# SwingElo > How we score West Coast Swing competitions — methodology, metrics, and transparency ## FAQ ### General **What is SwingElo?** An analytics platform for West Coast Swing competitions. We collect publicly available competition results, compute metrics like strength scores and odds to finals, and make them available through a searchable interface. **Where does the data come from?** Competition results from EEPro and scoring.dance, plus dancer profiles and event dates from the WSDC registry. All data is publicly available. **How often is data updated?** Weekly. New results are typically available within a week of an event posting results. **How far back does data go?** 2018 to present. We currently track 176 events and 13,684 dancers. ### Scoring **Why is my strength score low even though I think I'm a good dancer?** The strength score is relative to all dancers in your role (leader/follower) across all levels. A novice with a score of 25 is right at the median for novice dancers — that's typical. The scale goes up to 100, but even most champions score in the 50–80 range. **Why didn't my score change after I did well at an event?** It should have. If you advanced through prelims with strong callbacks, the callback quality metric should reflect that. If you're a novice, callback quality is 30% of your strength score. Check that the event's results have been posted on EEPro — we can only track what's published. **Are leaders and followers scored together?** No. All scoring is separate by role. A leader's strength score is based on their performance competing as a leader, compared to other leaders. **Can novices outrank intermediates?** Rarely. The scoring is designed so that the typical novice scores well below the typical intermediate. Some exceptional novices (usually about to promote) may score above the weakest intermediates, but this is uncommon. ### Profiles **Why are my callback numbers different from my WSDC points?** Callbacks count prelim entries and promotions. WSDC points come from finals placements. A dancer can have a 100% callback rate and 0 WSDC points. [More details →](/profiles/callbacks) **My name is misspelled or I appear twice. Can this be fixed?** Name variations across events are common. The system tries to unify them, but some slip through. If you notice a duplicate or misspelling, it will be fixed in a future data update. **I compete but I'm not in the WSDC registry. Why?** Some dancers aren't registered with WSDC, or their registered name doesn't match their EEPro competition name. Your competition data will still appear — you'll just be missing WSDC point totals. ### Events **Why does an event show a different name than what I remember?** Events sometimes rename between years. We unify them under the current official name. If you search for the old name, it will still find the right event. **What does "Next: Mar 11-15, 2027" mean on an event?** That's the next scheduled date from the WSDC event calendar. It links to the event's website if available. **An event I competed at isn't listed. Why?** We can only track events that post results on EEPro or scoring.dance. If your event uses a different platform, we don't have the data. ## How Scoring Works Every metric on SwingElo is derived from publicly available competition results — prelim callbacks, finals placements, and WSDC registry data. Nothing is subjective or manually assigned. ### Data sources | Source | What it provides | | ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | EEPro | Competition results: prelim callbacks, finals placements, division entries | | scoring.dance | Supplemental competition results | | WSDC Registry | Official dancer points, levels, and competition history | | WSDC Calendar | Upcoming event dates and locations | ### Core principles #### Transparency Every formula is documented. If you see a number on SwingElo, you can understand exactly how it was calculated. #### Level-appropriate scoring A novice and a champion have fundamentally different data available. Novices mostly have prelim callbacks. Champions have years of finals placements and WSDC points. Our scoring adapts to measure what's actually measurable at each level. #### Time weighting Recent results matter more than old ones. All metrics use time decay: * Last 2 years: full weight * 3–4 years ago: 70% weight * 4–6 years ago: 40% weight * Older: 20% weight #### No black boxes We don't use opaque machine learning models. Every metric is a weighted combination of clearly defined inputs. ### The metrics | Metric | What it measures | Key page | | ----------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | | [Strength Score](/scoring/strength) | Overall competitive strength (0–100) | How strong are you relative to the field? | | [Odds to Finals](/scoring/odds) | Probability of making finals per event | What are your chances at Swing Crush vs MADjam? | | [Power Rankings](/scoring/power-rankings) | Top dancer rankings across the circuit | Who are the strongest active dancers? | | [Judge Quality](/scoring/judge-quality) | Judge talent identification ability | Which judges spot rising talent earliest? | ## Judge Quality Which judges are best at spotting rising talent? The judge quality metric answers this by looking at a simple question: **when a judge says "yes" to a dancer in prelims, does that dancer go on to level up?