DanceSport Talk

What a shambles. The IDSF is so determined to prove to the IOC how grown up it is that the organization no longer appears to be seeing straight on these issues. Edita Daniute of Lithuania (now the Amateur Standard world champion) tested positive for Subitramine back in September, following the German Open. Subitramine is banned only because it has been used at times as a masking agent for other sports drugs. The reason it was present in her system was, it turned out, because the product was included (without notice on the label) in a diet product she was using. This is a fact that was demonstrated to be true. The IDSF's anti-doping group apparently claimed that she should have known, since an obscure article mentioning this was published by a laboratory some time ago in a scientific white paper and posted to the Internet. Give me a break!

Naturally, she appealed. Yesterday the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) at Lausanne, Switzerland, upheld the absurd decision of the IDSF Disciplinary Counsel and her three-month suspension from September 14 to December 14, 2006.

This is so much stupidity. The drug was an unlabeled part of a common over-the-counter weight control product. There is no reason for this nonsense except to make an example out of her. Every dancer on the planet knows that Edita and Arunas Bizokas did not achieve their title through the use of illegal substances. But the IDSF is so determined to look big in front of the IOC that it is throwing out common sense in the process. I can just see the back slapping and nudge-nudge wink-wink banter going on between IDSF and IOC officials over this whole incident. What a sad day for the sport, and only because of the pride of a few people playing politics.

The International DanceSport Federation (IDSF) announced in a press release that they are planning to change their name to the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF). The release made the case that the name change was due to the fact that they represented "any dance style which is competitive in nature" which also includes Rock 'n Roll. I suppose they also plan to include Jazz, Modern, Hawaiian, Irish, Ballet, Tap, Salsa and others because these also involve competitions at various levels. Kind of a strange direction to be going in my opinion, but there you have it.

Yet that reasoning doesn't really explain the name change. What's the difference if you say "International" or you say "World" other than a couple of syllables? I suspect the real reason is the ongoing battle with the World Dance Council (WDC). They appear to be muddying the waters by using initials and a name that is very similar to create additional confusion. This is further reinforced by some of the inflammatory language by the IDSF president, who claimed that anyone holding to the view that professionals and amateurs should be separated was "living in the past."

The problem is that such a name change will do more to hurt the IDSF than to win points in this war. As anyone involved in marketing and branding will tell you, it is a very serious step to change your name. No matter how well you do it, nor how much money you spend in the process, a lot of people never make the connection between your old and new name. The auto maker Datsun spent hundreds of millions of dollars over 7 years to change their name to Nissan. At the end of that time, research showed that a surprisingly high percentage of folks still thought Datsun had gone bankrupt and that Nissan was a new car company. For the IDSF to make a name change with no meaningful difference is a step backwards. On top of that, to take on initials that are even closer to the rival group will make it look as if the WDC is winning this war. Someone really needs to step back and think this through a little more.

The WDC announced today the creation of a worldwide amateur registry. The registry was formed as the result of a motion from the Canadian CDDSC representative to the WDC, and was accepted with 32 votes in favor, 3 against and 6 abstaining. No doubt this will shake up the dance world even more in the coming weeks, but it was a step that we all knew would come eventually. Why create an amateur registry? The news release answered that question directly:

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Donnie Burns, MBE, the president of the WDC, published an open letter to Carlos Freitag, president of the IDSF, today, asking for the two parties to meet to talk through their differences in a constructive manner. I applaud this request and hope the IDSF takes it seriously. The language and accusations that have been thrown about lately have been a bit much, and it's time they begin talking face to face.

Burns proposed 4 possible dates for the meeting that would be beneficial to both groups because of their relationship to planned events.

I particularly like his plea to talk without lawyers present. Burns says, "We would suggest, in the first instance, that such a meeting should take place without legal advisers in attendance, unless you disagree. Our lawyers will of course attend if asked to do so, but we do believe that a constructive commercial approach to what divides us is plainly the most pragmatic way of resolving the current impasse. No one is helped by continuing acrimony between WDC on the one hand and IDSF on the other."

Let's see what comes of this request. Details available at DancesportInfo.net.