Competitive Ballroom Dancing In Slovenia After Pandemic - Implementation of The Medal System?

Competitive ballroom dancing is a well organised sports activity in Slovenia. In 1990s and early 2000s it was a very popular sport among Slovenian youth. The large quantity of dancers, competition among dance clubs and teachers resulted in the Slovenian Golden Generation with many World Champions. In the last decade however we are witnessing a drastic decline of active competitive dancers in Slovenia. Best Slovenian teachers teach couples abroad. The COVID-19 pandemic rendered the situation even worse. National and international competitions are cancelled and only the most motivated couples are still holding to their regular training regimes. It is difficult to predict what will happen with Slovenian ballroom scene after the pandemic. Most likely the number of couples returning to competitions after loss of one whole season and a half will drop substantially. The alternative to existing Slovenian competition system could be the »medal system«, common in many countries in Europe, Americas and Asia. System can be independent from the competition system by DanceSport Federation of Slovenia or can be implemented into the system. The bronze, silver and gold levels are achieved by demonstrating the knowledge and usage of the dance techniques and figures in front of expert adjudicators similar to the »belt system« used in combat sports. Slovenia is one of few countries that does not practice the medal system. The time after the pandemic is a great opportunity to systematically implement the ballroom medal system and AMEU Dance Academy could be the competent organization for its implementation.