If you have other questions that other dancers may like to know the answers
Please drop us a line at convenor@twenty10.net.au and we shall endeavor
to answer them here. Below is a sample of what has been asked so far
Updated 27-06-2010
Q: Why weren't the big speaker stands that were donated by Perth used?
A: The stands were designed for long halls, our hall was square, the use of the Perth stands
would have made the sound worse in this hall (See article here from the speaker manufacturer)
Q: Why were there not any Marshalls for Round Ups?
A: The minimum level for dancers at National Conventions is Mainstream
and as such dancers should know how to round up without marshals'.
Q: Why was there not enough chairs provided for everyone.
A: The National Convention Guidelines state that seating hall be provided for
approx one third of all dancers.
There were in fact 311 chairs in the main hall and 90 in the canteen.
Q: Why were there No Morning Sessions?
A: As it is winter in Wodonga, No morning sessions were programmed.
Q: Why couldn’t some of the chairs in the other hall been brought into the main hall.
A: The Chairs in the other hall could not be used in the main hall as they did not
have padded feet to protect the floor.
Q: Why wasn’t Tea and Coffee provided free of Charge for dancers?
A: Most venues have a canteen operator that is licensed to sell such items,
therefore it is not possible to supply it free in opposition to the
canteen – this venue was no exception.
Q: Why was the canteen not open between sessions?
A: It is for commercial reasons, if there is little or no business, then it is
not economical to stay open. The venue was next to a shopping centre
where most food could be obtained.
Q: Why was there not any Clogging?
A: An exemption for Clogging was granted by the Conventions Board (Read More)
Q: Why would the committee spend $5,000 on a closing act?
The money would have been better spent on heating.
A: There is no way that $5,000 was spent on the closing act,
The Flying Fruit Fly Circus did ask for about this much, but we did not go
ahead with it and used "Ruben & Casey" instead.
Weren't they just great?
Q: Why was some sound better than others?
A: This is a difficult question to answer as sound is subjective.
What sounds bad to one is great to another.
A great article on this can be found under "Articles" on the vsda website.
Q: Why do some Callers get more calls than others?
A: The committee is guided by the seeding arrangement provided by the
Australian Callers Federation. This determines when and where
they appear on the program.
Q: Why didn’t the Big Hall be used as the Main Hall to stop the overcrowding?
A: The Large Hall does not have good acoustics and therefore would have been
difficult to sound with only 800 people in it.
The smaller hall had capacity for over 1000 dancers using the
Conventions Board Guidelines.
Q: Why was there not any Contra on the program?
A: This was looked at and it was proposed to have a Contra bracket in both Plus and Mainstream.
There are only 3 accredited Contra Cuers in Australia and they suggested that more time would be
required.
As we were not running any morning sessions, there was insufficient time to allocate full contra sessions.
With this we knew of the difficulty of obtaining a suitable venue and as such did the correct thing and asked for and were granted an exemption not to provide Clogging on the Program.
The Conventions Board then asked us to relook at the issue of finding a suitable venue. (After all the rego forms had been printed)
This was duly undertaken and, while not really suitable, a compromise situation of fitting an overlay to an area in the current venue was explored and agreed upon by our committee.
However, when the Only registered Clogging Leader withdrew, we again revisited the issue.
It is then when we decided to not proceed any further with Clogging and duly advised the Board.
The dancer dissatisfaction with this whole issue falls fair and Squarely with the Conventions Board, Not with the 51st Convention Committee.
This is a brief Overview
The Australian National Square Dance Conventions Board
Postal Address , 18 Sinai Place, Lockridge WA 6054
Chairman Barry Chandler Tasmania
Secretary Anthea Matthews Western Australia
Treasurer Bev McLachlan Queensland
This is a body mainly made up of Convenors of Previous National Square Dance Conventions
Their role is to ensure that there is a continuation of National Square Dance Conventions in Australia.
They Call for Bids to Host each Convention and also grant the right to hold one
If there are not any bids.
They then approach the States (by rotation) to encourage them to host a Convention.
They also set down guidelines so that there is a standard and continuity.
The Board is funded by a levy on each Dancer Ticket of $1.25.
There is a Constitution and a Manual that all Convention Committees must use.
Copies of these are available to read by all at:
1. Constitution
2. Manual
I Early 2010 the Board was incorporated and are present both the constitution and
the manual are undergoing an update in order to comply with the Incorporations Act.
The Victorian representive's on the Board are:
Ella Whyte (Retired)
Marion Brown
Gary Brown
Barbara Treharne
Howard Cockburn
Pending
Kevin Thomas 2011
Tony Hooper 2012