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DSA Entry System - Celebrating 5 Years of Online Competition Entries
This year marks 5 years since the inception of the DSA Online Competition Entry System. It is hard to imagine the old system; sending out letters, studio entry forms, emails, and cheques… and of course the last-minute phone calls to make sure your entries were received on time.
These days we just login via the DSA website at any time, day or night, select the competition, and place our entries. Simple as that. Most importantly, we know our entries are instantly in the hands of the competition organisers.
Before we move on, here are some interesting statistics.
(Please note all figures are as of 1 February 2021)
- First online competition = 2016 Queensland National DanceSport Championship
- Number of Competitions that has utilised the system = 512 Competitions
- Number of Couples and Individuals that placed entries = 45,292
- Total number of events offered = 54,622 events
- Total number of events entered = 150,175 events
- Number of Organisers currently using the system in Australia = 45 Organisers
- Other countries that use the Entry System = Italy, Taipei, Singapore
So how does the Entry System work? How did it evolve? Why have it? And what makes it different to others?
The DSA Entry System is an online facility which is fully integrated with the DSA national registration database. This digital union is what sets the system apart from many other methods which are no more than glorified email gathering exercises.
The Entry System draws data from the registration database including a competitors age, their registered Division, competition grade, and accreditation qualifications to determine their eligibility to enter events. This enables the system to automatically list only the events a couple or individual are eligible to compete in.
The first competition to use the DSA Entry System was the Queensland National DanceSport Championship held on the 26th and 27th March in 2016. In the early years, only competition entries were collected using the system. The initial setup was done on DanceSportLive and was transferred onto the DSA website around 2 years ago. Since then, we have seen numerous upgrades and many more features have been added including the ability to pay entry and ticket fees.
Every competition organiser in Australia now utilises the Entry System which has created a simple “One Stop Shop” for all.
Scrutineers and event management have also benefitted enormously from the system as it allows them to download accurate competition data at the touch of a button. Proposed timetables and back number information can be processed and distributed quickly to those planning their competition day. And at the conclusion of an event, elevation points, participation points and rankings are uploaded instantly to everyone’s DSA registration account… without delays and without mistakes.
Each year new improvements and facilities are added to the Entry System and 2021 is no different. Next time you login and add some entries, see if you can spot the changes and upgrades :-)
