not the only great things she does) or when the video of butterfly in zurich came out I've heard a lot of people who are very important here in Argentina (not that the world cares about what we think about pole dancing here but still it hurt me) saying horrible things about her…this is wrong and unethical too. I think once a competitor has showed what she can do she should be respected and allowed to continue her career but still there should be a chance for new girls too. Otherwise, competitions start getting unethical….but we can complain about it or we can do something. If the community does not agree with the way things are, there should be initiative to organize something different.
I think this discussion was very interesting because it's really important to fight to keep the community ethical. And if competitions are unethical it affects the community because it affects the carreers of pole dancers, instructors and students who feel dissapointed by all this. In Argentina we have huge problems because of this, there is one studio who runs the only comeptition there is and you cannot raise a complaint about anything because they can destroy your career. I want get into all the bad things that happen here in the pole community but I will say that unethical competitions are a big issue for the community and not competing is not a solution, but criticizing the winners is not a solution either. If we want a solution let's look for an ethical solution. That's the point; right??
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I do appreciate this being an ongoing discussion. @amy I didn’t mean that you were trying to create drama with this thread, I think it’s important people vent their current frustrations and everyone’s thoughts about what is upsetting them over the issue of what they feel is unethical about certain competitions. I wanted to suggest that since everyone has been willing to state their stance that someone be proactive and compile a list in a letter addressing all the issues expressed and present it to the USPDF (clearly at this point from my understanding this is Wendy?) I understand she is one person running a business, organization, and planning for an event-that she couldn’t possibly have much time to browse online and come across this thread, let alone read every person’s post on this forum. I suspect she may have heard about the issue as USPDF fan page posted a video recently on Facebook breaking down scoring of a recent competitor’s performance and the competition’s criteria so clearly there must be some knowledge on the other side of the debate. I think it would be best someone stepped forward and took the time to put all the concerns together in an organized manner and presented it to USPDF. Whether or not the issues are addressed, the mere fact that the actions of the community doing their part to be heard and send their thoughts directly will leave the ball in their court. I personally don’t think questions will be answered which is very unfortunate. I think actions speak louder than words. If everyone wants to see changes then appropriately stating your concerns for proper addressing is the best way to negotiate change. At least we can say we acted rather than just venting here and hoping someone important will read what we have say. It’s unfortunate people involved in the competitions are feeling attacked and hurt or even being attacked at all. This argument shouldn’t even be about them. The issue is regarding competitions and whether or not people feel they are ethical. Things were made too personal when names were mentioned and competitors were thrown in for scrutiny-which we all know was not Amy’s intent when she created this discussion. (If anyone decides to write up a letter, please post a draft for everyone else to see and agree to.)
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Wow, this was fascinating to read.
I love Althea Austin – I loved that routine that was posted, and although there were a few minor slipups, she recovered brilliantly. Considering the dislocated knee thing as well – amazing. I don't know what the other competitors were like, I don't know who else was there, I don't know if she deserved to win – just sayin' I loved that routine.
This reminds me somewhat though of gymnastics competitions. Again, I don't have much knowledge in the field, having never been a gymnast myself, but I know that there are discrepancies with the marking system there. (There was also that movie – Stick It about this).
I think it's important for people to voice their opinions because that's the only way things will ever change. But bad-mouthing competitors and organisers does nothing to achieve this. I feel that if you want to complain you need to have an alternative in mind. If you think the voting system is wrong, then maybe suggest to the organisers via mail different ways to change it? Like Annieloo said about ice skating, it's an artistic sport and there will always be bias, but getting on a soapbox and complaining about something does nothing except spread ill-feelings.
And in pole, we need to stick together and support eachother.
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Let me ask a question.
If the organizer has been contacted, and has discussed an ethical violation and acknowledged their actions but refuses to admit wrongdoing, THEN what? Do we boycott the competition? Is that realistic? Do we merely do our best to publicize the actions of the organization, in hopes that the negative publicity will get the word out? In a culture where people don’t want to discuss this awkwardness, will that really happen? Will that continue to hurt the feelings of the competitors?
