Competition Policies
Team Competitions
CU Ballroom covers competition registration and one-way travel for all dues-paying members for team competitions each semester. The team competitions for the Fall semester are Princeton, DC Dancesport Inferno (DCDI), and Big Apple Dancesport Challenge (BADC). The team competitions for the Spring semester are UPenn, Harvard Invitational, and MIT. In order to have travel covered by the team one way, you MUST complete the Travel/Housing form (sent out before the competition) by the deadline.
For overnight competitions, the Columbia team has a tradition of leaving chocolates and a handwritten Thank-You note to the host. The competition chair will collect $1 from everyone who signed up for housing to cover this expense. This is not included in the dues because a large number of our members do not compete.
Competition Reimbursements
If the ticket we bought for you ends up unused, you MUST reimburse the club for the cost of your ticket. You will have TWO WEEKS from the ending date of the competition to reimburse the club for unused registration, late registration, or tickets. Otherwise, the club will not pay for your travel to the next competition.
Costume Policies
How Costumes Work
We have a collection of dresses, practice skirts, and men’s shirts and pants that are available for our dues-paying members to try on and borrow for team-sponsored competitions. Our costume requests are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that the number of practice skirts and men’s apparel we have is unfortunately quite limited at the moment.
To request a costume for an upcoming competition, you must fill out the Google Form sent out for each competition by the designated deadline, indicating which style(s) and level(s) you will be competing in, as well as any particular preferences. Costume requests that come in after the deadline will not be processed.
Before the competition, the Vice President and Competition Chair will send out designated pickup times (typically during classes or practice times).
Deposit Policy
Our team costumes are a precious resource. They allow us to shine on the floor and express ourselves — not to mention save the hundreds of dollars that many people in the ballroom world have to shell out to buy their own. With that in mind, please take very good care of any costume in your possession!
Every member who borrows a team costume must put down a deposit of $20 per costume.
When we meet to try on costumes, please have the deposit amount ready in cash or be ready to Venmo the Vice President or Competition Chair (to be specified per competition). The Competition Chair will make note of when you made the deposit and when it is returned to you after the competition. If you fail to return a costume by a specified date, not only will you not receive your deposit back, but you will be barred from accessing our other resources (i.e. practice space) until the costume has been returned. Deposits will also not be returned if the dress is returned in noticeably poor condition and needs to be cleaned.