USA Dance Board Votes to Leave WDO

August 1, 2024 

Dear Friends and Fellow Dancers:

In March 2023, USA Dance joined the World Dance Organization (WDO) as a National Organization for the United States in addition to our status as the recognized National Member Body for the United States by the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF). Our Board of Directors took this historic step to further our organization’s mission to increase the quality and quantity of Dance in the United States and to transform USA Dance into the preeminent umbrella organization that unifies all forms of competitive Dance in the United States. As a result, both USA Dance’s National Ballroom Dance Program and the WDO international program grew in membership and number of competitions and the dance community became closer and more united.

While our action, at the time, was not in violation of any WDSF rules or regulations, since that time the WDSF has changed their rules to disallow their National Member Bodies from joining other international bodies of dance that they consider to be competitors. Above all else, USA Dance values our longtime relationship with the WDSF, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), and the Olympic movement. As such the Board took this step to be compliant with WDSF regulations to protect our status with these organizations for our athletes, coaches, and professional members. 

USA Dance remains committed to the principles of Freedom to Dance for our athletes and Freedom to Work for our officials and competition organizers. Until there is a new, suitable National Organization for the USA that qualifies to join our organization as a National Sports Organization per our USOPC mandated bylaws, our Board of Directors has voted to continue to recognize WDO adjudicator credentials and WDO athlete memberships for those who represent non-USA countries for participation in USA Dance sanctioned competitions and fully encourage our competition organizers to join the WDO directly and host WDO sanctioned events at their competitions.

Sincerely, 

Ken Richards

Ken Richards, USA Dance National President
president@usadance.org