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When I think back over the competitions this year, the word which automatically springs to mind is eventful! As usual we started off our competition year with the Soton friendly in Southampton, a nice small competition to start, with no Oxford and Cambridge to scare our beginners away! We set off from Bath around 8am, with around 50 excited but very nervous couples. This year we had no ‘expert’ couples as we had the year before and there seemed to be a lot of pressure on our team captains, who looked equally as nervous as our beginner couples! We thought we had almost made it to the venue and then realised that we had lost sight of the other coach and were actually lost! Luckily we had Bart on our coach, who sort of knew the way and we managed to find or way there about 30 minutes after the other coach! Apart from that slight glitch, the day ran very smoothly, with many Bath couples reaching the finals, and everyone enjoying the day.
Two weeks later we were all ready and raring to head for Warwick, with all or bags packed and the girl’s hair scraped back into buns, which they’d got up at 4am to do! Despite the very early hour, everyone seemed in very high spirits. However an hour later this was not the case! The dozen or so of us who were stood waiting at Laura Place moaning about how late the coach was, realised why we were still stood there an hour after we had arrived when we got a phone call to say that no coach had been booked, and it didn’t look like one would be heading our way! This did nothing to help our already bad moods, and the fact that our feet felt like they were about to drop off from the cold didn’t help matters! Luckily someone had the sense to come and remove our frozen bodies from Laura Place, and we were taken to campus to join the others who were sat in the SU looking miserable! Soon we discovered we definitely weren’t going, as there were no drivers who were awake! Just to point out, it was no one on the clubs fault that our coach didn’t come, just a misunderstanding somewhere down the line. (*cough* Harry Potter *)
To make up for the disaster of the previous week, the following weekend we headed for Nottingham, a competition we don’t normally do as a club. Luckily the coach turned up this time, and a very long and tiring day followed. This comp was a little different to the Soton Friendly, with at least 3 times as many clubs competing and our first glimpse of Oxford and Cambridge, who looked on top form this year. With a huge dance floor and what seemed like millions of people trying to dance on the same spot, everyone seemed just a little nervous, but as usual once we started dancing everyone chilled out a bit and had a good day.
Next came our favourite, and arguably the best comp of the year- Bath Winter Comp. Dancing on home ground seemed to relax everyone, and as the competition was superbly organised by our very own Kate and Sarah, even the team captains had a fun day of dancing. As soon as the day was over, we rushed home to put our glad rags on to dance the night away at our fabulous Christmas Ball.
After a long break for the Christmas Holiday and exams, our next competition was the southern friendly. After several date and venue changes, we eventually headed for the Leigh Ballroom in Eastleigh. Excited at the prospect of dancing in a proper ballroom, we became a little anxious when the building labelled “Leigh Ballroom” seemed to be someone’s house, and once we got inside the dance floor really did seem around the size of someone’s living room! Once we’d got over the shock of just how small the floor was, everyone got changed and the comp got under way. As we were by far the biggest club there, the hall seemed to be taken over by Bath dancers and supporters and everyone wanted to be on best form as both Paula and Jon had come to watch us. Although it wasn’t a huge competition, it was certainly good practice for the ones that followed.
Next came the first of our two big competitions, SUDA, the southern university competition. Luckily for us, it was being hosted by Bath this year, so this meant a nice lie in and a nice easy day for Dan and Nic. The day went very smoothly, with lots of Bath couples getting through to quarter and semi finals, and our Offbeat team coming in second. It was definitely a fun day and a real boost for all our couples, especially during the team match, when we definitely got the most cheers from our friends and families! Plus there was no coach journey home at the end of the day, always a bonus!!
Our final competition of the year was IVDA, the nationals, and the one we look forward to all year. This year it was being held in Blackpool the home of Ballroom dancing, so we set off the evening before to make the journey a lot less stressful. We arrived at our hotel at about 9.00 and headed straight to the restaurant for the traditional pre-IVDA meal, which this year was particularly well organised (in fact the manager called me the most organised person he’d ever met! Sorry guys had to get that one in there!). As the restaurant was attached to the hotel, we had a nice relaxed evening with everyone heading off to bed in dribs and drabs, eventually leaving a few beginners, who looked like they’d had a glass of wine or five!!
The next morning we woke up early and set off for the Winter Garden Ballroom. Having never been there myself, I didn’t have high hopes when we were dropped off in one of the chaviest streets I’d ever been on! However once we were inside that all changed: The ballroom was huge and absolutely beautiful, the sort of place you dream of dancing in, with a huge floor that seemed big enough to hold everyone in the room. The dancing eventually got started, and as a spectator on the day, I have to say our couples did fantastically, holding their own against the egos of Oxford and Cambridge! Due to the intense heat of the ballroom, lots of people were fainting, both on and off the floor, but in general the day was enjoyed by all. However there are definitely a few things (not all good) which stand out about the day for me.
And then it was over, no more comps this year. Dan and Nic breathed a sigh of relief as they stepped on the coach (which luckily did wait for us!) and we headed back to Bath after a very long, very eventful but most of all very enjoyable competition year.
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