** ### How it works For each judge, we look at every prelim panel they've ever judged: 1. Find every dancer they gave a **Yes** to 2. Check if those dancers later moved up to a higher skill level (e.g., from Novice to Intermediate) 3. Score the judge based on how well their "yes" votes predicted future advancement A judge who consistently says "yes" to dancers who later level up is identifying talent before the rest of the field catches on. ### The score balances two things A great talent-spotter needs to do both of these well: * **Pick winners** — When they say "yes," that dancer actually goes on to advance. A judge who says "yes" to everyone would pick all the future advancers, but also a lot of dancers who never advance. * **Don't miss talent** — Among all the dancers who did advance, how many did this judge recognize? A judge who only says "yes" to one dancer per night might be very accurate, but they'd miss most of the talent in the room. The score rewards judges who do *both* — accurately identifying talent without being too conservative or too generous. ### Experience matters A judge who worked one panel and happened to vote for someone who advanced shouldn't outrank a veteran with hundreds of panels. Our ranking accounts for this: * Judges with many panels are ranked on their actual track record * Judges with few panels get a lower ranking because we're less certain about them * To be ranked highly, you need both **good picks** and **enough data** ### What this is NOT :::note This is not a "good judge" vs "bad judge" list. Judging WCS is complex and deeply subjective. This metric only measures one narrow dimension: how often a judge's prelim callbacks predict future advancement. ::: * **Not about agreeing with other judges.** A judge who spots talent others miss would score *higher*, not lower. * **Not about finals scoring.** This only looks at prelim callbacks, where judges decide who advances through rounds. * **Not a complete measure of judging ability.** Judging involves artistry, musicality, technique, and many other factors that can't be captured in a single number. ### Judge names The same judge might appear in results as "John Smith" at one event and "John S." or "Johnny Smith" at another. We resolve these into a single identity so their full body of work is counted together. ## Odds to Finals The odds calculation estimates your chances of making finals at each event. It looks at two things: how strong a competitor you are, and how hard it historically is to make finals at that specific event. ### The big picture Your odds at any event are a blend of two numbers: 1. **How dancers like you have done** — Among dancers with a similar [strength score](/scoring/strength) to yours, what percentage made finals at this event in past years? 2. **How hard the event is overall** — Out of everyone who entered this event in past years, what percentage made finals? Your individual strength matters more at higher levels. At the champion level, it's almost entirely about how good you are. At the novice level, the historical average plays a bigger role because there's more variance in outcomes. ### How much does your strength matter? | Level | Leaders | Followers | | ------------ | -------------------- | -------------------- | | Newcomer | 53% you, 47% average | 40% you, 60% average | | Novice | 45% you, 55% average | 40% you, 60% average | | Intermediate | 53% you, 47% average | 61% you, 39% average | | Advanced | 76% you, 24% average | 93% you, 7% average | | All-Star | 64% you, 36% average | 84% you, 16% average | | Champion | 70% you, 30% average | 100% you | For a champion follower, your odds are 100% based on your strength — the general average doesn't factor in at all. For a novice leader, it's roughly half and half. ### How "dancers like you" works We group all historical entrants into 10 tiers based on their strength score (top 10%, next 10%, and so on). Then we look at how often dancers in each tier actually made finals. For example, if you're in the top 10% of strength at a given event and historically 65% of top-10% dancers made finals there, your "dancers like you" number is 65%. ### How "how hard the event is" works This is straightforward: across all years the event has been held, what's the average ratio of finalists to total entrants? An event with 50 entrants and 6 finalists has a 12% base rate. An event with 20 entrants and 6 finalists has a 30% base rate. Bigger events are harder to make finals at. Recent years count a bit more than older years, since field