Competitor Information

Everything you need to know

International Pole Championship

International Pole Championship – Grand Finals will be hold in Hong Kong on 15 of March 2012 at HK Jockey Club Amphitheatre in Academy of Performing Arts. The list of finalists will be published in December 2011.

Divisions

The International Pole Championship includes four divisions: Women’s Division, Men’s Division, Doubles Division and Disabled Division.

Number of competitors, per division

Women – 6
Men – 6
Doubles – 6
Disabled – 3

Categories (aka Titles)

Performers in each division will be competing for the title of ‘Ultimate Champion’ in their division (for example, Ultimate Men’s Champion, Ultimate Doubles Champions etc). In the Men’s and Women’s divisions, competitors will also be have the opportunity to win the title of ‘Pole Fit’ or ‘Pole Art’ Champions. (Pole Fit and Pole Art categories are not available in the Doubles or Disabled divisions.)

Ultimate Champion (Men’s, Women’s, Doubles, Disabled)
Pole Art Champion (Men’s, Women’s)
Pole Fit Champion (Men’s Women’s)

What the judges are looking for

POLE FIT: Pole Fit Champion is awarded to the competitor who demonstrates the most original, strong and creative pole tricks and combinations whilst using flawless technique and smooth transitions combined with dance/movement in an entertaining routine. Judges will be looking for pole moves and combination that display a high degree of difficulty.

POLE ART: Pole Art Champion is awarded to the competitor who performs a routine that is more performance based. They are expected to perform a themed routine in which they will develop a character and tell a story. The performance and routine should be more focused on movement to music, showmanship, interpretation of their song and creative choreography. The competitor is still expected to show a high level of skill and technique on the pole but the performance side of the routine is where the majority of points will be awarded.

ULTIMATE: Ultimate Pole Champion is awarded to the competitor who demonstrates a high level of skill, strength, flexibility, flow, technical ability and showmanship in both categories of Pole Fit and Pole Art and overall, scores the highest number of points.
Back to Top

Awards

In addition to the titles presented to the winners in each division, the following industry awards will also be presented at the IPC world finals. The guidelines and nomination process for these awards will be released on the IPDFA website on 1 November 2011

2011 IPDFA POLE INDUSTRY AWARD
2011 IPDFA STUDIO OF THE YEAR
2011 IPDFA INSTRUCTOR OF THE YEAR
2011 IPDFA CHOREOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

How To Enter

Selecting a Division

You are not required to nominate whether you wish to be considered for ‘Pole Art’, ‘Pole Fit’ or ‘Ultimate’. These are not divisions, these are judging categories or titles which every competitor in the Men’s and Women’s division has the opportunity to win.

Semi-Finals

Semi finals are held by video. There are two ways to gain entry to the semi finals: 1) through granted entry and 2) through video entry. See below for more details.

National Competition Winners – Granted Entry

Anyone who has won either a state, territory, regional or national competition or higher, where said competition has been approved for granted entry by IPC competition, is eligible to submit their video and application online. (Please note that national winners will be given preference over state, territory or smaller regional competitions.) Applicants of this section will be in titled to Granted Entry for Semi Finals.

If you would like the winner of your competition to be awarded a granted entry place to semi finals please see the section “How do competitions earn granted semi-final entry for their winners?” below for more information.

Public – Video Entry

Applicants who did not enter or win a competition that is elgible for granted entry (see above) are still able to apply to compete in the semi finals by submitting a video online at www.polechampionvideo.com/register. These public entries do NOT guarantee the entrant a position in the Semi Finals round. The best of the public applications will be selected by our jury to be included in the Semi Finals judging.

Wild Card and Granted Entry to Finals

IPC reserves the right to invite, at their discretion, national and regional competition winners to take up a granted entry positions in the grand finals. All wild card and granted entries will be required to enter a video of a routine that is in line with IPC guidelines before their entry to either the semi finals or grand finals is accepted and approved.

How do competitions earn granted semi-final entry for their winners?

Applications for competitions to apply for granted entry will be open on the 1st September 2011 and close 25th November 2011.

Competitions must apply for granted entry by filling in the on-line application form at www.polechampionship.com/register and submitting an entry fee of approx 30USD (250 HKD) Information required for this application includes a brief description about their competition, a description/outline of their categories and divisions along with competition guidelines, rules, entry process, judging criteria and information about their judges and how the judges are selected.

Once this is submitted then IPC will review the application and if it meets the IPC guidelines, it will be approved. If all the competition systems, guidelines, judging criteria and selection process deem to be transparent, fair and reasonable then the competition will be approved and their winner(s) will reserve the right to gain granted entry through to the IPC semi finals.

Video Entry – Rules and Requirements

Rules and Requirements for Entry Videos

Video must be well lit, with performer and pole easily visible
Applicants are required to use two poles; 1 static, 1 spin, and must demonstrate trick combinations on both
Video must not include or show any other person than the applicant
Minimum 2 mins, maximum 4 mins
Video cannot be edited in any way; it must show continuous dance performance of the applicant (eg: may not fade in from one trick and out to another).
Video must be upright for viewing – not sideways
For those entering Doubles division, competitors must submit seperate applications, with the same video

Key Dates

1^st October 2011: IPDFA will start showcasing profiles of the competitors.
25^th November 2011: Closing day for registration.
1^st December 2011: “Pole Idol” voting starts.
15^th December 2011: Announcement of “Pole Idol” winner – based on the competitor who gets the most votes. Jury will invite this finalist to the Grand Finals. Voting for the “Pole Idol” 2012 will be closed at 9 a.m. HKT
10^th January 2011: Official announcement of Finalists of the International Pole Championship 2012
1^st February 2012: Announcement of prizes for winners.
14^th March 2012: Competitors arrival at Hong Kong- transportation and accommodation will be arranged by IPDFA. Evening – Meeting and welcome drinks.
15^th March 2012: Grand Final held at HK Jockey Club Amphitheatre and After Party.
16^th March 2012: Champions Workshops.
17^th March 2012: Professional Convention for National Pole Organizations