Easter Swing 2026 Competition Rules
Easter Swing complies with the competition guidelines of the World Swing Dance Council (WSDC).
As a competitor, you are responsible for knowing the division in which you are eligible/required to compete, for understanding the WSDC Points Registry Rules, and for using your WSDC Competitor ID number (if one has been assigned) when registering for competitions. WSDC rules, which can be found at www.worldsdc.com, mandate that you only dance in the J&J divisions at the appropriate skill levels for which you qualify.
PETITIONS: May only be submitted to dance one level up or down in the competitor's primary role.
Competitors may also submit petitions to dance one level up for their secondary role. Petitions down are not allowed for secondary roles.
In the case of all petitions submitted, our Chief Judge will review your petition and either approve or deny your request. You will be contacted with the decision as soon as possible. Please be prepared to dance in your original competition level or division in case your petition is denied.
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NEW WSDC RULE
Petitions to dance up must be submitted at least 15 days prior to the start of the event to the
WSDC Chief Judges Committee: worldsdc.com/level-up-petition
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PETITIONS DOWN
To petition down, dancers may either fill out the form electronically and email it to our Chief Judge at estelle.bonnaire@gmail.com or fill out a paper copy, available at event registration.
"Dancing down" petitions must be submitted prior to the petition deadline cutoff as noted on the schedule. The petition form to "dance down" is available here:
https://www.worldsdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/WSDC-Jack-and-Jill-petition_vF_Oct-2023.pdf
To compete at Easter Swing 2026, you must:
Hold a full weekend event pass.
Register for competitions by the deadline listed and pay the required entry fees.
Have the consent of a parent or guardian if you are under 18 years of age; you should also be comfortable social dancing with adults.
Demonstrate good sporting conduct at all times, both on and off the competition floor.
This includes treating your partners, other competitors, competition officials, spectators, and the event itself with respect.
Know the rules. Read the rules carefully prior to the competition. You are responsible for following the rules whether or not you have read them.
Important to know
There are no mandatory competitor meetings. You are responsible for checking the event schedule and knowing the time of your competitions.
The Event Director reserves the right to cancel any division with fewer than five couples.
If your name is not listed on the heat sheets for a preliminary round of your division, see the contest coordinator, floor coordinator or Chief Judge immediately to let them know you signed up but were not listed.
If you are not staged for the final preliminary heat in your division, you will not compete.
During semi-final and final rounds, if you are not present in the staging area, we will call the alternate(s) to dance in your place. Once the alternate has been called, the original competitor will not be allowed to compete even if they appear before the start of the competition.
There are no refunds. If you miss or withdraw from a competition, you forfeit your entry fee. The exception to this rule is if your event pass is refunded due to illness, then your competition fees will also be refunded.
For age-based divisions (Masters), you must meet the age requirement by Sunday, April 20, 2025.
Competition Formats
All dancing must be lead/follow. Pre-choreographed routines are not allowed.
For all WSDC competitions, at least 80% recognizable swing content is required.
“In the air” partner weight support moves (lifts, aerials) and acrobatic maneuvers are not allowed, competitors must have one foot on the floor at all times, with the exception of the Champions J&J and the All-Star/Champion Strictly Swing, where lifts below the shoulder are allowed.
For J&J’s all competitors must wear their bib numbers for all rounds of competitions.
The requirement for bibs in our All-Star and Champion finals that will be danced in a spotlight format will be at the discretion of the Chief Judge.
Bibs are only required for the Leaders in the Strictly Swing competitions.
These competitions are gender-neutral.
While role switching is not allowed, up to 8 counts of switching for musicality is acceptable.
Dress Code
Easter Swing does not have a required dress code for competitions. However, we do require you to wear appropriate clothing that would not be offensive to any group of people, especially our Junior dancers.
The Chief Judge, Competitions Director and Event Director may ask any competitor to change their clothing if deemed inappropriate.
Competitor Levels
Newcomer
You may dance in this level if you have:
No Newcomer or Novice WSDC awarded points
Novice
You may dance in this level if you have:
If you have any Newcomer points
Fewer than 30 Novice points
No points from a higher division
Intermediate
You may dance in this division if you have:
16 or more Novice points
Fewer than 45 Intermediate points
No points from a higher division
Advanced
You may dance in this division if you have:
30 or more Intermediate points
Fewer than 90 advanced points
No points from a higher division
Masters (WSDC age-based division)
You may dance in this division if you have:
Dancers aged 50 and above may compete in the Masters Jack & Jill Division in addition to their skill-based levels.
All-Star
You may dance in this division if you have:
At least 60 Advanced points
You must dance in this division if you have 90 Advanced points or 1 All-Star point
All-Stars may, if they have 150+ All-Star points, compete in the Champions J&J. All-Stars with 225+ All-Star points are required to dance in the Champions division.
Champion
You may dance in this division if:
Your Registry Points indicate that you are eligible for the division
Have 150 or more All-Star points (however, you are not required to do so)
Dancers with 225+ All-Star points are required to dance in this division
Easter Swing J&J’s and
Competing in Non-Dominant Roles
WSDC J&J’s
Easter Swing J&J’s are gender-neutral.
For skill-based WSDC Registry J&J’s divisions (Newcomer, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, All-Star, Champions) for 2026, you may enter one skill level as a Leader and a different skill level as a Follower, each at your appropriate WSDC-pointed level.
Once entered as a Leader or a Follower, you must remain in that same role throughout the specific skill-level competition: prelims, semi-finals, and finals.
Competitors may compete as a Leader or Follower in a skill-level J&J and in the same or opposite role in an age-based J&J’s.
Non-dominant Role Competing and Tracking
Competitors may compete as both Leaders and Followers in skill level J&J’s.
