Multiple Dance Events
Of course the example shown was only of a single dance and there are many events that consist of multiple dances. There are Skating System rules to cover these events.
Essentially the place gained in each of the Dances are added together to form a 'Final Summary'. The couple with the lowest total in the Final Summary wins the event. As you would expect there are rules to deal with couples that are tied in the Final Summary.
The ultimate tie breaking rule is Rule 11 which was the last one added in 1956.
Under circumstances where the Scrutineer cannot separate couples by the points in the Final Summary the Scrutineer must go back and analyse all the marks across all the dances in the final. This is somewhat similar to the method used in determining the winner of a single dance, just on a grander scale.
Imagine a 5 dance event that has 9 adjudicators. If a Rule 11 was to be invoked say for 1st and 2nd place the Scrutineer will add up all the first places for the couples tied over all five dances and see if a majority has been reached. However the majority will not be 5 this time but rather 23. You see the maximum 1st places available will be 45, (9 adjudicators x 5 Dances), therefore the majority of 45 is 23.
Further, should a tie occur on the quantity of places then the places are added together the same way it was done for each dance. It that is tied the Scrutineer will add the next place into the formula. This will continue for those couples that are involved in the Rule 11 until a result is reached.
Other Rules that Affect results
The Skating System itself only refers to those 11 rules adopted by the Official Board of Ballroom Dancing, however there are other rules imposed by various Organisations and Competition Organisers.
These rules are usually specific to certain countries. For example to disqualify a couple in some countries it requires 2 adjudicators to mark the couple for disqualification. Some Organisational bodies require a Majority of adjudicators to disqualify. In some organisations adjudicators are not allowed to Disqualify, it is up to the Chairman of adjudicators to perform this task.
Even the term disqualify changes meaning. In some instances a disqualified couple is completely removed from the competition, stripped of all marks. For others it means that the couple will come last but only in the dance they were disqualified in.
The best advice to competitors is to make themselves familiar with the rules and regulations of the Organisations that they wish to compete in.
In a Nutshell
The Skating System is no accidental formula, it is the product of many minds over years to create a system at has become universally accepted.
The Skating System:
- Is the only realistic method of assessing competitions where there is more than one competitor performing at the same time.
- Forces adjudicators to make decisions and not tie competitors.
- The 'Majority' aspect of the formula shields competitors from poor Adjudicating decisions.