sizes and competitiveness change over time. ### Event renames Events sometimes change names. "Novice Invitational" became "H-Town Throw Down." Your odds use data from all years under both names — the history carries over. ### Upcoming events Your odds page includes future events from the WSDC calendar, even if you haven't competed there yet. For those events, the calculation uses whatever historical data exists. If you've never competed at an event, your odds are based on the general average for that event rather than your personal history there. ## Power Rankings Power rankings list the top 500 dancers in the WCS circuit. Unlike the [strength score](/scoring/strength) (which is used to calculate odds), power rankings are meant to be read — they show who the strongest active dancers are overall. ### What goes into the ranking The power score looks at 8 things: | What we look at | How much it matters | What it means | | ---------------------------- | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Longevity** | **28%** | How many years you've been competing. Sustained excellence over 8+ years is the strongest signal. | | **Level** | **18%** | Your highest WSDC division. Champion > All-Star > Advanced, etc. | | **Activity** | **16%** | How many events you've competed at recently. Active dancers rank higher. | | **Finals performance** | **14%** | How well you place when you make finals. Winning beats finishing last. | | **Recent trend** | **9%** | Are you improving or declining? Getting better boosts your score. | | **Callbacks** | **9%** | Your prelim callback rate. Higher is better. | | **WSDC points** | **6%** | Your official WSDC registry points. | | **Year-over-year direction** | Under 1% | Minor adjustment for long-term trajectory. | ### Why longevity is the biggest factor Someone who has competed for 8+ years at high levels has proven consistency that a single great weekend can't match. The best dancers in WCS tend to be the ones who've been at it for years and are still competing at a high level. That's what longevity captures. ### How we chose these weights The weights were tuned to match real competitive outcomes as closely as possible. When we rank dancers using these weights, the ranking matches actual results about 86% of the time — meaning the #50 ranked dancer really does tend to outperform the #100 ranked dancer in head-to-head matchups. ### Who's included The top 500 dancers are ranked. You need at least 2 events to be eligible. The ranking is designed so that no single factor can dominate — a dancer with tons of WSDC points but no recent activity won't outrank an active competitor with moderate points. ### Power rankings vs strength score These are related but serve different purposes: | | Power Rankings | Strength Score | | -------------------- | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Who it's for** | You — it's a public leaderboard | The odds calculator uses it behind the scenes | | **What it looks at** | 8 factors, same for everyone | 6 factors, weighted differently for novices vs intermediates+ | | **Who's included** | Top 500 dancers | Everyone with 3+ events | ## Strength Score Your strength score is a number from 0 to 100 that captures how well you've been competing. It's used behind the scenes to calculate your [odds to finals](/scoring/odds) at each event. ### What goes into it The strength score looks at six things about your competitive record. **The weights change depending on your current level** because novices and champions have very different kinds of data. #### Novice & Newcomer At the novice level, most dancers haven't made a final yet and don't have WSDC points. So the score focuses on what novices actually do — dance in prelims. | What we look at | How much it matters | What it means | | -------------------- | ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Callback quality** | **30%** | How strongly judges voted for you — not just "did you advance?" but "how many judges said yes?" | | **Advancement rate** | **25%** | What percentage of the time do you make it to the next round? | | Finals placement | 15% | When you do make a final, where did you place? (1st is better than 5th out of 6) | | Activity | 15% | How many events have you competed at? More events = more data about you | | WSDC points | 10% | Your official points from the WSDC registry | | WSDC level | 5% | Your highest division (Novice, Intermediate, etc.) | #### Intermediate & above At higher levels, dancers have been in finals and have WSDC profiles. The score shifts to reflect that. | What we look at | How much it matters | What it means | | -------------------- | ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Finals placement** | **30%** | Across all your finals, how well did you place? Winning a 6-person final counts more than finishing last. | | **Advancement rate** | **25%** | What percentage of the time do you make it through prelims? | | **WSDC