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Unethical competitions
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Not certain I should get involved in this discussion since I organize a competition myself but…I am going to say a few things because, in the interest of being open and transparent, I AM open to people discussing any concerns they have with me about my event.
For those who don't know me well – I have never been a fan of the concept of competing because I feel that competitions are all about the "me" and not about the "us". Strangely I was convinced to run the Midwest Competition – which this year we are also hosting the North American Championships.
There was a huge discussion among a number of people on Facebook a couple of weeks ago about unethical competitions and organizers. This IS going to happen within any industry. But the problem CONTINUES because people continue to enter the competitions.
It really isn't our responsibility to support or not support the competitions or the organizers or the comeptitors themselves. The buck stops with those who enter the competitions and the showcases. It is up to the community to not enter competitions just because they feel they have no other means to showcase their skills or to experience a competition.
If you want things to change, stop participating and just wait it out until the right event comes along or organize one yourself.
FYI: People ARE listening, even if you don't hear about it – yet! You will all be seeing information soon about a large group of people in the pole community who are starting the ground work to set standards within the community for competitions.
However, no one can stop anyone else from forming competitions if they don't want to adhere to the recommended standards. So again – it's up to the community to enter or not enter such events.
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Look a few threads down regarding the Alethea DVDs that just hit and then ask again WHY people enter contests. I personally have a Karol tshirt and an Alethea hoodie. We all knew who Karol was because of youtube but NO ONE knew who Alethea was before that first USPDF competition. Are they making a lot of money touring? Probably not but there IS money involved. If either of them had not placed would you buy their merchandise? Would you book a workshop? At this point in the game it is branding your name and USPDF is probably the most known competition in the US.
I have heard things about different competitions. No competition is going to be perfect, but what makes one stand above the other is taking that criticism and using it to grow instead of using it to tear the community apart. We may not have the big name studios but I think the Midwest has the most ethically run competition.
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I am posting this on behalf of someone who would like to remain anonymous.
“Awhile back Alethea Austin took it upon herself to write a scathing review of Platinum Stages’s Star Stand Alone Pole because she is a voice in the community that will be listened to. The Pro’s have leverage int he community and if a pro wants to speak for “us” then she should do so in this matter as well. Instead of worrying about her 2nd Championship title why doesn’t she put her money where her mouth is and speak up for those who have been done wrong by the USPDF. Extending a deadline but not publicly announcing is not fair. Allowing LATE entries into a highly respected competition is unfair to those who followed the rules by either submitting on time or not submitting at all. If these Pro’s want to be pillars in our community they they also should serve our community and make the USPDF do what is right even if that means dropping out. If enough Pro’s made a statement we would all be heard as we were in the Platinum Stages debacle. This community should not support leaders who support unscrupulous tactics and nepotism in competitions. Not only should we boycott the competition, we should boycott those who support by competing in it. There are those in the community who would relinquish their coveted spot to do the right thing. If pro’s want our money they should respect us and stand up for us. We should not continue to support anyone involved in this kind of unfairness, it speaks volumes about their ethics and how they feel about us as a community. We should be seen as dancer’s and people not dollar bills.”
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Amy,
I am just wondering, is someone else actually writing this, and you are just letting them post it under your ID, or are these words yours and you are saying them but because you want to stand up for them (so to speak)? Is the other party also on this site?
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I am wondering why soooo many people submitted past the deadline? Do they not respect the rules or fellow entrants? Everyone needs to take responsibility for their actions. Uspdf should stick to their guns and make no exceptions, and the polers should respect the deadline. Everyone had months to submit. Why people wait till the very last second is strange to me…both parties are wrong!!
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As to the not submitting early part, I can kind of see that because you don't necessarily want other competitors seeing what you submitted and possibly trying to out do you. It is just a twisted view but this is probably the reason. As for the rules, USPDF did not have the time actually in the submission rules section. It was posted as a response when somone asked a question on the site and then in subsequent requests for clarification they never responded.
Here is a link to the guidelines:http://uspoledance.com/?page_id=340
Here is the info for the submission dates. http://uspoledance.com/?p=1268#comments
And Porshka, Amy wrote this at the beginning: If you have concerns that you don't feel comfortable posting, send me a message and I will post for you, anonymously.
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Porshka, that is the opinion of someone who is a member of this site, not mine. She asked me to post it anonymously, so I did.
