YCN Proficiency Points
The MIT Open rules include use of YCN proficiency points. The system is described here for your convenience.
Description
The YCN system recognizes six consecutive levels, in increasing order of proficiency: Pre-Bronze, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Pre-Champ and Champ.
Placing in the final of a level earns you points simultaneously in that level and the ones below it. Once you earn 7 (seven) points in a level, you can no longer dance at that level.
Events qualify only if there was at least a semi-final danced. Points are earned as follows:
- At the level you danced:
- 3 points for 1st place
- 2 points for 2nd place
- 1 point for 3rd place
- If there was a quarter-final danced, 1 point for 4th–6th place
- At the level below the one you danced:
- 6 points for 1st place
- 4 points for 2nd place
- 2 points for 3rd place
- If there was a quarter-final danced, 2 points for 4th–6th place
- At all levels below that:
- 7 points for 1st–6th place
Examples
- Placing 3rd in a Silver International Cha Cha event with a semi-final round will give you 1 point in Silver International Cha Cha and 2 points in Bronze International Cha Cha.
- Placing 5th in Bronze American Waltz will give you no points if there was only a final or semi-final and 1 point in Bronze American Waltz if there was a quarter-final.
- Placing 2nd in Gold American Bolero with a quarter-final round will give you 2 points in Gold American Bolero, 4 points in Silver, and 7 points in Bronze (thus automatically eliminating you from any Bronze American Bolero events).
- Placing 7th or 8th in a final awards no points.
Remarks
As always, points are awarded to each member of the couple, and couples must always dance to the higher level of the two competitors.
In multi-dance events, points are earned for each dance according to the combined placement. E.g., if you place 3rd in a Silver Samba/Jive event, you earn points for placing 3rd in Silver Samba and 3rd in Silver Jive, even if the actual separate placement was different (say, 2nd and 4th).
In combined-level events, points are awarded at the lowest of the combined levels. For instance, if there is only one Open level at a competition, points are earned as if it were Pre-champ. Similarly, if there is a merged-level event (e.g., Silver/Gold or a Gold event when there is no Silver offered at that competition), then points are earned at the lower level (in both cases of our example, Silver). In the case of a Masters of Syllabus or "Syllabus" event, which is effectively a Bronze/Silver/Gold combined-level event, points are awarded at the Bronze level.
Please determine your YCN points, treating adult amateur events from all professionally-judged competitions (including USA Dance or NDCA competitions) the same as collegiate competitions. Points from Novice-level events, points from competitions without professional judging, and points from age categories other than "Adult Amateur" do not count toward your total for any proficiency level at the MIT Open.
There are no YCN eligibility restrictions for dancing at the Open or Championship levels.
Note that at the MIT Open, Newcomer is equivalent to Pre-Bronze, Beginner is equivalent to Bronze; Intermediate is equivalent to Silver; and Advanced is equivalent to Gold.
In addition to the YCN points described on this page, your eligibility for a particular level may be limited by additional registration rules, such as Newcomer and Bronze time-out rules, adjacent level rules, or double-registration restrictions.
If you have any questions regarding the application of the YCN proficiency points system to the MIT Open, contact our registration coordinator.
Back: MIT Open rules page.