Virtual ILHC Qualifier

Division	Format / Tempo / Structure	Awards
Virtual Jazz $10 / person	Competitors will submit TWO videos: a prelims video and a finals video. The prelims video will be reviewed by the judges and finalists will be selected. If the competitor becomes a finalist, the finals video will be reviewed by the judges and winners will be selected from the finalist videos. Choreography is allowed, but not required. Videos must feature ONE dancer. Both videos submitted for this contest must feature the same dancer. Videos must contain competitors dancing to the selected songs as provided by ILHC DJs. Prelims Music – choose one of the following songs: coming soon… Finals Music – choose one of the following songs: coming soon… Competition Registration Deadline is April 15, 2025! Video submission deadline for both videos is April 30, 2025.	1st – Free entrance to ILHC World Finals 2025 & Straight to semi-finals of All-Star Jazz at ILHC World Finals 2025 2nd – certificates 3rd – certificates
Virtual Classic $20 / couple	Lindy Hop routine division. Competitors (1 lead and 1 follow) dance to music of their choice. You may choose any song appropriate for lindy hop, including both modern and historical bands. You CANNOT do the same routine in the virtual classic and an in-person classic. Competitors will submit ONE video and the video must feature TWO dancers. No aerials, air-steps, acrobatics, or lifts in this division. “On the ground” moves (such as drops, slides, and splits) are allowed. Emphasis on partnering. Songs should be 2 – 2.5 minutes in length (or cut or faded within the time allotted). Competition Registration Deadline is April 15, 2025! Video submission deadline is May 7, 2025.	1st – Free entrance to ILHC World Finals 2025 & Free entrance into All-Star Classic at ILHC World Finals 2025 2nd – certificates 3rd – certificates
Virtual Jazz Team $50 / team	This is a solo vernacular jazz dance contest (non-partnered team dancing). Competitors dance to music of their choice. You may choose any song appropriate for jazz, including both modern and historical bands. Competitors will submit ONE video which must feature at least THREE dancers in the Jazz Team. You may compete in only 2 Jazz Teams. Please be considerate of your fellow dancers! Songs should be 2 – 2.5 minutes in length (or cut or faded within the time allotted). Competition Registration Deadline is April 15, 2025! Video submission deadline is May 7, 2025.	1st – certificates and $300 credit to ILHC World Finals 2025 & Free entrance into Jazz Team at ILHC World Finals 2025 2nd – certificates 3rd – certificates

Division	Format / Tempo / Structure	Awards
Youth Jazz FREE entry	Competitors 17 and under. Competitors dance to music of their choice. Routines must be a minimum of 1 minute and a maximum of 2 minutes in length. Competitors will submit ONE video which must feature ONE dancer. Competition Registration Deadline is April 15, 2025! Video submission deadline is April 30, 2025.	1st – certificate 2nd – certificate 3rd – certificate
Youth Showcase FREE entry	Competitors 17 and under. Competitors dance to music of their choice. There are no restrictions for camera use or editing in this competition. You may include people from multiple locations as long as they are edited into the video before submission. Competitors will submit ONE video which must feature TWO or more dancers. Couples and teams are allowed to participate! Routines may be a maximum of 2 minutes in length. Competition Registration Deadline is April 15, 2025! Video submission deadline is April 30, 2025.	1st – certificates 2nd – certificates 3rd – certificates

Eligible competitors will participate by submitting videos according to the rules and guidelines within these Competition Rules as well as the ILHC Competition Rules. These rules are designed to make participation in the video competitions at Virtual ILHC 2025 as equitable as possible for all contestants. Please read them carefully to ensure your video is produced properly and you are able to participate. By participating in the Virtual ILHC 2025 contests, each competitor agrees that they comply with these rules.

To maintain an inclusive and respectful environment, participants are free to express themselves outside of competition areas; however, political speech, clothing, or actions are not permitted during competitions or awards ceremonies. This policy aligns with international sporting standards, including Olympic guidelines, to ensure a focus on the shared experience of all participants, our dance, and the art. Any violations may be subject to review and appropriate action by event organizers, up to and including removal from competition, event or removal/refusal to post competition videos.

Competition Registration Deadline is April 15, 2025!