Leader and Follower points will be tracked separately in Points Registry.
Competitors qualify for their dance level based on the role in which they have the most points.
Competitors may also compete in their non-dominant role one to two levels down.
Petitions are not allowed for secondary roles.
Competitors will not be permitted to dance both roles in the same division.
RELEVANT WORDING FROM THE WSDC
The level a competitor is allowed to compete in their primary role determines their allowable level in their secondary role. WSDC recommends competitors compete in their secondary role one (1) level down from the role they enter in their primary role. Competitors may dance two (2) levels down from the highest level they are allowed to compete in their primary role, with the following clarifications:
a. Competitors with points in both their primary and secondary roles at the same skill level must select only one (1) role to compete in (either their primary or secondary role) for that event’s skill level Jack and Jill contest.
b. When a competitor has a choice of primary role levels, the highest level the competitor qualifies to compete sets the allowable level for their secondary role, i.e. the division a competitor chooses for their primary role at the Event does not affect what level they may compete at for their secondary role.
c. Competitors may dance two (2) levels down from their primary level (their highest competitive level), regardless of whether they choose to compete in the primary level for the Event. If they reach the “may” move up level on the WSDC Skill Level Jack & Jill Advancement Chart (Chart 3), based on their points in their secondary role, at which point they must dance only one level down from their highest allowed primary role. See Secondary Role WSDC Skill Level Jack & Jill Advancement Chart (Chart 4).
Non-WSDC Competition Categories
Easter Egg Scramble J&J
(All-American)
This division is open to competitors of all levels and you may enter in the role of your choice.
Once randomly paired, the dancers compete as a couple through all rounds of competition. Although this competition is gender-neutral, role switching within the competition is NOT allowed.
Strictly Swing Divisions
Competitors may compete in any and all Strictly Swing Divisions for which they qualify, as long as they have different partners or swap roles for each division. This means you may dance with the same partner for a different division only if the roles are switched.
All-Star/Champion Strictly Swing
This is a skill-based Strictly for those competing at the All Star and Champion levels. At least one person in the partnership needs to be a Champion or an All Star. Dancers sign up with a partner and remain with that partner for all rounds of the competition.
Hi-Low Strictly
This is a level-based strictly where one member of the partnership must be either Newcomer, Novice or Intermediate level and the other member may be any level , with one exception - Intermediates must not dance with Champions.
Levels are based on the highest division for which you have at least 1 WSDC point – or based on which Level Jack &Jill you are competing in for the weekend. Although this competition is gender-neutral, role switching within the competition is NOT allowed. Example: An advanced follow must dance as the “high” if they follow, but may dance as the “low” if they lead. This contest will be run as two separate divisions for both prelims and finals: Hi Follows with Low Leads, and Hi Leads with Low Follows.
NASDE - RISING STAR Competition
Our Rising Star competition is intended for dancers that are relatively new to performing a choreographed routine.
Competitors enter as a couple, supply their own music, and perform a swing dance routine (any recognized style) prepared in advance. Routines may follow either the “Showcase” or “Classic” format.
Please see the Rising Star Tour website for current rules
Eligibility
To enter Rising Star, both partners must:
Be at least 15 years old by the end of any qualifying event they compete in.
Never have won the RST top point award in previous seasons.
Never have placed top three (3) in “The Open” Rising Star division twice.
Not have Champion points within the last ten (10) years.
Retain eligibility separately for each role, leader/follower.
Event directors can compete in the tour, but not at events they organize.
Anyone may choose to enter as either a leader or follower.
There are no gender restrictions for your chosen role within the partnership.
You are not permitted to dance twice in this competition (even with a different partner.)
We reserve the right to limit our Rising Star competition to the first 20 couples that enter. A complete entry must include the entry form with signed waivers from both partners, along with the entry fee.
Format
Routines performed in our Rising Star competition may include any recognized style of swing dancing. Our judges will expect to see at least 70 percent recognizable swing content.
Your performance must be a minimum of 2 minutes and a maximum of 3 minutes, including any formal entrance or exit. The clock begins and judging starts at the first dance movement of your performance, with or without music.
You and your partner may make separate entrances, but you must come together within 32 beats of music.
Once you make contact, you and your partner must maintain physical contact except for spins, turns, acrobatic maneuvers, short breakaways or side-by-side patterns (no longer than 8 beats), and recoveries.
“In the Air” and “On the Ground” movements
Showcase format “in the air” partner weight-support moves (such as lifts) are allowed (but not required).
Classic format “on the ground” partner weight-support moves (such as drops, slides, or splits) are allowed (but not required). A maximum of seven (7) partner weight-support moves are allowed, with up to three (3) as optional lifts.
Both partners must keep at least one foot on the floor during weight-support moves; otherwise, it is considered a lift
Costumes & Props
Costumes are allowed and encouraged.
Props are not allowed.
Music
You must submit your music to our competition DJ at least 3 hours prior to your competition. If possible, please bring your music to floor trials (see the weekend schedule). Please email your music to music@easterswing.org or supply your music to the DJ on a USB flash drive. You are responsible for retaining additional practice copies.
You may reclaim your music from our competition DJ after the competition. Any music not reclaimed by the conclusion of the weekend will be discarded.
Competition Order
The order of dance will be drawn at 6 PM Friday during floor trials. If you and your partner both miss floor trials, we will ask someone else to draw for you.
DISCLAIMER
Easter Swing makes every effort to conduct all competitions in accordance with current WSDC / NASDE guidelines and reserves the right to update our Competition Rules should WSDC / NASDE requirements change.
Easter Swing also reserves the right to make any changes in the competition schedule or format as deemed necessary.