What Corby said earlier is what is bothering me the most: you can research a competition all you want, but you can’t necessarily research BIAS. a year from now, competition hopefuls who I don’t know, who haven’t read any of this, will spend time and money submitting again.
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I think that in that instance, yes publicity is the way to go.
Provided it's not badmouthing previous competitors or other indviduals who have not had anything to do with the ethical violation themselves.
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Untill yesterday, I had NO idea there was any contraversy surrounding the USPDF. I was merely a potential finalist. I was surprised to hear everything that people feel.
I have been poling for 7 years, so long ago before YouTube had connected us or Veena's forum. I have been poling for so long that I had even thought I created many moves like the back hook spin, figure four invert, monkey climb(ha). I had never seen anyone do the moves I was doing. Back then, as a single mother raising her baby, I could not afford one more bill. I constantly had months at a time without the cable. It has only been in the last few years that I even had the time to jump on a computer and do anything besides work or send an email.
So in 2010 when I had heard of the USPDF I was very excited. I went and watched with awe. I took just one amazing brilliant class with Jessalynn Medairy. I was so happy that I had people who were actually a bit MORE advanced than me. I couldn't believe people had other ways to climb! Lo!. They had direction and were skilled in offering growth. Pole has become a part of me as important as my skin! I need it to keep me together. When I watched that performance, I thought man I could never compete. It got me all nervous, even though I had been hired for 4 yrs already at that time to perform at top venues. Take our skills and go against another male/female to be judged seemed scary.
While watching the performance, we witnessed someone fall. Bad. The audience gasped. All anyone thought was I wish that they are ok! No one was bitter b/c of it. We cheered when she got up! Have you watched Alethea's performance? Have you ever tried to do even one move in hand cuffs? That vid is bad ass! It was a platform for us all to watch and grow from. It sparked us to be creative and use the pole to connect with our expression of dance.
So this leads me to now, with the title of unethical competitions. I am glad that people voiced their opinions. If we don't voice that we want change, it would always be assumed that it was perfect as is. Companies ask for suggestions simply so they can make changes and review policies. I will still continue to apply to competitions, because for me I am growing on my pole journey. I want to get out there and grow. I got into another comp this weekend.In the pole community, we are "itching" to do anything pole. We love getting together and meeting up with others who love pole! We are a pole family. Its expected we get on each others nerves or argue at times, but lets get our voices out in a way where it is organized and w/ a point. If its If its change we want lets figure out what changes need/want to be made.
On the matter of late submissions, I don't think they should have been accepted. I have been training since Feb. to be at this level now. It doesn't seem fair. Its as if "sally: and "suzy" saw who had applied and said oh I'm gonna submit too. There were even girls who have competed and won the USPDF who tried to get something in by the deadline was a lil late and said so. Had she submitted late, maybe the line up would be. It is up to the potential competitor to search for comps and if they miss it-hey u missed your chance at this one. Move on. There will always be another comp to enter. I am also in one soon. Its got a great cash prize. The guy who put it together has plans of making it better every year. I am not telling everyone about it b/c as a competitor I want to win! Its just the name of the game.
I almost didn't say anything. In fact I erased what I wrote several times.I thought I'd be "blacklisted" from comps or something. I do think its important to let those who keep saying we shouldn't support those comps know how important it is just how much growth we gain from them. They allow a platform for people of all walks of life to come together. All of us have talent. I am always learning from others in this community, even from beginners sometimes. I also need the practice of competing. It is nerveracking. Only one way to get past that and grow::compete.The competitor NEEDS venues large or small.
Once the community hears about comps than we can make it better. The LeHigh Valley Competitionis on this weekend. It started as an idea. Voiced on the internet. Now even Michelle Stanek heard about it. It's her hometown so she is now judging.
One idea=Growth.
Thank you USPDF, Veena, internet,pole and for our "bothers and sisters" as one Veener put it!
