The official site of
TEAMDance Illinois
TDI abides by the rules and regulations of the IHSA and NFHS and follows the
IHSA Spirit Rules
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
-Membership and Competition Registration-
-Varsity & JV Championships-
-Qualifications For State Championship-
-Categories-
-Judging-
-Membership and Competition Registration-
Q: Do I need to be a member of TDI to compete? 
A: TDI still encourages teams to "Try TDI"!!! You do not have to be a member to compete at a regional contest. Non-members simply pay a higher per contest registration fee and need to provide signed parental consent forms. If a team is interested in competing at the TDI State Championship, has NEVER been a member of TDI and receives a qualifing bid at a regional contest, the coach can join that day by filling out a membership form and paying the membership fee. They also must then complete/pass the TDI online Coach Knowledge Assessment if they have not done so already. If a team joins TDI the day of a contest, the team is eligible to accept their state qualification received from that contest. TDY teams must be members of TDI to be eligible to participate in the "Final Fenzy" competition held on February 7, 2010. Come be a part of the fastest growing Dance and Flag Team Competition and Education Circuit in Illinois!!!!
Q: Where do I send my membership forms?
A: You will fill out your application online and then mail payment and forms to TEAMDance Illinois, Attn: Membership, 215 Fulton Street, Geneva, IL 60134. Please NOTE; New in 2009, incomplete applications will be assessed a $40 administration fee. Coaches, be sure to refer to your membership check list before sending in your packet and check. Make sure ALL consent forms are signed. DO not send in payment seperately.
Q: How do I register for a competition?
A: You can go on the TDI website and register after July 31st for any of the 2009-2010 competitions. You do not have to wait for an invitation from the contest host. Some forms may not be available until September. REGISTER EARLY AS MANY CONTESTS CAN FILL WELL BEFORE THEIR POSTED DEADLINE. Host schools handle ALL registrations. TDI only sanctions the contests and provides judges and officials.
Q: How far in advance can I register for a competition?
A: Anytime after July 31st, 2009
Q: Will contests fill up?
A: Yes, they can and do, so try to register early. Contests will close when they have reached capacity, or a minimum of 3 weeks prior to the competition date, whichever comes first. Contests that have reached capacity will be listed as "closed" on the webisite.
Q: What is the deadline for membership registration?
A: The final date for the 2009-2010 membership is February 20, 2010.
-Categories-
Q: What categories does TDI offer?
A: Varsity & JV Dance Teams: Pom, Open Pom, Open Dance, Kick, Lyrical, Hip Hop. Varsity & JV Flag Teams: Tall Flag, Short Flag, Lyrical Flag, O Youth Dance: Hip Hop, Open Dance, Open Pom, Kick. Youth Flag: Open Flag. Independant: Individual categories will open up when 3 or more teams have expressed an interest in that particular category. Otherwise, all Independant teams will compete in one division, one category.
Q: What are the time limits for each category?
A: 1:45 – 3:00 minutes = Pom, Open Pom, Hip Hop, Kick, Open Dance, Tall Flag, Short Flag 1:45 – 4:00 minutes = Lyrical, Lyrical Flag.
1:45-3:00 minutes = TDY Hip Hop, TDY Open Dance, TDY Open Pom, TDY Kick, TDY Open Flag.
Q: Does TDI offer categories for Youth All-Star Teams?
A: Yes! TeamDance Youth (TDY) is a division of TeamDance Illinois. TDY is offers a full competition series for teams with students 9 years of age - 9th grade. TDY is open to all types of teams, including; Junior High’s, Middle School’s, Dance Studio Teams, Rec. Teams, All Star Teams, Park District Teams, Gymnastic Center Teams, and Independent Teams. TDY is open to teams from outside Illinois!
Q: Can high school aged teams from out of state or from non-school Illinois groups compete in TDI? Yes, TDI is piloting the new Independant Division (IND). This is open to any out of state team or non-school in-state team whose members are predominantly 10th - 12th grade. All IND teams will compete in one division, one category until enrollment in a category grows to 3 or more. IND teams MUST register concurrently with their affliated TDY-Youth team in order to be eligible to compete at any regional which also offerd TDY divisions. IND teams can not register for regionals that DO NOT offer TDY categories. Be sure to look for those contests that offer TDY before registering in the IND category. Neither the youth team nor the IND team are required to become members of TDI for regional competitions. They will pay a slightly higher registration fee when registering as a non-member. IND teams are not eligible for the TDI State CHampionship or JV Elite.
