Blackpool – 15/16 March

Venue Name & Address
Blackpool Tower Ballroom, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1 4BJ

Venue Parking
There are several car parks available in Blackpool Town centre that are within walking distance of the Tower.

Venue Food & Drink Rules
Blackpool Tower operate a strict policy that event attendees are not permitted to bring own food/drink to the event with the exception of 1 x 500ml sealed bottled of water. Bag searches may take place on arrival and any other food & drink items will be confiscated and can be collected from the security team on departure. Anyone with allergies/medical conditions requiring own food to be brought in must bring proof of this to present to the Tower security team.

Venue Food & Drink Availability
There will be a refreshments bar in the Ballroom serving a variety of hot/cold drinks and food options. The Tower is also situated within Blackpool town centre where there are various cafes/restaurants/food outlets available.

Seating Arrangements
We absolutely love hosting our events in the fabulous Tower Ballroom. The atmosphere is always electric and it is such a magical place to create special lifelong memories. The only downside to this amazing venue is the layout of the room and being able to accommodate our guests over the 3 floors with easy access to the dance floor for those competing. Quite often we see crowds of people congregating at ground floor level whilst the balconies above remain nearly empty. As well as being a health and safety concern, it can also make it quite stressful for the dancers taking part in the competition if they can’t easily move on and off the floor when it is their turn to compete. So we would like to encourage all guests to adhere to the following guidelines where possible…..

Each dance school will be allocated a reserved area which will be located on one of the three levels. This is for dancers and their spectators to use during their section of the competition day.

For the schools that have been allocated a ground floor area, dancers & parents must use the seats provided and leave the floor space in front of their seats clear.

For the schools that have been allocated a reserved area on a balcony, we invite the teachers to bring the participants dancing in that section down to sit around the edge of the dance floor immediately below their balcony seats so that they have easy access to the dance floor when it is their turn to compete. Please take care not to block aisles/gangways and encourage participants to keep feet tucked in.

There will also be an area of unreserved seating on the second balcony (tiered seating). This is an area for participants and spectators that arrive early to wait until their section is due to start or to use if staying to watch other sections perform. We would appreciate it if people would make us of this space especially if their dance school reserved space is already quite busy.

Entry Wristbands – advanced price via the dance school/teacher
1 Day – £25.00
2 Day – £35.00

Entry Wristbands – door price
1 Day – £30.00
2 Day – £40.00
Upgrade from 1 day to 2 day – £10.00
(Please note that door sales will be subject to availability. Availability will be confirmed here one week before the event date).

Wristband Policy

⭐️ All participants & spectators require an entry wristband (except for pre-school aged children that are not participating).

⭐️ As far as our door staff are concerned, your wristbands are the only proof of purchase. Lost, forgotten or damaged wristbands will not be replaced so please make sure you have them with you otherwise there will be strictly no admittance to the event.

⭐️ Before approaching the venue entrance, please ensure that all attendees in your party have got their wristbands securely fastened and ready for inspection. For security reasons, please keep wristbands on for the duration of your visit.

⭐️ Refunds will not be issued for unused wristbands.

Arrival Information

⭐️ Please enter the Tower using the PROMENADE ENTRANCE. These doors will be open from 10.30am Saturday and 7.30am Sunday. Once in the building, please turn left and come up one flight of stairs to the circus entrance.

⭐️ At this point, the security team from Blackpool Tower will conduct a bag search for all guests (please see venue information notes re food/drink policy)

⭐️ After the bag search, you will then be invited to join the main entry queue ready for the Ballroom doors opening. These doors will open from 11.15am Saturday and 8.15am Sunday.

⭐️ Once the initial queues at the start of each day have been admitted into the Ballroom, the circus queuing system will be closed and all guests arriving later should come straight up the 2 flights of stairs to the Ballroom entrance.

⭐️ A maximum of 3 people from each dance school (teachers/admin staff) are permitted to do a little queue jump and enter the Ballroom 15 minutes before the main Ballroom doors open so that numbers & medals can be collected and seats located. These appointed people should bypass the circus entrance and come up another flight of stairs to the next floor. These ballroom doors will be open 11.00am Saturday and 8.00am Sunday.

A Body of Persons Approval (BOPA) has been issued for this event by Blackpool Council. Under BOPA conditions, the priority is to ensure the safety and well-being of all event participants, with particular attention to children up to school-leaving age. This should be considered a team effort between

Event Organisers
Event Staff
Licensed Chaperones
Dance School Teachers/Leaders
Parents/Guardians/Responsible Adults

It would be much appreciated if all attendees could take note of the following information….

PARTICIPANT SIGN IN/SIGN OUT PROCEDURE
On arrival and departure, event participants are asked to inform their teacher/group lead so that they can record attendance times at the event.

PARTICIPANT SUPERVISION
Under BOPA conditions, it is a requirement that all participants up to school-leaving age are supervised by their parent/guardian at all times. Participants of this age will not be permitted to pass our door/security team without their parent/guardian accompanying them.