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I am definitely not a pro, or even an awesome amateur, but having competed in pole competitions and judged a pole competition, I just want to put out there that since humans are humans, there will always be some kind of bias in juding.
I won a local pole competition in 2011. It was incredibly poorly planned–as in, at first, we were told we needed routines, then we were told it would be freestyle, and the night of the competition, suddenly routines were wanted. I am not blaming the organizers either, as I think the venue imposed some sudden rules on the competition or something. It was a mess all the way around. I had not made up a routine as I actually hadn't been planning on competing, but on the night of, the organizer asked again if I wanted to join as some girls had dropped out, so I said yes.
The competition itself was terrible. It was at a local watering hole on an X-Stage. I stood from about 10 pm to almost 1 am in my eight inch heels. The competitiors were not asked to perform once–we had to perform five or six times each, and from what I could tell, we were all freestyling.
I ended up winning the competition, and there were definitely whispers that it was rigged, or that it had almost been rigged, or that I shouldn't have won. I have no idea how the comp could have been rigged for me, sincd I wasn't even going to compete until the night of the competition. I'm not saying I should have or shouldn't have won first place. My performance wasn't perfect, but no one had a perfect performance that night. We all slipped up at least once (this is the nature of competition–you know how nervous you get when you flip on your camera and start recording yourself poling? Now, multiply that feeling by a hundred cameras); plus, you just can't control every factor that makes for a sticky pole, especially when, like me, you don't use grip.
Anyway, I don't think I was any better or any worse than most of the other girls. Some others did some crazier tricks; there was definitely a girl who had better stage presence, etc. I think that for those judges, maybe I just had a little bit of everything and that's why I won. That's the thing–judges are human. You will have one that appreciates fluidity and another that prefers a gymnastic-like approach to the pole, and since both are viable styles, they are going to judge girls differently. Even having score cards with every category meticulously laid out doesn't help. Judges are human! At the competition I judged, I had to stop myself from marking up a girl's costume and appearance score because I thought she was just adorable–but when I really looked closely, she hadn't done anything special with her makeup, hair, or costume. I had to change my score to reflect reality, not my holistic view of her performance. And as a college instructor, I think it is at least slightly easier for me to be objective–I've graded a lot of essays and used a lot of different rubrics over the last five years.
So, to boil down this loooong post, I just want to say that a competition performance is not the same as a performance filmed on the comfort of your home pole or studio poles. And judges are human, and they often already know what they like. So, while I agree that this is a good discussion to have, I think everyone deserves a ton of leeway as we navigate these new waters. If people express their concerns in a postive, non-judgmental way, everyone will feel more comfortable with any changes that are made.
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Fever, I get your point and I agree. Bias is human. But competition organizers can do a couple simple things to minimize bias. For example: not allowing judges to judge their own students, or people from their studio…. dropping highest and lowest scores from the judges. There are a lot of options! WE can shape how our industry grows.
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Of course bias is human nature. Even if we don't realise that's what we're being.
But that being said – there's a massive difference between inadvertently scoring someone you know an extra point or two and allowing submissions after the cut off date.
(I'm not too sure about what's happened with this whole thing so I won't elaborate on that point).
As well, when it's a national competition and not just a local one, there needs to be guidelines and procedures in place to ensure that bias isn't playing a major role in deciding the outcome – especially when the prize is so big. Telling the organisers the problems you have is definitely a step in the right direction – it's the only way they'll know to change.
Publicity is also amazing. Like what has already been said, you can research comps before you enter them.
I don't think though that with thins on this scale that trying to organise a boycott would work…even if 20 excellent dancers said they wouldn't perform, there would still be 20 more to take their place. (even if they're at a different level). And then everyone misses out because it's not the best competing.
Can someone quickly explain for me the process for USPDF? From what I gather from the comments – you submit a video and it gets uploaded to youtube? And from those someone? decides who should go into the "competition"?
