The Dance Super Bowl

The time of year has come where for the dance community, it is our “Super Bowl.” While it is an exciting time, it is important to remember that this competition, the UCA & UDA College Cheer and Dance Nationals, is one of the hindrances to dance team members being recognized as athletes by the NCAA.

While in college, I had the privilege of being a member of the Ole Miss Rebelettes dance team and in law school served as the Graduate Assistant for the team. In witnessing how beneficial it would be for the NCAA to recognize dance teams; I decided to write a law review article that was later published titled Not Just Pretty Girls with Pom Poms: An Argument for the NCAA and the Office of Civil Rights to Recognize Collegiate Dance Teams as a Sport. Being a member of a collegiate dance team is extremely rewarding. Yet, we were often shorted places to practice and not given the same benefits/scholarships as other student-athletes. However, most universities hold dance team members to the same standards and rules as the other athletes.

One of the reasons a dance team is not recognized as a sport is because it is a traditional sideline team that does not exist for the sole purpose of competition. Specifically, in Biedger v. Quinnipiac University, the court held Varsity Spirit competitive events, such as the UCA & UDA College Cheer and Dance Team Championship, were not similar enough to other varsity contests. A huge problem is as the rules currently stand, per Varsity’s rules, “All participants must be official members of that school’s spirit team…official members of the school’s spirit team are recognized by their institution as the actual sideline/courtside spirit team that regularly supports their school athletic teams.” The teams that are competing at the UDA College Nationals are a mix of both. Therefore, as long as dance teams are only presented with limited opportunities to “compete” up to NCAA standards, dance teams are stuck in the in-between and will fail to be recognized as a sport and reap all of the benefits that come along with being recognized as an “athlete.”

Recognizing these dancers as true student-athletes would allow them more opportunities to receive full scholarships covering tuition and fees, room, board, and course-related books. Dance team members receive little to no scholarships for their efforts. Teams practice anywhere from fifteen to twenty hours a week, not including performing at several other athletic events in between. The athletes put in the work and are held to the same standards every other athlete is subjected to but without recognition.

A dance team member trains five days out the week consisting of weight training twice a week in the mornings, three to four hours of rehearsal in the afternoon, and a sporting event to attend somewhere in the mix, like many other athletes. Some weeks in the fall, members are expected to attend practice and workouts, perform at basketball and football games, and maintain their studies. While doing all of these requirements, somehow they still find time and then give up their winter breaks to prepare to compete at their own championship.

Therefore, going into the Dance Team Super Bowl weekend and the weeks to follow, I would urge the emphasis be put on the talent and athleticism of the dancers, the creativity and brilliance of the choreographers, and the support and preparation from the coaches and staff. These men and women have devoted several hours of training and preparation for this moment and deserve to be recognized and celebrated for it. While it is the one weekend a year that the focus is on the teams themselves, I would hope not too much weight would be given to the competition that had hindered the moving of the needle for the dance team as a sport. I am hopeful that there is a path forward for dance team one day becoming a “sport” and look forward to being able to continue my research on the topic.

Here is the link to read my law review article: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4038444

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