Dancers of the Year

The draw for the LVIWSRDA Dancer(s) of the Year takes place at the annual Spring Round-Up usually held on the first Sunday in May each year. The individual club dancers of the year (couples or singles – one entry per club) who are willing to stand for LVIWSRDA Dancer(s) of the Year participate in the draw. The term of the honour runs from June 1 to the following May 31.

The winner(s) has(have) possession of the perpetual LVIWSRDA Dancer of the Year trophy for the year (after the current year name plate has been engraved and affixed). The trophy must be returned to the LVIWSRDA not later than the day of the following year’s Spring Round-Up. A keeper plaque will be presented to the outgoing dancer(s) of the year at this dance.

Each winner receives a personalized Dancer of the Year badge plus a token for free pay parade/dance admissions. Winners are encouraged to wear their badges at all dances and events they attend during the year.

The pay parade token is valid for free admission to:

• LVIWSRDA and VDCTA sponsored dances (e.g., summer Mainstream dances at Colwood and Royal Oak Halls, Spring Round-Up, Joint LVIWSRDA/UVISDA Dance).
• UVISDA and UVICTA sponsored dances – ask first to confirm.
• regular club dances as a visitor on the Lower Island and the Upper Island (Upper Island – ask first to confirm). Clubs where you are a member may or may not honour the pay parade token – ask first to confirm.

The pay parade token is not valid for admission to:

• special events (e.g., summer campout/dance weekends).
• dances where admission is by donation (e.g., hall benefit dances).

The pay parade token only needs to be shown. Do not place it in a pay parade basket as you must keep it for future use. Sign in as Dancer(s) of the Year; if dancing up island add “LVIWSRDA”. A club or association may ask for your primary/home club affiliation for insurance purposes.

Free privileges do not apply to club membership fees unless a club chooses to waive them at the club level. Membership fees for the CSRDS and the BCSRDF and club member assessments and postage for the Cross Trail News are still required to be remitted by clubs.

The Dancer(s) of the Year is(are) a voting member of the LVIWSRDA Association Council (Bylaws Section 5.1(d)). Meetings are usually held at 3:00 PM on the fourth Sunday in September, November, January, March, and April (AGM) at Colwood Community Hall.  At each meeting the Dancer(s) of the Year usually report on their dancing activity since the previous meeting. Reports should also be submitted by email to the LVIWSRDA secretary to facilitate preparation of the meeting minutes. Attendance at these meetings is requested but not required. Meetings usually adjourn by 4:00 PM. Agendas and minutes are distributed by email.

Prior to the September, November, January, and March meetings the VDCTA sponsors a one and a quarter hour free square and/or round dance workshop beginning at 1:30 PM. The April AGM is preceded by a free dance. A single Dancer of the Year may invite a dance partner to these workshops/dances. The guest may also attend the meeting that follows.

Dancers of the Year are encouraged to visit other clubs and to attend special dances and meetings. Each Dancer of the Year determines for themselves how much club visiting they do. It is not a competition to see how many dances you can attend during the year. Most clubs will acknowledge the Dancer(s) of the Year’s attendance during their announcements.

The editor of the Cross Trail New will ask you to provide a brief autobiography (up to about 300 words) and photo for publication in the September-October-November issue. What you include in your autobiography is your choice – personal and square dancing information, or just your square dancing activities. Please email this submission, together with a photo of yourself/yourselves, to crosstrailnews@shaw.ca. The deadline is June 30. You can read prior year submissions in past September-October-November issues of the CTN.

In case you are not familiar with abbreviations that we use, here are what they stand for:

• LVIWSRDA – Lower Vancouver Island Western Square & Round Dance Association
• VDCTA (or V&DCTA) – Victoria & District Caller Teachers Association
• UVISDA – Upper Vancouver Island Square Dance Association
• UVICTA – Upper Vancouver Island Caller Teachers Association
• BCSRDF (or BCS&RDF) – BC Square & Round Dance Federation (squaredance.bc.ca)
• CSRDS – Canadian Square & Round Dance Society (csrds.ca)
• CTN – Cross Trail News

Lower Vancouver Island (from Duncan south and including the southern Gulf Islands) is BCSRDF Region 1 (region1.squaredance.bc.ca). Upper Vancouver Island (north of Duncan and including Powell River) is Region 8 (region8.squaredance.bc.ca). On the east side of Vancouver Island the boundary between Regions 1 and 8 is the Chemainus River.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask any member of the LVIWSRDA executive. Contact information is on the inside front cover of each printed issue of the Cross Trail News. You may also leave a message through the CONTACT page on this website.