points** | **20%** | Your registry points, with recent events counting more than old ones | | **WSDC level** | **15%** | Your highest division — Champion is worth more than Intermediate | | Callback quality | 10% | How strongly judges voted for you in prelims | ### What "finals placement" really means When we say "finals placement," we're looking at where you finished relative to how many people were in the final. Placing 1st out of 6 finalists is a perfect score. Placing 6th out of 6 is the lowest. Placing 3rd out of 6 is somewhere in the middle. We do this because not all finals are the same size. Placing 3rd in a 6-person final is different from placing 3rd in a 12-person final. The calculation adjusts for this so your score is fair regardless of final size. If you've been in multiple finals, all your results are combined, with recent events counting more than older ones. ### Callback quality — the key novice metric Before this metric existed, a novice who got 4 out of 4 yes votes from judges looked identical to one who barely squeaked through. Both just showed "promoted." Now we read the actual judge marks: * **4 yes out of 4 judges** — Excellent. Every judge wanted to see you again. * **3 yes + 1 alternate out of 5 judges** — Good. Most judges liked what they saw. * **Bare minimum yes votes to advance** — You made it, but just barely. This means your strength score reflects *how well* you did in prelims, not just whether you advanced. ### How your score compares to others Each part of your score is compared to all other dancers of the same role (leader or follower). If your callback quality is in the 80th percentile, that means your callbacks are stronger than 80% of all leaders (or followers) across every level. This means a novice's score is naturally lower than a champion's — not because the formula is biased, but because champions have strong callbacks *plus* finals results, WSDC points, and years of activity. ### Typical scores by level | Level | Most dancers score between... | Middle of the pack | | ------------ | ----------------------------- | ------------------ | | Newcomer | 9 – 33 | \~20 | | Novice | 17 – 42 | \~28 | | Intermediate | 26 – 50 | \~38 | | Advanced | 35 – 59 | \~49 | | All-Star | 36 – 63 | \~49 | | Champion | 44 – 77 | \~60 | If you're a novice with a score of 28, you're right in the middle of all novice dancers. That's completely normal. ### Minimum requirements You need at least **3 events** to get a strength score. With fewer events, there isn't enough data to say anything meaningful. ### Recent events count more Your performance last month matters more than your performance three years ago. All parts of the score use recency weighting: * **Last 2 years** — Full weight * **3–4 years ago** — 70% * **4–6 years ago** — 40% * **Older** — 20% This ensures your score reflects where you are now, not where you were years ago. ## Callback Stats Your profile shows prelim callback statistics per skill level. Here's how to read them. ### Format ``` CHMP Callbacks: 6/6 (100%) ALS Callbacks: 12/15 (80%) NOV Callbacks: 8/12 (67%) ``` Each line shows: * **Level** — The skill level (CHMP = Champion, ALS = All-Star, ADV = Advanced, INT = Intermediate, NOV = Novice, NEW = Newcomer) * **Promoted / Entered** — How many times you advanced vs how many prelim rounds you entered * **Percentage** — Your callback rate at that level ### What counts as "entered" Every prelim and semi round you competed in at that skill level in Jack & Jill. Finals are not included (there's no "callback" from finals — you get a placement instead). ### What counts as "promoted" Advancing to the next round. If you entered prelims and made it to semis, that's promoted. If you entered semis and made it to finals, that's also promoted. ### Common questions **Q: Why are my callback numbers different from my WSDC points?** Callbacks are a count of prelim entries and promotions. WSDC points are earned by placing in finals. These are completely different things — a dancer can have a 100% callback rate and 0 WSDC points if they've never placed in a final. **Q: Why does it say I have 6 champion callbacks but only 2 champion points on WSDC?** The "6" means you entered 6 champion-level prelim rounds and were promoted in all 6. The "2" WSDC points came from a specific finals placement. Callbacks count round entries; WSDC points come from finals placements. **Q: Are semi-final rounds counted?