After a three-member task force had been installed to combat all forms of competition manipulation in DanceSport, it identified the process of “adjudicating” (judging) as particularly exposed to threats to its transparency and, in some cases, to the integrity. The Presidential Task Force to Combat Competition Manipulation (CCM TF) sought to remedy this by debriefing the adjudicators after they had assessed the dancers at determined competitions to improve their accountability.

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The CCM TF had published a White Paper on Competition Manipulation in 2016. In it, specific pitfalls in DanceSport adjudication and their historical context are described extensively. Regardless of dance style and the caliber of a competition, the challenges that these judges face are considerable.

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SAI designed the procedure and established the parameters for debriefing sessions to be held following top-level competitions using the Absolute Judging System. During these debriefing sessions, the Chair of the Adjudicators’ Commission reviewed the TV recordings of the dances in the final together with an individual adjudicator. Both kept their focus on the scores awarded by the adjudicator, with him or her expected to argue the validity of assessing the performances as reflected. The arguments brought forward by the adjudicator were made available online as a continuous stream of the entire debriefing session. With the adjudicator’s collaboration, his or her accountability was instantly restored!