The University of Maryland College Park invites all beginners to

Baby BAM Jam 2009
Dancesport Workshops & Competition
Sunday, April 19, 2009

Welcome! It is our great pleasure to invite you to this year's Baby BAM Jam. We have planned a day of fun and excitement filled with good company, great dancing, and exciting competition. We will have special workshops and general dancing, as well as a range of "serious" and and fun competitive events.

This event will be held in the Grand Ballroom in the Stamp Student Union at the University of Maryland College Park. Directions on how to get to the Student Union and where to park are here.

Event Schedule

We are pleased to announce that two series of workshops will be offered before the competition for the low price of $5 for one, $10 for both.

At 10 AM, Sean Murphy will teach a beginner latin workshop, and Neil Mitten will teach an intermediate standard workshop.

At 11 AM, Sean Murphy will teach an intermediate latin workshop, and Neil Mitten will teach a beginner standard workshop.

Workshops can only be paid for at the door.

The competition will begin at 12:15 PM.

PLEASE BE IN THE BALLROOM 30 MINUTES PRIOR TO YOUR EVENT.

The Following Schedule Contains APPROXIMATE Start Times:

American Smooth: 12:15 PM
International Standard: 1:15 PM
Rookie/Vet Waltz: 2:45 PM
American Rhythm: 3:45 PM
Rookie/Vet ChaCha: 4:00 PM
International Latin: 5:00 PM

Eligibility

The purpose of Baby BAM Jam is to provide as many opportunities as possible for beginner dancers to compete against equal competition in a friendly, feedback-conducive setting. Because there has been some confusion in the past about the purpose of each of the levels, we want to articulate the exact philosophy behind each level:

Beginner I is intended to be a good first competition for newcomers who started dancing this semester. Anyone who started dancing before January 2009 is not eligible.
Beginner II is intended for those who started dancing last semester, and may or may not have started competing yet. Anyone who started dancing before August 2008 is not eligible.
Beginner III is intended for those who started dancing last semester and have significant competition experience, or for those who started dancing last year but have relatively little competition experience. Anyone who started dancing before August 2007 is not eligible.

It is with this philosophy in mind that we have created rules governing these three levels. We encourage all team captains to enforce these rules as stringently as they can.

Participants also cannot have previously competed in silver or above to dance at Baby BAM Jam and may be disqualified at the organizers' discretion.

You can always dance at a higher level, but not a lower one.

Need a partner?

Partner Matching will be available on Sunday. Please listen for announcements throughout the day in the ballroom.

Registration and Fees

On line registration is available. On site registration will also be available at the event. We have some additional rules that you should be aware of before entering the competition.

Competition registration costs $15. Each workshop costs $5. This prices are the same for students and adults.

You can pay for the competition on line or at the door. The workshops can only be paid for at the door.

Rookie/Vet events

There will be 2 rookie/vet events at BAM Jam. One will be Waltz and one Chacha. You may use American and/or International moves. The rookie is anyone who has been dancing for less that 1 year.

To register: The rookie registers TBA on our web site or at add/drop, but you MUST have a vet, we WILL NOT be doing any partner matching for this event.

For more information or to share ideas/comments please feel free to e-mail us.

And see you at Baby BAM Jam.