The Cross-Competition Award Chart: What Platinum Actually Means at Every Dance Competition
If you have ever driven home from a competition wondering why the Platinum your dancer earned in the spring felt different from the Platinum at a summer event — or why a friend's team took home a Diamond for a routine that looked a lot like yours — here is the honest, reassuring truth: there is no governing body for dance and cheer award levels. Every company invented its own award ladder.
That means the same routine can earn a differently named award at different competitions. A Platinum at one company can sit right where a Diamond sits at another. Your dancer didn't get worse between events. The ruler changed. Once you can see all the rulers side by side, the whole thing gets a lot calmer — and a lot more useful. This holds for cheer, too: every event producer sets its own bands.
Below is the cross-competition award chart we wish someone had handed us from the stands: the tier order each company uses, and the kind of scale it's built on. We show order, not exact cutoffs — because those move every season.
The award ladders, side by side
Tiers are listed top to bottom. Order only — not exact scores.
RoutineX (our reference score)
Out of 300- 1.Diamond
- 2.Platinum
- 3.High Gold
- 4.Gold
Our own consistent baseline so you can compare a routine to itself across the season. Diamond 290-300, Platinum 280-289, High Gold 270-279, Gold 260-269. Because it never changes, it's the one ruler that stays the same no matter which company you compete with next.
StarQuest
Out of 300- 1.Ultimate Platinum
- 2.Platinum Plus
- 3.Platinum
- 4.High Gold
- 5.Gold
A layered Platinum ladder at the top. Exact point bands vary by season and division — check StarQuest's current adjudication chart.
NUVO Dance Convention
Out of 300- 1.DJ's Pick
- 2.Palladium
- 3.High Gold
- 4.Gold
- 5.High Silver
Palladium sits at the top of the standard ladder, with DJ's Pick as a special recognition above it. Confirm current cutoffs on NUVO's site.
24Seven Dance Convention
Out of 300- 1.Stop The Clock
- 2.Palladium
- 3.High Gold
- 4.Gold
- 5.High Silver
Palladium tops the standard adjudication ladder; Stop The Clock is a top special award. Bands shift by season — see 24Seven's current rules.
Radix Dance Convention
Out of 300- 1.On The Edge
- 2.Palladium
- 3.High Gold
- 4.Gold
- 5.High Silver
Palladium is the top adjudicated tier, with On The Edge as a special top recognition. Always verify against Radix's published awards page for the season.
Encore DCS (Dance Championships)
Out of 300- 1.Mic Drop (Elite)
- 2.Diamond
- 3.Platinum
- 4.High Gold
- 5.Gold
A Diamond/Platinum ladder with a top Mic Drop / elite recognition. Point ranges vary by event and level — check Encore's current rulebook.
KAR (Karisma / Kids Artistic Revue)
Per-judge, out of 100- 1.Elite Ultimate Performance
- 2.Elite Top First
- 3.Top First
- 4.First
- 5.High Second
Scored per judge on a 100-point scale rather than a combined 300. A First-place adjudication here is not the same math as a 300-scale tier — read KAR's current adjudication guide.
Showstopper
Roughly a 120-point scale (thresholds vary)- 1.Crystal
- 2.Double Platinum
- 3.Platinum
- 4.Gold
- 5.Silver
Uses its own scale with cutoffs that vary by age and level, so the same raw number can land differently across divisions. Check Showstopper's current scoring for the exact bands.
Hall of Fame
Out of 300 (baseball-themed, varies by league)- 1.Walk-Off
- 2.Grand Slam
- 3.Platinum
- 4.High Gold
- 5.Gold
A baseball-themed ladder where the top awards sit above the standard Platinum/Gold tiers. Names and bands vary by league and season — confirm on Hall of Fame's current site.
Starbound National Talent Competition
Out of 300- 1.Elite Gold
- 2.High Gold
- 3.Gold
- 4.High Silver
- 5.Silver
A Gold-centered ladder with Elite Gold at the top. Exact point ranges vary by season — see Starbound's current rules.
Velocity Dance Convention
Per-judge, out of 100- 1.Platinum
- 2.High Gold
- 3.Gold
- 4.Silver
An extended per-judge ladder; adjudication results are typically delivered privately rather than announced on stage. Check Velocity's current materials for the tier bands.
Read this before you compare anything
Award ladders and point cutoffs change season to season and often vary by age division, level, and region. The tiers below show the order companies use, not exact scores. Always check the competition company's current, official rules or awards page before drawing conclusions — this chart is a general orientation, not an official scoring guide.
How to use this chart
Start by finding the company you competed with, then read the tier list from the top down. The point isn't to memorize every ladder — it's to internalize one idea: a tier name is only meaningful next to the company that gave it. "We got High Gold" means something very different depending on whether High Gold was the second rung or the fifth.
- Compare a company to itself across the season, not to a different company's ladder.
- When a company has several tiers stacked above Platinum, a Platinum there is genuinely strong — it just isn't the ceiling.
- Per-judge (out of 100) results and combined (out of 300) results are different math. Don't line the raw numbers up directly.
- For the exact cutoffs, always open the company's current awards or rules page for your season, age, and level.
Try it: where does your score usually land?
Score lookup: where does your number usually land?
Enter your routine's score and we'll show the typical range seen across the industry on a 300-point ladder. These are common patterns, not universal rules — every company sets its own cutoffs.
Award ladders and point cutoffs change season to season and often vary by age division, level, and region. The tiers below show the order companies use, not exact scores. Always check the competition company's current, official rules or awards page before drawing conclusions — this chart is a general orientation, not an official scoring guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is Platinum good?
Almost always, yes — at most companies Platinum sits in the upper part of the ladder and reflects a clean, strong routine. But 'good' depends entirely on which company gave it. At one company Platinum is the very top tier; at another there are two or three named levels above Platinum. So a Platinum is real, earned work — just don't assume it means the same thing everywhere.
Why does every competition have different awards?
Because there is no governing body for competitive dance award levels. Each company is its own independent league and designs its own ladder, its own point cutoffs, and its own tier names to match its brand and philosophy. Some keep their top tier rare; others award their highest level more freely. It isn't a trick — it's just the nature of an industry with many separate organizers.
Is High Gold at one competition the same as Platinum at another?
Sometimes, effectively, yes. Because each company sets its own cutoffs, a routine that earns High Gold at a stricter company could earn Platinum at a more generous one with almost the same performance. That's exactly why comparing tier names across companies can be misleading. Your dancer didn't get worse between events — the ruler changed.
What score is a Platinum?
It depends on the company, the season, and often the age division and level. On a 300-point scale you'll frequently see Platinum-style tiers grouped in the 280s, but that is a general pattern and not a rule — companies move their cutoffs and use different scales entirely (some score per judge out of 100). Always check the specific company's current, official awards page for the exact number.
How can I compare my dancer across different competitions?
The most reliable way is to hold one ruler constant. Because company ladders shift from event to event, an independent, unchanging baseline score lets you compare a routine to itself over the season — so you can see real growth instead of guessing whether a different tier name means a different result.
Keep reading
One ruler that never changes.
Company ladders shift from event to event. RoutineX gives you one consistent, objective baseline score you can carry across every competition — so you can watch real growth instead of guessing what a different tier name means.