The contest used to be an annual "friendly contest" among participating seven swing dance clubs in OK and KS states. Although there has been some reorganization and drop out of some clubs, there are still four clubs carrying out the contest this year.
I went there on 11/4 Saturday night for some social dance and for watching the contest.
While watching strictly swing contest, I was making mental notes for judging, just for fun.
There were several couples. After watching them all, there were a few couples I picked for winners, according to my judgement.
One couple was evenly matched. Both could move well. Skills and presentation were good.
Another couple was slightly uneven, with a stronger-looking follower.
Usually in West Coast Swing contest settings, female followers are stronger as dancers than the male leaders (at least in amateur-level and in the same level category). Possibly, the look is emphasized by a characteristics of WCS that she has to move more (that means, her motions and executions tend to affect the overall look of the dance more). At the same level, he could get away with a little more amateurish motions in many cases.
I'm not complaining or anything. It's just how the game of WCS is practiced. It actually is rare to find an evenly-matched, both attractive dancer-couple. ...I digress.
The second couple was inserting a few showy moves that highlights her clean execution in the dance. It was a good strategy. These moves were memorable. After all, it is a contest, and there is nothing wrong with preparing something to win for the contest.
Apparently the judges collectively saw it in similar way. These two couples got the second and the first places.
In judging, clean and memorable moves tend to score higher. There are some room for a couple for planning and for making a strategy for a contest. With good planning, you can score higher than an overall stronger couple. Watching the plan and its execution is also a way to enjoy and appreciate contests.
..... above was one of my thoughts. I enjoyed social dancing and chatting with friends. It was a good time.
[OK/KS state swing dance championship, 11/4/2017]
