How to run your first dance competition

A complete step-by-step guide for first-time competition organisers. Everything you need to know to plan, promote, and execute a successful dance competition.

Create Your Competition

Set up the basics of your competition including name, dates, and venue.

Choose a descriptive name for your competition
Set your competition dates (single or multi-day)
Select or create a venue with full address details
Define your available sections (categories, levels, and types)
Set your fee structure for host and participating schools

Invite Schools

Send invitations to schools you want to participate in your competition.

Add schools from the system or create new school profiles
Send email invitations with unique entry links
Track invitation status (pending, accepted, submitted)
Schools receive a secure link to enter their dancers

Manage Entries

Schools submit their entries and you can track progress in real-time.

View all entries organized by school
See dancer details, sections, and routine types
Track payment status for each school
Schools can add dancers, groups, and set their fee markup

Build Your Programme

Use the auto-build feature to create an optimized running order.

Set day schedules (start and end times for each day)
Configure adjudicator time between sections
Auto-build creates an optimized schedule minimizing dwell time
Manually adjust order by drag-and-drop
Insert breaks (short breaks, lunch, dinner)
Detect and resolve scheduling conflicts
Merge or split sections as needed

Publish & Communicate

Publish your programme and send it to all participants.

Review your complete running order
Add adjudicator, photographer, and marker details
Publish sends the programme to all schools and parents
Parents receive personalized schedules showing only their dancer's times
Download PDF programme for printing
Export report cards for adjudicators

Competition Day

Use live controls to manage your competition in real-time.

Access live control panel to mark sections as in progress or complete
Parents see real-time updates on their phones
Record results and placements
Track which sections are running on schedule
Make announcements visible to all parents

Pro Tips for First-Time Organisers

Start Early

Begin planning at least 3 months in advance. Send invitations 6-8 weeks before your competition to give schools time to prepare entries.

Set Clear Deadlines

Give schools a firm entry deadline (usually 2-3 weeks before the competition) so you have time to build and publish your programme.

Use Auto-Build

Let Compz's auto-build feature create your initial running order. It optimizes for minimal dwell time and balanced days. You can always adjust manually after.

Communicate Often

Keep schools and parents informed. Publish your programme early so parents can plan their day and know when their dancers are performing.

Ready to create your first competition?

Compz handles all the complexity so you can focus on delivering a great event.

Create Your Competition