Best Practices for Video Production

*Some of these “dos” and “don’ts” do not apply to the Video Showcase and Youth Showcase divisions, which allow editing*

DO:

• Shoot your video using a high quality camera or smart phone
• Use appropriate lighting so everyone is visible without being overexposed or “blown out”
• Clean your camera lens before filming
• Shoot your video as 1080P at 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97 or 30 frames per second
• Position your camera appropriately far away from the dancers so that nobody is cut off and they are large enough in the frame
• Make sure both the music and your movement/footsteps can be heard on the recording
• Transfer your video from your phone to a computer and upload from computer
• Upload raw, unedited video files
• Upload the audio file you danced to (in choreography divisions when you choose the music)

DO NOT:

• Do NOT edit your videos in any way. This includes, but not limited to, cropping the beginning and end of the video, digitally reframing (zooming in), syncing the audio, or compressing to a smaller file size. Focus on the dancing and we will crop, frame, and sync the audio for you.
• Do NOT “Backlight” your performance (more light behind you than in front of you)
• Do NOT overly compress your video before uploading

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Video will be converted to 1080P in 29.97 frames per second. Because of this, sending you videos in 4k or at 60 frames per second does NOT enhance the end quality of the video, but DOES increase transfer and conversion times.

We will accept videos even if they do not meet every single one of these best practices. Please contact us if you have any questions or need any assistance.

Video Criteria

To be eligible to participate in the video contests, videos must meet the following eligibility criteria:

1. Videos MUST be created for the purpose of competing at Virtual ILHC 2025.
2. Videos CANNOT be uploaded to YouTube, Facebook, social media, or shared until after the official competition videos have been posted to YouTube—May 23-26, 2025.
3. Competitors must be the only people in the video. Please also ensure there are no other spontaneous participants (and that children and animals do not walk into the video).
4. To present yourself as clearly as possible, do your best to remove any clutter, mirrors, or other distracting elements from the area.
5. If possible, use landscape mode, but either landscape or portrait orientation are acceptable.
6. Competitors must be the rightful owner of the video being submitted and the email address associated with the entry.
7. Competitor performances and videos CANNOT verbally reference or include prominent third party logos, products, taglines, insignia, trademarks, signage or slogans other than International Lindy Hop Championships or ILHC. 

Video Showcase and Youth Showcase

8. There are no restrictions for camera use or editing in the Video Showcase or Youth Showcase. The video you submit for these competitions will not be edited by ILHC staff and will be shown as was provided by you.
9. We strongly encourage creative editing, ideas, etc of your videos. We also suggest dubbing in your music so the audience can hear both the music and your dancing, as is appropriate for your video. You have full creative control of these videos.
10. Please consider: Is the video edited well? Does it make appropriate use of pacing and music? Does it drag on, or will it hold an audience’s attention?

Video Solo Jazz, Video Classic, Video Solo Jazz Team, and Youth Solo Jazz

11. For all other video contests, do NOT edit your videos in any way. Videos must be taken in ONE shot. We will trim any extra footage before or after your dancing. We will also include your name and countries in a standard format.
12. Audio must be able to be clearly heard within your video. This includes the music played through speakers and the sound of your dancing (footwork, etc). We will dub in the music to make sure both the music and your dancing can be clearly heard.
13. All dancers must be on screen for the entire performance. Dancers can NOT dance off and back on camera. Allowances will be made for intros and outros. For example, dancers can dance onto camera during the intro of the performance.
14. Videos must be recorded from the front, from one location. Do NOT use a moving camera. Your camera may be operated by someone to pan left or right or to zoom in and out—keep the dancers fully in the camera.
15. Competitors must not use props of any type.

Video File and Submission

Videos must be uploaded to dropbox using our upload system, rp-scoring.com. Organizers will send a video request to each contestant after the competition signup deadline. 

All entries must be uploaded by the Submission Deadlines. Incomplete, unreadable, or unintelligible entries will be disqualified. Upon request, competitors must provide all information requested. 

ILHC is not responsible for the collection, submission, or processing of entries to the contests.

Video Certification

Upon submission, competitors will be asked to certify that they have reviewed their video and that it meets the above listed Criteria and that they have reviewed and followed the Competition Rules, specifically the Participate In Video Competitions and Code of Conduct sections.

Judging

Your submitted video will be initially reviewed by the ILHC team for correct content and then viewed and judged by the ILHC Judges. Competitors will be judged based on the dancing within the videos submitted. While the videos will be made public and we ask that they be as presentable as possible, your video quality and background will not impact the judges scores.

After the video submission deadlines, the videos will be processed for the judges’ review. For each contest, the Judges will be provided all of the videos at once for their review. They will be given a window of time to complete their scoring, after which the scores will be tabulated.

This online platform allows competitors to view their event competitions, verify personal data and bibs, as well as view their status for semis or finals.