FIRST AID
Should anyone require medical assistance at any time during their visit, a First Aid team will be available in the Ballroom. They will be located on the ground floor on the right-hand side of the stage (near to the merchandise stall)

CHANGING ROOMS
Changing facilities will be available at the venue. Please ask a member of Cheerdance UK staff if you wish to use these. For safeguarding reasons, participants up to school-leaving age must be accompanied their parent/guardian into the changing area. It is strictly prohibited to take photos/videos in this area. Changing is not permitted in public areas unless the participant is wearing a base layer i.e. leotard, sports crop top/shorts etc.

CLOTHING/FOOTWEAR
⭐️ Please ensure that costume, hair & make up choices are appropriate for the age of the participant.
⭐️ Please ensure that shoe laces are fastened and secured.
⭐️ Please remove or cover all jewellery.
⭐️ If short skirts are being worn, please ensure that shorts providing adequate coverage are worn underneath.

FOOD/CHEWING GUM
Participants are not permitted to eat food or chew gum during warm up or competition.

AISLES/GANGWAYS/SEATING ON FLOOR
Please ensure that aisles & gangways are kept clear at all times. If participants are sitting on the side of the dance floor, please ensure that feet are kept tucked in.

PHOTOGRAPHY/FILMING OF SOLO/PAIRS EVENTS AND ALL AWARDS PRESENTATIONS
As this is a private event for event participants and their family/friends, our organisation would like to be able to permit the use of cameras to capture these special memories. We would however like to bring your attention to the following:

⭐️ If you are intending to upload photos/videos of your participant to social media, it is recommended that you consider your privacy settings so that you limit your audience to close friends & family.
⭐️ Where possible try to focus the camera on your own participant. Please bear in mind that for safeguarding reasons or personal preference, some fellow participants might not want to appear on social media. Please consider this if uploading to online platforms. There are some great editing tools available to blur/crop images so that you can eliminate other participants that might appear.
⭐️ If anyone does have any concerns/objections to this or would like us to make adjustments for any particular event, please speak to your dance school lead who will communicate this with our events team.

PHOTOGRAPHY/FILMING OF SQUAD EVENTS
One nominated person from the dance school performing their squad routine may video the routine from the front. It is strictly prohibited for anyone else in the venue to take a video recording. It is then at the teachers’ discretion where that recording gets shared. This is so that the teacher can decide who has access to their choreography and also for safeguarding reasons which are considered different to a solos/pairs type event. Still photographs are permitted but please consider the points highlighted in the solos/pairs sections above.

CHEERDANCE UK SOCIAL MEDIA
From time to time, our social media team may take photographs or short videos of the competitions for use on Cheerdance UK online platforms. Our team will avoid any ‘close up’ photos/videos of individual dancers, with the focus being on the full event space/larger groups of participants. If anyone does have any concerns/objections to this, please speak to your dance school lead who will communicate this with our events team.

EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE
On arrival, please familiarise yourself with the emergency exits in the venue.
Blackpool Tower has a two-stage alarm system. Stage 1 is an intermittent sounding alarm indicating that attendees should prepare to evacuate. Stage 2 is a more continuous sounding alarm indicating that attendees should proceed to their nearest emergency exit.
The assembly point for Blackpool Tower is on Bank Hey Street (the street that runs between the Tower and Hounds Hill shopping centre).

If you are a responsible adult accompanying an event participant, if safe to do so, please try to locate your dance school lead person at the assembly point to let them know that you have safely evacuated the building.

CHILD PROTECTION & SAFEGUARDING POLICY
Click here to view our child protection/safeguarding policy

REPORTING SAFEGUARDING CONCERNS
The Designated Safeguarding Lead for Cheerdance UK is Gemma Bynert.
Gemma will be in attendance for the duration of the event and will be based on the stage. Alternatively, you can email info@cheerdance.co.uk

Tower Doors Open – 10.30am
Ballroom Doors Open to Teachers – 11.00am
Ballroom Doors Open to Participants & Spectators – 11.15am

Saturday Section 1 – 12 & 13 Years
• Set Solo Level 1
• Set Solo Level 1 Additional Needs
• Set Solo Level 2
• Set Solo Level 2 Additional Needs
• Set Solo Level 3
• Set Solo Level 4
• Set Solo Level 5
• Cheer Fusion Solo
• Pairs
• 13 Years & Under Squads
WITHIN THIS SECTION, THERE WILL ALSO BE AN OPTION FOR 10/11 YEARS TO COMPETE IN SOLOS & PAIRS. THE MAIN 10/11 SECTION IS SUNDAY EVENING HOWEVER THIS CAN BE TAKEN AS AN ALTERNATIVE IF PREFERRED.

Saturday Section 2 – 14 & 15 Years
• Set Solo Level 1
• Set Solo Level 1 Additional Needs
• Set Solo Level 2
• Set Solo Level 2 Additional Needs
• Set Solo Level 3
• Set Solo Level 4
• Set Solo Level 5
• Cheer Fusion Solo
• Pairs
• 15 Years & Under Squads
• Option for parents to dance Set Solos Level 1-5 and Cheer Fusion Solo

Saturday Section 3 – 16 Years & Over
• Set Solo Level 1
• Set Solo Level 1 Additional Needs
• Set Solo Level 2
• Set Solo Level 2 Additional Needs
• Set Solo Level 3
• Set Solo Level 4
• Set Solo Level 5
• Cheer Fusion Solo
• Pairs
• 17 Years & Under Squads
• 18 Years & Over Squads

Event Choices/Limits
Mainstream competitors may enter a maximum of 3 events.
If entering 3 events, at least one of these must be a Cheer Fusion Solo or Pairs.