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I also wanted to add on the matter of late submissions that it just desn't matter. Those individuals pushed limits. Because of it, they got in! Congrats to them. They also played the game. You don't know unless you ask, or try, or submit anyway. (and for the record, I don't know which people r late). I don't care enough to know or have the time to figure it out.
(I take back the "move on" part I had b/c all they did was "play" differently. I too push limits sometimes in hopes of a chance or a fair shake.
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Yes, agreed. It's good to ask questions and it's good to discuss the issue. I also agree that there are some simple ways to combat human nature in judging (the ones Amy listed are great), although we will never fully eradicate the biased and visceral nature of judgement.
I'm just reiterating that these competitions are still in their infancy and there will be growing pains! This is the way competitions become more stable–obstacles are thrown into the path of the organizers; the organizers climb up and over (or around) them. The organizers might look back and not be happy with how they handled the problems this year, but next year, after this uproar, I bet they'll know how to handle a situation if it reoccurs!
All of these issues are just providing templates for organizers to do better next time. I agree that there will be no change if people don't speak up. I just think it's important that even while discussing the issue, we never attribute to malice what can be attributed to ignorance (and I don't mean that as an insult–I mean ignorance as in encountering new situations and making decisions on the fly, as competition organizers must often have to do).
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@tallicachild
For USPDF you upload a video to youtube with a specific heading and email the link with your application to USPDF. Last year it was allowed to be subitted privately, but this year it had to be a "public" video on youtube or facebook.
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Some events have very strict guidelines and some do not. You have to know what the expectations are of the organizer. It's impossible to eliminate bias as we are all human but you can do a few things to curb it. As judges you cannot always agree. Things like showmanship and musicality, etc may be affected by a judges personal preference in SOME way.
I don't know how USPDF runs but for our first year last year I had already taken my lessons from past competittions. Here are few things to expect from Midwest/North American Nationals which seemed to be most important (either good or bad) to others. It doesn't mean I disrespect how other comps are run – it's just what I expected of our own.
1. Real names are used. No stage names.
2. Videos are EXACTLY a certain length…you cannot enter a longer video and ask to only watch a certain portion
3. All scores are counted…we do not throw out the high and low
4. No judges were allowed from the Midwest to avoid potential bias
5. Videos and application cannot be submitted even ONE minute late or they are disqualified.
6. All elements are scored equally so someone with great showmanship may outdo someone with better tricks. We wanted it to be more about the OVERALL performance not the best trixster. So you could potentially see a mistake or see someone not as advanced win or place.
7. Once you submit an online video you can have no contact with online judges until judging is over. If you are accepted you cannot train with any final judges until after the comp.
8. All judges are pole experienced with a wide variety of pole backgrounds…tricksters to showgirls, to traditional dance experience.
This year since we are adding nationals…if a judge has a student or instructor in the comp then that judge does not judge ANYONE from that division. However I need to stress that since our pole world is still so small it's impossible to find ALL judges that have not trained someone in the competition.
This year we are adding that if finalists are late with any important deadlines prior to the comp (like music choice, order of compulsory moves, etc) they will lose one point for every day they submit something late. We feel that this reflects their professionalism as well as it affects others who may have submitted these things on time but didn't necessarily feel ready and would have liked more time themselves.
We tried to come up with as fair of a comp as we could. How could I accept someone who was 20 minutes late with their vid and then deny someone who was 4 hours late…then the person who was 12 hours late? How do I make that decision when I set a deadline. Some people did not like how strict I was about this but I couldn't feel fair if I made the allowance for one and not others. Some competitions do not take such a strict stance.
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I'd like to add/remind that you should not only research the event organizers but research the judges. I think you CAN research bias! I could be wrong but most people who have worked with me or entered my comp know that I am as far from bias as possible and you can find that out by talking to past competitors of the competition.
FYI: I do not judge any element of my online rounds or the finals. But I do gather the scores and total them. Someone could definitely accuse me of adding them up falsely if they wanted. Hopefully my actions in all other areas of this event would tell people I don't do such things but you can't fullproof everything.