Q: Can my team come and just receive adjudication and not compete for placements, trophies or state qualification?: Yes! TDI allows team to register for any TDI competition and request that they be entered as an "EFO" ~ Evaluation and Feedback ONLY! Teams pay the same rates, receive oral critique tapes and scores and participate in all the day's activities including the post contest judge's critique session. . They will not be ranked or receive state qualification bids. Many teams do this as a way to better prepare themselves for nationals or other competition circuits.
-Judging-Q: What kind of judging system does use?
A: TDI offers a rewards-based judging system that relies on a criterion reference system. Routines are evaluated for Artistic and Technical content by separately trained Artistic and Technical judges for both Dance and Flag. Total point values a routine can receive is 100 points (50 points from the Artistic Judge and 50 points from the Technical Judge).
Q: How many judges will score my routine?
A: Routines will be judged by two (2) Artistic Judges (either Dance or Flag) and two (2) Technical Judges (either Dance or Flag). The two artistic scores and the two technical scores will be averaged and the two averaged scored will be added together.
Q: Will I receive a critique tapes?
A: Yes, you will receive four (4) critique tapes that evaluate the performance as it happens. The goal of these critique tapes is to provide feedback that is fresh and reactionary and does not include redundant wrap ups.
Q: Who are the officials?
A: TDI trains its own staff of Officials. There will be 4 Officials at every contest. They are, in order of team contact:
- Ready Line Official (RLO)
- Time & Penalty Official (TPO)
- Head Contest Official (HCO)
- Tabulator (Tab)
Q: Does TDI offer a state championship?
A: YES! TDI is excited to be able to offer a full regional competition circuit that culiminates with a State Championship on Sunday, March 7, 2010 at the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, Illinois. The State Championship weekend will begin with a Pre-Party on Saturday March 6, 2010 in the early evening!!! Be sure to check out the TDI state page for links to local hotels and restaurants! Teams must be a member of TDI, receive a qualification bid and have their coach pass the TDI Online Knowledge Assessment.
Q: Will TDI offer a JV Championship?
A: YES! TDI offers the a "JV Elite" Championship at the TDI State Championship which will be held on Sunday March 7, 2010.
Q: Will TDI offer a JH championship?
A: No, TDI will offer a State Championship & JV Elite for High School Teams only. This includes Varsity and Junior VarsityTeams. TEAMDance Youth will be offering a culminating event called the "Final Frenzy" on Sunday February 7, 2010. The "Final Frenzy" will be hosted in the North at Geneva High School.
Q: How many routines can I take to State?
Answer: Varsity Dance Teams: 2 performances, Varsity Flag Teams: 2 performances, JV Flag and Dance Teams: I performanc
-Qualifications For State Championship-
Q: How do Varsity teams qualify?
A: Only TDI member teams whose coach has passed the TDI Online Knowledge Assessment can qualify! TDI’s qualification system is a hybrid system that offers three ways to qualify.
- Placement: TDI’s system awards qualification from regional contests directly to TDI State Championship based on placement in the top third of each category (in each division) and the achievement of a minimum score. The minimum score is 79 in November and December. In January and February the score will be 80 for Dance A and Flag, 81 for Dance AA and 82 for Dance AAA.
- Automatic Bid: Flag Teams receiving a 86 or Dance Teams receiving a 90 regardless of placement, shall receive an Automatic Bid to the State Championship. There is no limit to the number of automatic bids that can be earned in a category or division.
- Wild Card Bid: Teams receiving scores ranging between 80-85.9 for Flag and 80-89.9 for Dance will be placed in a pool by category and will be eligible for a “WILD CARD” placement. There is no set number of wild card bids. The number of wild cards that will advance to State will be determined with the goal of providing meaningful competition in each category and division. There is no minimum or maximum number of wild cards that will advance to state. Wild cards will be offered on February 21st, 2010. For reference, in 2009 TDI offered just 4 teams out of 75 a wildcard bid.
Q: How do JV Teams Qualify?
A: JV teams that are members of TDI and have passed the online TDI Coach Knowledge Assessment can qualify for TDI’s JV Elite Championship. Essentially, the top 8 scoring performances with a score of 76 or greater, regardless of school class size and category, qualify to advance to the JV Elite Championship held during the TDI State Championship. The qualification will be based on score only. This means all teams (both dance and flag); all school sizes and all categories will compete together for the title! One one routine (highest scoring) per member team is eligible. Updates on which teams are in the top 8 will be offered weekly during the competition season. Final bids will be offered on February 21st, 2010.
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