Parent competitors may enter a maximum of 3 events.
If entering 3 events, at least one of these must be a Cheer Fusion Solo.

Event Guidelines
Click here to view guidelines for SET ROUTINE SOLOS
Click here to view guidelines for CHEER FUSION SOLOS
Click here to view guidelines for PAIRS EVENTS
Click here to view guidelines for SQUAD EVENTS

Event Times
Once the event entries have been received and processed, this page will be updated with the estimated times for each section. This information will be provided approximately one week before the event date.

Age Categories
Once the event entries have been received and processed, this page will be updated with the age categories for each of the solos & pairs events. This information will be provided approximately one week before the event date.

Tower Doors Open – 7.30am
Ballroom Doors Open to Teachers – 8.00am
Ballroom Doors Open to Participants & Spectators – 8.15am

Sunday Section 1 – 5 Years & Under
• Set Solo Level 1
• Set Solo Level 1 Additional Needs
• Set Solo Level 2
• Set Solo Level 2 Additional Needs
• Set Solo Level 3
• Set Solo Level 4
• Set Solo Level 5
• Cheer Fusion Solo
• Pairs
• 5 Years & Under Squads
• Option for parents to dance Set Solos Level 1-5 and Cheer Fusion Solo

Sunday Section 2 – 6 & 7 Years
• Set Solo Level 1
• Set Solo Level 1 Additional Needs
• Set Solo Level 2
• Set Solo Level 2 Additional Needs
• Set Solo Level 3
• Set Solo Level 4
• Set Solo Level 5
• Cheer Fusion Solo
• Pairs
• 7 Years & Under Squads
• Parents Squads

Sunday Section 3 – 8 & 9 Years
• Set Solo Level 1
• Set Solo Level 1 Additional Needs
• Set Solo Level 2
• Set Solo Level 2 Additional Needs
• Set Solo Level 3
• Set Solo Level 4
• Set Solo Level 5
• Cheer Fusion Solo
• Pairs
• 9 Years & Under Squads
• Option for parents to dance Set Solos Level 1-5 and Cheer Fusion Solo

Sunday Section 4 – 10 & 11 Years
• Set Solo Level 1
• Set Solo Level 1 Additional Needs
• Set Solo Level 2
• Set Solo Level 2 Additional Needs
• Set Solo Level 3
• Set Solo Level 4
• Set Solo Level 5
• Cheer Fusion Solo
• Pairs
• 11 Years & Under Squads

Event Choices/Limits
Mainstream competitors may enter a maximum of 3 events.
If entering 3 events, at least one of these must be a Cheer Fusion Solo or Pairs.

Within each section of the day, the running order will be as follows:

Warm Up/Practise Music for Solos
Set Solo Level 2 – First Rounds
Set Solo Level 4 – First Rounds
Set Solo Level 1 – First Rounds
Set Solo Level 3 – First Rounds
Set Solo Level 5 – First Rounds
Cheer Fusion Solo – First Rounds

Recall rounds of all Set Solos & Cheer Fusion Solos (in no particular order)

Finals rounds of all Set Solos & Cheer Fusion Solos (in no particular order)
The presentation of prizes will take place immediately after the final has taken place.

Warm Up/Practise Music for Pairs
Pairs events to completion including presentation of prizes.

Warm Up/Practise Music for Squads
Squad events including presentation of prizes.

Our merchandise stall will be situated in the hall selling a super range of Cheerdance UK merchandise. Feel free to come and take a look at what we have on offer. Cash and credit/debit cards accepted.

In 2019, one of our regular Cheerdance competitors passed away under very tragic circumstances. Jodie from LJ Cheer in Cumbria, loved travelling to our competitions with her teammates and is missed dearly by them all.

As a little tribute to Jodie, we had a memorial shield made which travels to our Blackpool Tower competition and is awarded to the dance school that we feel brings the most TEAM SPIRIT to the Saturday event.

So over the course of the day on Saturday, we will have a little team of people that will be watching out for dance schools that are….

* supporting and cheering for their teammates

* supporting and cheering for competitors from other dance schools

* showing courtesy and respect to the people around them and observing all rules & guidelines requested.

* and most importantly having a great time!

At previous events, there have been some occasional little bursts of cheers for Jodie. We encourage and welcome this as it means so much to Jodie’s family and friends that her memory is kept alive. So please, if there’s an appropriate opportunity, please go for it!

Let’s do this for Jodie ❤️💙🤍

With the exception of reporting safeguarding concerns, we respectfully ask that dancers/parents direct all enquiries about the event to their dance teacher/school representative and respectfully ask that attendees do not contact us directly.