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I am sad to hear this! 🙁
I do have to give a shoutout to pacific pole championships created by bj pettigrew and Amy guion. That was a competition executed amazingly and had a fair judging system in place with legitimate pole dancers as judges.
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I am sad to hear this! 🙁
I do have to give a shoutout to pacific pole championships created by bj pettigrew and Amy guion. That was a competition executed amazingly and had a fair judging system in place with legitimate pole dancers as judges.
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I'd like to point out that the Pole Dance Community has a set of standards – or Code of Conduct as we call it – for events which includes competitions:
http://www.poledancecommunity.com/join-us/codes-of-conduct
Any PDC approved event must comply with the code of conduct. This doesn't mean that events which are NOT PDC approved are not ethical but this is a place for people to start. The thing is there is no requirement for any competition or event organizer to follow any guidelines or criteria.
However, when the pole community in general supports groups like this they grow and have more influence in the community.
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wow, i just want to say that i, and a few others, feel personally attacked here. 🙁 I have nothing to do with the way USPDF picks submissions or handles their submission process. Do i agree that the deadline wasnt specified as well as it should have been in the info provided on the website, rather than in a reply to a comment at the bottom? YES. Do i think its wrong to allow late submissions, if that was the case? YES. Do i think that there needs to be a bit more transparency in the judging system? YES. Is it my place as a "pro" to boycott the competition, or drop out after ive already signed the paperwork, and completely shit on the organization that has given me, and this community so much recognition and validation? NO. This is only USPDF's 3rd year, and now the whole "organization" only consists of Wendy now since Anna has stepped away to do other things. Bottom line, pole dancing and USPDF and all these other competitions and organizations are still in their infancy when you really think about it. They are constantly changing and modifying and trying to make things better for the competitors. Why do i enter USPDF instead of other competitions? Money, yes. Because the prize money that is available to win. (which alot of these other competitons dont offer such a large cash prize. If you think we all wanted to win USPDF to tour and make money, youre mistaken. Yes, the notoriaty that comes with the title makes that possible, but i have worked my butt off to build my name in the pole community, and im not RICH by ANY means, alot of times i work almost for free! When i started touring, it wasnt because i won East Coast and i set out to get studios to hire me, no.. they contacted me. Prize money and all that aside, travel wise, its the easiest for me to get to.. I wouldve loved to enter the Pacific Pole competition that just went on, but like alot of these newer comps, i found out about it too late, and was already busy or booked on the date the comp was to be held, and wouldve been very costly for me to fly out, get a hotel, etc. Bottom line is, im feeling pretty shat on right now. I love this pole community, and its not USPDF that has made me who i am, its all of my hard work, dedication, sacrifice, blood, sweat, broken toes, tears, support and most of all, YOU, my fans, friends, and community.
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If this was in response to my post Karol please re-read what I wrote. I did not state that there was big money involved, nor did I state that USPDF was making you rich. I stated that it is the most well recognized competition and making it in that comp does get your name out there; it opens doors that would not have been open. This is one of the reasons people still and always will submit to competitions.
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Karol…please realize that a lot of us are not attacking YOU or ANYONE! For some of us it's just discussing the way to effectively deal with concerns if people have them. I for one am pretty sorry at how negative some of the comments have turned.
On Facebook someone has said that when they arise concerns should be directed to organizers of competitions and I agree with that whole heartedly! Which is why I stated I am trying to be open to communication with people about my event and hopefully other organizers feel the same.
However, it's a bit sad this morning to see the hurt feelings of many of the competitors who didn't deserve this! 🙁
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chloe, no that was not a response to your comment, but to this thread as a whole, in particular the "anonymous" comments.. Im sad that people are posting "anonymously" that alethea shouldnt have won 2010. Who are you to say that she didnt get a higher score in her compulsory and beat me that year by half a point? I had a flawless compulsory, and a couple misgrabs in my optional. I recall everyone having slip ups and misgrabs.
Its like having a best friend, and you overhear them talking trash about you to someone else, when all the while this is someone who you love and respect as your friend. 🙁
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People are being so hypocritcial. They are crying about fairness, well, why did so many submit past the deadline? They arent respecting the rules, or other entrants.
If the pole community wants fair competitions, they need to be respectful of the deadlines as well, and not put the organizers in this situation. If the entrants respected the deadline, there would be no issue right now.
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