I also forgot: All score sheets are given to applicants from online rounds and to finalists from the comp but they are not posted publicly and scores are not posted. Everyone knows where they placed in the line up but only the top three from the finals are posted online.
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I have attended the past 2 years of USPDF. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE watching the show which is why I travel so far to get there. That is why I wish so much it was a showcase!! Everything is great until people hear the results and then leave with a sour taste in their mouths. I don’t know Wendy but she seems to be a well spoken lady whenever she does interviews. She seems to be capable of addressing any concerns the public has… but we haven’t seen much response to any concern over the years. Last year I think east coast maybe, or maybe nationals, I can’t remember, but there was drama over the number of girls entered. There was supposed to be 12 and they had an online vote but still only took 11… or something I can’t really recall… anyway no one ever got a formal statement from USPDF as to why that all happened. There seems to always be drama surrounding uspdf every single time over SOMETHING. I’ve begun to expect some drama with every competition. It doesn’t have to be that way. I know everything is in its infancy, but these things seem like things that could be addressed, could be explained, and they’re just not. If uspdf would explain things/scores or make statements perhaps we would not have to have these discussions on studioveena with everyone speculating about every little thing. As for the submission deadlines, I have no idea about that. Wasn’t really following that aspect but I heard who got in and I am VERY VERY pleased that Tracee was accepted. She is phenomenal !! I just wish all these competitions could be showcases where each performer gets a flat fee. Like $2,000 per girl or something I don’t know…It’d be fun for all and profitable for the girls!! Won’t happen, but just a rainbows & butterflies kinda idea. And I do know there is value in having competitions. People can have titles, medals, notoriety, it’s all good. Competition occurs in every sport. . Last year I felt there was a major judging error in the pro comp and thought maybe I was missing something or didn’t know what the criteria was… so I asked a bunch of people after the pro competition what they thought. Literally everyone I talked to was very confused about the judging. I didn’t find a single person there or online later who thought it was fair. It made us feel like we, the audience, were not respected as a community. Like the judges didn’t care about the audience opinion and were going to do what they wanted. So several girls I talked to agreed they wouldn’t pay to attend the competition next year. I actually emailed one of the judges myself, took it to the source. We emailed a couple times back and forth and it basically left on a note of “we agree to disagree”. On another note I am very pleased to see the videos finally coming out from the competitions. Michelle, Nadia, Mina, etc… all stunning… and I must admit, was even more stunning being there in person.
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I know you were joking but $2000 to perform in a showcase! Wow! I'd sign up and I hate getting on stage! LOL.
Let me tell you that for those of us breaking into our first couple of years of a comp it's very difficult to fund these events. Sponsor do NOT give over money. Many of them want to give product as prizes to finalists and have that count as sponsoring the event. So we rely mostly on ticket sales – which in our case did not cover the cost of our event and we actually lost money out of our own pockets last year!
But yes, we are doing it again this year and hoping that our second year will be better!
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I should clarify: "Sponsors do NOT give over money EASILY!"
We don't get huge checks from the sponsors we have to fund most of it ourselves from the proceeds of the event.
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Out of curiosity, of what benefit would it be for the judges to be "biased" in a pole competition? And, if there was bias due to studio affiliation, don't you think the outcome of the last few competitions would have been far different? Consider carefully the accusations you're making; personal accusations attacking the integrity judges plus the talent and worthiness of performers. And, in my humble opinion, the pole community should be grateful to have judges from outside of the pole community but with extensive dance, aerial & competitive experience. Don't you think that might prevent the bias that you somehow feel runs rampant in the USPDF competitions?
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@empyrean, you just haven't found the right sponsers out there if they wouldn;t fork it over!
If skateboarding, dirtbiking, and playstation comps can award someone 5-50,000…than why not in pole? WE ARE worth it!
@powertwirl, like your thinking-it was mine when I first heard about it too back in the day!
Also the USPDF had a few people drop due to injury the year we watched and just heard it for 2009 too.
