To our Members,

For those of you who are registered with the World Dance Council (WDC) as competitors or adjudicators, you might have recently received a Disclaimer Form sent to you from the WDC.  This might have also been accompanied by a Letter of Explanation.

It is highly unusual for documents to be sent directly from the WDC to its registered competitors/officials (registrants).  Registrants are not members of the WDC – only national governing bodies are members of the WDC, for example the British Dance Council in the case of Great Britain.  In the past all correspondence between the WDC and individuals had to be routed via the relevant national governing body.  This was often insisted upon by the WDC as well as the member body.

There are various reasons for the requirement for correspondence to be routed via the member body and there are, of course, advantages and disadvantages to this system, as opposed to direct communication.  However, one of the most important advantages is representation; for example, where an individual is concerned about something that is, perhaps, unethical or against some rules, the individual can report this to their governing body, which takes up the matter with the WDC rather than the individual themselves.

In the case of the Disclaimer Form that the WDC is requesting its registrants to sign, there are questions that arise and some of these are of a very serious nature.  It is the view of the International Council of Directors (ICD) of the BDFI that individuals should request that such documents are sent to them via their national governing body and not directly.  Alternatively, individuals could contact their governing body to request its advice before signing the Disclaimer.

By so doing, the national body could advise its members whether or not it recommends the signing of the Disclaimer.  The national body would also be in a better position to seek legal advice before advising its members, if considered appropriate.

Yours sincerely,

The ICD of the BDFI