The Amateur Points System (APS) is a proficiency points system designed to encourage competitors to move to higher competitive levels based off of the competitor’s individual results. To understand the point system, one must first be aware that the levels under consideration are as follows:
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Novice
Pre-Championship
Championship/Open
While Championship/Open is listed as a competitive level, a competitor may not place out of championship/open as it is considered the highest achievable level for this points system. It can however contribute points to pre-championship and even lower in certain cases making it important to be listed in this context.
Points are awarded to an INDIVIDUAL competitor based on their placement in a final. This does mean that a lead could in theory have 10 points while the follow has only 5 but the couple as a whole in this case would have 15. Again, this will be important as we continue to understand the APS.
Points will be awarded to a competitor who places in the top 6 couples of an event with 15 couples who danced in said event. Unlike in other systems, the APS does not rely on a semi, quarter, or octafinal to provide points but rather uses the number of couples who dance in the event to ensure there was enough competitiveness to distribute points.
Points will be awarded to each INDIVIDUAL as follows:
1st – 6 points
2nd – 5 points
3rd – 4 points
4th – 3 points
5th – 2 points
6th – 1 point
This does mean that the winning couple receives a grand total of 12 points or 6 points per competitor. Competitors retain their own individual points so that in the case of a partner change, their individual points will carry over to the new partnership.
A COUPLE may not have 30 points or more cumulatively in a given level they wish to compete in. Hypothetically, if John has 20 points in silver and Melanie has 12 points in silver, they would have to compete in gold because they have a total of 32 points.
Points are doubled for levels below that in which they are received. If Jimmy danced in Pre-Championship and placed 4th, he receives 3 points towards his pre-championship tally and 6 points towards his novice tally. 30 points are received 2 levels below that in which a placement was earned. For Jimmy, this means he now has 30 points in Gold and therefore can no longer compete at that level.
Below are several clarifications to how points will be dictated.
- Competitors are responsible for tracking their own points. It is up to the organizer to make final decisions on points should a registration level be in question.
- Points are only awarded at competitions with professional judges.
- Points are received as both a leader and follow meaning if you place out of bronze as a leader, you cannot come back and compete bronze as a follow in the future.
- Points are awarded for events with the most number of dances in a given level (ie C/R is a 2 dance event with Sa and J as single dances, points will only be awarded in the C/R. Should an event have both a C/R and Sa/J, points will be awarded in both but halved → 1st = 3 points in C/R and 6th = 0.5 points in Sa/J).
- Points only count within a single style (ie points in standard have no impact to points in smooth).
- If the only non syllabus level is “Open,” points will then be awarded as if the event were pre-championship.