** Yes. Semis are counted as prelim-type rounds because they use the same Y/A/N callback format. ## Understanding Your Profile Your SwingElo profile brings together competition data from across the WCS circuit. Here's how to read it. ### What's on your profile #### Callback stats Your prelim callback rate per skill level — how often you advance through rounds. Shown as: ``` NOV Callbacks: 8/12 (67%) ``` This means 8 promotions out of 12 novice prelim entries. [Learn more about callbacks →](/profiles/callbacks) #### WSDC data If you're in the WSDC registry, your profile shows your official level, division, and point totals. [Learn more about WSDC points →](/profiles/wsdc) #### Competition history How many events you've competed at, your years active, and your most recent competitions. ### Searching for yourself Search by your name. The search matches partial names and handles common variations. If your name is spelled differently across events (it happens), results from all spellings are unified. ### Searching for events Switch to event search to find specific competitions. Search by current name or historical name — aliases are resolved automatically. [Learn more about events →](/data/events) ## WSDC Points The World Swing Dance Council (WSDC) maintains an official point registry for competitive West Coast Swing dancers. SwingElo pulls this data to enrich your profile. ### What are WSDC points? Points are earned by placing in finals at WSDC-sanctioned events. Higher placements at larger events earn more points. Points accumulate per division (Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, All-Star, Champion) and per role (Leader, Follower). ### How points appear on SwingElo Your total WSDC points are shown in search results. The number is the sum across all divisions and roles — your lifetime total. For example, a dancer might have: * 15 Novice points * 34 Intermediate points * 52 Advanced points * **101 total WSDC points** ### Points vs callbacks These measure completely different things: | | WSDC Points | Callback Stats | | ------------- | -------------------- | ------------------------------- | | **Source** | WSDC Registry | EEPro/scoring.dance results | | **Earned by** | Placing in finals | Advancing through prelim rounds | | **Format** | Numeric point total | Promoted/entered count | | **Example** | "52 Advanced points" | "ADV Callbacks: 10/14 (71%)" | ### Not in the WSDC registry? Some active competitors aren't in the WSDC registry. This can happen if: * You've only competed at non-WSDC events * Your name is registered differently than how it appears on EEPro * You haven't registered with WSDC If you're missing from the registry, your profile will still show competition data from EEPro — you just won't have WSDC point totals. ### Official registry For your definitive WSDC point record, visit [points.worldsdc.com](https://points.worldsdc.com). SwingElo's data is refreshed periodically but the official registry is always the authoritative source. ## Prelim Callbacks Prelim callbacks are the most common competitive interaction in WCS — and for many dancers, especially at the novice level, they're the *only* scored interaction. Here's how they work and how we use them. ### How callbacks work In a prelim round, each judge independently marks every competitor: | Mark | Meaning | | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | **Y** (Yes) | This dancer should advance | | **A** (Alternate) | This dancer is next in line if a "yes" drops out | | **N** (No) | This dancer should not advance | The event organizer sets a threshold — typically dancers need a certain number of "yes" votes to advance to the next round. ### Why callback quality matters Until recently, most scoring systems treated callbacks as binary: you either advanced or you didn't. But there's a huge difference between: * Getting **4 out of 4** yes votes (every judge wants you in the next round) * Getting the **bare minimum** to squeak through SwingElo tracks the actual marks. Your **callback quality** is: ``` callback_quality = average(yes_votes / total_judges) across all your prelim entries ``` A score of 1.0 means unanimous yes votes from every judge in every prelim. A score of 0.5 means roughly half the judges voted for you on average. ### Why this matters for novices 76% of novice dancers never reach intermediate. For most novice competitors, prelims are the entire competitive experience — they never make a final. The callback quality metric ensures that their competitive performance is meaningfully tracked even without finals data. A novice with consistently strong callbacks (0.7+) is genuinely performing well, even if they haven't broken through to finals yet. The [strength score](/scoring/strength) weights callback quality at 30% for novice dancers. ### Callback stats on your profile Your profile shows callback stats per skill level: ``` NOV Callbacks: 8/12 (67%) INT Callbacks: 3/5 (60%) ``` This means: at the novice level, you entered 12 prelim rounds and were promoted in 8 of them (67% callback rate). :::note These are callback counts, not WSDC points. Your WSDC registry points are a separate number shown elsewhere on your profile. ::: ## Divisions & Levels West Coast Swing competitions are organized into divisions by skill level, competition type, and role. Understanding these is key to reading your analytics. ### Skill levels Dancers progress through these levels as they accumulate points: | Level | Description | | ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | | **Newcomer** | First-time competitors, no points required | | **Novice** | Early competitive experience, building fundamentals | | **Intermediate** | Developing consistency, starting to place in finals | | **Advanced** | Strong competitors with regular finals appearances | | **All-Star** | Top-tier competitors, consistently high placements | | **Champion** | The highest competitive level in WSDC events | #### Progression Dancers advance by earning points at competitions. When you accumulate enough points at your current level, you move up to the next. **76% of novice dancers never reach intermediate** — most people who try competitive WCS stay at the novice level or stop competing. ### Competition types | Type | Format | | ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Jack & Jill (J\&J)** | Random partner assignment, by far the most common. This is our primary focus. | | **Strictly Swing** | Choreographed or semi-choreographed with a chosen partner | | **ProAm** | Professional paired with amateur | | **Routine** | Fully choreographed solo or partner performance | | **Rising Star** | Special division for up-and-coming competitors | Most analytics on SwingElo focus on **Jack & Jill** because it's the most common format and produces the most data. ### Round types A typical J\&J competition flows through these rounds: 1. **Prelims** — All entrants dance. Judges give Y (yes), A (alternate), or N (no) marks. A set number advance. 2. **Semis** (large events only) — Same callback format, narrowing the field further. 3. **Finals** — Top dancers compete. Each judge assigns a placement (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.). ### Roles * **Leader** — Traditionally (but not exclusively) male * **Follower** — Traditionally (but not exclusively) female All scoring on SwingElo is calculated separately by role. A dancer's strength as a leader is independent of their strength as a follower. ## Event History SwingElo tracks 176 events across the WCS circuit from 2018 to 2026. ### Event search You can search for any event by name. The search is alias-aware — events that have renamed over the years are unified under their current name. Searching "Novice Invitational" or "H-Town" both find "H-Town Throw Down." Each event result shows: * **Event name** (current official name) * **Next upcoming date** if scheduled on the WSDC calendar * **Location** (city, state) * **Years held** and most recent J\&J competitor count * **Event website** link if available ### Event aliases Events sometimes rebrand. For example: * "Novice Invitational" → "H-Town Throw Down" * "SwingTime" → "SwingTime Denver" When an event renames, we link the old and new names together so that all historical data is unified. Your odds at "H-Town Throw Down" include data from when it was called "Novice Invitational." ### Upcoming events Event dates and website links come from the [WSDC event calendar](https://www.worldsdc.com/events/). When you search for an event, the next scheduled date is shown prominently if one exists. ### Coverage | Source | Events | | ---------------- | ------- | | EEPro | \~144 | | scoring.dance | \~31 | | **Total unique** | **176** | Most major WCS events in the US and internationally are covered. If an event isn't in our database, it likely hasn't posted results on EEPro or scoring.dance. ## What We Track SwingElo collects publicly available competition results from the West Coast Swing circuit and the WSDC registry. Here's what goes into the system. ### Data at a glance | Metric | Count | | ----------------------- | --------- | | Events tracked | 176 | | Unique dancers | 13,684 | | Competition appearances | 175,665 | | Prelim judge marks | 588,000+ | | Finals judge scores | 292,000+ | | Years covered | 2018–2026 | ### Sources #### Competition results Results are collected from EEPro and scoring.dance — the two primary platforms where WCS events publish their results. This includes: * Every prelim round with individual judge callback marks (Y/A/N) * Every finals round with individual judge placements * Division names, skill levels, competitor counts #### WSDC Registry The [World Swing Dance Council](https://www.worldsdc.com) maintains an official point registry for WCS dancers. We pull: * Dancer profiles (level, role, division) * Per-division point totals * Competition point history #### WSDC Event Calendar Upcoming event dates, locations, and website URLs from the WSDC event listing. ### Freshness Data is refreshed weekly. New competition results are typically available within a week of the event posting results on EEPro or scoring.dance. ### What we don't track * **Social dancing** — Only competitive results * **Routines and showcases** — We focus on Jack & Jill and Strictly Swing * **Private or invitational events** — Only events with publicly posted results * **Subjective assessments** — Everything is derived from published scores and marks