Competition Guides
How Dance & Cheer Competitions Really Work
Award levels, score sheets, judging, costs, competition companies, cheer bids — it can all feel like a mystery from the stands. These are calm, honest, plain-English guides written by dance parents, for dance and cheer parents. No jargon, no drama, no blame — just a clear explanation of how things work and how to help your athlete grow.
Start here — most useful
The Cross-Competition Award Chart: What Platinum Actually Means at Every Dance Competition
There is no governing body — every company invented its own award ladder, so the same routine earns different award names at different comps. See every ladder side by side, plus a score lookup tool.
Open the award chartDance Scoring & Awards
Dance Competition Award Levels Explained: Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Beyond
A friendly, honest guide to dance competition award levels — Gold, High Gold, Platinum, Diamond and beyond — how the tiers work, and why they vary by company.
Why Did We Get Platinum and Not Diamond?
A warm, honest breakdown of what separates Platinum from Diamond — tenths of a point, consistency, transitions and precision — and how to close the gap.
Why the Same Routine Scores Differently at Every Competition
The same dance or cheer routine can earn different scores at different events — here is why, explained calmly, from rubrics to judge panels to day-of factors.
How Dance Competitions Are Scored: Decoding the Judge's Rubric
A clear, category-by-category walkthrough of how dance competitions are scored — technique, performance, choreography and overall — and how to read a score sheet.
Is Dance Competition Judging Fair? An Honest Look at Both Sides
A fair, both-sides look at whether dance competition judging is fair — validating parents' frustrations while explaining the judges' and companies' reality.
Adjudication vs Placement: Why a Platinum Doesn't Always Mean Top 10
Adjudication and placement are two different scoring systems, plus judges' special awards make a third. Here is how each works and why they can seem to conflict.
Cheer Scoring
Cheer Scoring for Parents: Hit Zero, Deductions, and Difficulty vs Execution
A parent-friendly guide to cheer scoring — hit zero, deductions, difficulty vs execution, and levels 1 through 7 — explained clearly and calmly.
Cheer Bids Explained: Full Paid, At-Large, Summit and Worlds
A clear guide to cheer bids for parents — full paid, at-large, Summit and Worlds bids — how they work conceptually and where to check the official rules.
Costs & Budgeting
Competition Companies
A neutral explainer for both dance and cheer.
RoutineX is not affiliated with any competition company or event producer. We wrote these guides to explain the systems fairly and generously — validating the real frustrations families feel while being honest about how much careful, good-faith work goes into running events and judging routines. Cheer and dance both get a full seat at the table here.
10 guides and counting.