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Organic Angel – we've tried for sponsors outside the pole community and so far have had poor responses from them. Sponsors within the pole community often can/will only give smaller sums and product in lieu of money.
Part of the problem is there aren't that many pole product companies and they are all stretched among a large number of events and competitions and can't cover them all. Then non-pole companies are not quite ready to step into the sponsor shoes for pole competitions unless they are the really big ones. Not to say you can't get non-pole sponsors for pole comps but just that it's not that easy.
My main point was to let people know we don't get a ton of money just because we have a half dozen or a dozen sponsors when the cost of a huge event like this is THOUSANDS of dollars. Last year we ran nearly $25,000 in expenses – this year will be much more.
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keex, this bias has been addressed here and on facebook. One bias is letting people in who were late and did not follow the rules for their video. This shows bias that they "wanted" certain epople in the competition for one reason or another. The second bias comes from who they actually want to represent their organization for the next year. If you ahve 2 very similar scores and perfromance presence but you have one person who is more outgoing than the other you would favor the more outgoing person to be your representative. This is actually part of your score in some of the international competitons. As soon as you step on site they start judging how you are dressed, how you act in public, even as far as swearing. This was also the reason that APFC put a rule regarding exotic dancers basically not being able to work while they held the crown.
I am pretty positive that there are girls in the competition who train at NYPD. Do you not think there would be bias as to training or to even scoring that person higher even if they slip up because you know their potential?
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@chemgoddess1: I know nothing about late submissions. I simply watched some of the video submissions and was left in awe at all the talent. What a tough job it must be picking the competitors!
And, as for girls that train at NYPD… how many of them have actually won a USPDF title? But dancers/instructors from "competitive" studios in NYC have won (rightfully earned) titles. And think about this: if what you're saying is true, why would the USPDF want a dancer from a "competitive" studio to represent them for a year? For the record, Wendy (owner of NYPD and Co-Founder of USPDF, which are 2 separate business entities) has absolutley nothing to do with the judging process.
And what does one's personality beyond the the context of their performance have to do with the judges' scores…? That's ludacris!
Some of these assumptions and accusations within the community are so unfounded and baffling that I simply have to step away from the discussion. In my experience, this type of "discussion" on facebook and StudioVeena has never been productive; simply a divisive and a sad commentary on the true state of the pole "community". (The exact opposite energy that appealed to me about the "pole community" in the first place.)
Peace & Pole, y'all. PEACE & POLE.
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keex- I am not just referring to USPDF. I am summarizing many of the things I ahve read regarding competiotns that have been going on and issues that have come up. Go back through and read all of the threads regarding competitons (there is even some in this thread regarding the Australiand and Argentinian competitions).
And the comment regarding scoring is for Worlds. I am trying to find where I had originally linked the scoring parameters as I cannot seem to find it on their site any more. I want to say 10-20% of your scvore is based on how you represent yourself and how you represent pole.
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thanks keex- a wise conclusion. until all the chatty cathy's actually contact the USPDF to get real facts, theyre fabricating their own assumptions about how things are run.
I know aerial amy received responses from Wendy regarding several of her questions, I hope she has or will decide to share those with the pole "community." I hope any other unanswered questions by anyone else will be directed to the USPDF, not forum friends.
I was excited to have an opportunity to perform at USPDF. While the intention of this so claimed "discussion" was to promote progress, it has inadvertently caused competitiors to feel like they were unfairly selected, seeming to diminish their worthiness to perform. It may not have been anyone's intention, but it was a natural result.
I have no respect for anonymous posts, or individuals that fear reaching out to an organization to receive answers. this should be the most obvious solution, instead of gossiping in online forums. there's explanations for all of USPDF decisions. they may not be obvious right now, but running a competition can't be easy, and covering all the bases takes time. those that feel they can run a better competition should take $80,000 of their personal funds and start their own competition. there is NO money to be made in running a competition right now.
I'm very saddened by a lot of the commentary I've read over the past few days, a disappointing representation of this supposed community that's working to improve pole dancing's reputation.
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