UK Open Jive Competition @ Blackpool - 5th/6th/7th June 2009

[rubyred]

I am planning to attend the Friday evening and Saturday all-day/all-night events - being the big competition day after all!

About the Sunday though, I was told by one of the organisers that the Sunday Tea Dance event is open to public, with £12 ticket price.


Can anyone comment on their previous experiences of the Sunday Tea Dance? In the past, has everyone attended the Sunday Tea Dance??

(It would help me decide whether to skip the Tea Dance and get myself back to Glasgow on Sun morning/midday - or stick around for the Tea Dance...)

Thanks in advance!

Yes its true you do share the floor with the public. I have been there during the Sunday a few times, and there was an organist playing. He tended to play a lot of music that suited ballroom and latin, and then he would play some music which we could jive to. It was quite nice for ballroom and latin dancing.

[AussieJ]

Thanks for the info rubyred!

As I'm not a ballroom or latin dancer, it sounds as if I may as well skip the Sunday Tea Dance - Friday night and Saturday seem to be by far the main attraction of the whole weekend. That would also leave me free to either do some sightseeing in Blackpool or just head back to Glasgow on the Sunday.

[CJ]

Thanks for the info rubyred!

As I'm not a ballroom or latin dancer, it sounds as if I may as well skip the Sunday Tea Dance - Friday night and Saturday seem to be by far the main attraction of the whole weekend. That would also leave me free to either do some sightseeing in Blackpool or just head back to Glasgow on the Sunday.

The tea dance is only a couple of hours and, imho, worth a visit... It's relaxed, U get scones with clotted cream and U get to see various dancers drop Nina Daines on the dance floor....

[Gus]

Maybe its moving to Yorkshire thats making me a tight git ...

We were looking to come across to support friends who are competing ... UNTIL I saw the price of tickets. £32.50 just to spectate!! Isn't that a bit steep?

[Achaeco]

I don't want to share a room with someone I do not know, and I am sure that many others feel the same. The 40 quid extra for a room on my own make the difference between me going and not.

In case the organisers are reading my particular preference would be Fri, Sat, Sun night accommodation, travelling back Monday, and having the Friday night event as just a dance. I go to a dance to dance, and like my own choice of meal when I am eating. The package on offer means I am paying for a meal I am not going to eat and a bed I am not going to use.

Sad, because I have always wanted to go.

Then come and make your own arrangments for staying over......

A tad lain if that is your only reason for not going!!!

[Achaeco]

Just figured out how to add a poll - its up!


Filthy Monkey, thanks for the info, yeah there's a chance that I may have relocated to London come June

But anyhow, yeah I'm trying to weigh up whether that weekend package (160 quid) is reasonable compared to say trying to book myself into one of the B&B or hostels nearby and such. Need to get away from work and sit down do some numbers...

Single supplement? so that's on top of the 160 quid?


btw, I saw you and HappyB at the Ceroc Champs, I found it awesome to watch you both do your routines

The weekender is £161.50
Now if you are staying on your own we are charged £40 for a single sup, not alot we can do about that.

Still you can always book your own accom.

[Achaeco]

Usually you find yourself in a double room with a bed and space that you do not need, but which you are paying for. In places that have single rooms and no on-suite the difference is usually smaller.

If the organisers can fill the venue whatever there is no need for them to consider a wider and poorer customer base.

If there is empty space in the venues it could have been filled with customers that probably would have come back, and every empty space filled would have been almost all profit. Linking customers and cheaper lodging houses is not an expensive process, and there are probably agencies who would do it cost free to them.

I think you miss the point.

WE do not charge single people more to come to the comp nor do we charge poorer people more to come to the comp.
The hotel we use charges us £40 for people on their own.
Every space filled is profit........... achance2dance (C2D) make no profit....

Supprised, we put every penny back into the comp for the following year.

If you would like to know where to find cheeper digs, just let me know and i will send you details of a couple of hundred B&B's

[Achaeco]

Maybe its moving to Yorkshire thats making me a tight git ...

We were looking to come across to support friends who are competing ... UNTIL I saw the price of tickets. £32.50 just to spectate!! Isn't that a bit steep?

Well Gus.
We have to hire the whole Tower for 2 days.
We were charged 8% extra this year for the Tower and 6% extra for the hotel not to mention all the other stuff you need to purchase for a competition that has increased in price.
I dont see C2D passing all that cost on, do you?

[bigdjiver]

I think you miss the point.

WE do not charge single people more to come to the comp nor do we charge poorer people more to come to the comp.
The hotel we use charges us £40 for people on their own.
Every space filled is profit........... achance2dance (C2D) make no profit....

Supprised, we put every penny back into the comp for the following year.

If you would like to know where to find cheeper digs, just let me know and i will send you details of a couple of hundred B&B's

Surprisingly enough we have a copy of Blackpool yellow pages in our local library. Hundreds of addreses and phone numbers.
but how many quote prices for single rooms?
quote post code?
will allow entry after 2am?

Well Gus.
We have to hire the whole Tower for 2 days.
We were charged 8% extra this year for the Tower and 6% extra for the hotel not to mention all the other stuff you need to purchase for a competition that has increased in price.
I dont see C2D passing all that cost on, do you?

Unlike Gus I have no problem with the cost of the comp. The major cost for me is travel. If I could have two good MJ days I would have treated myself. I can live without the legendary organ on Sunday, and sitting down to eat whilst surrounded by dozens of lovely dancers on the Friday is almost against my religion.

Not, alas, for me.

[Gus]

Well Gus.
We have to hire the whole Tower for 2 days.
We were charged 8% extra this year for the Tower and 6% extra for the hotel not to mention all the other stuff you need to purchase for a competition that has increased in price.
I dont see C2D passing all that cost on, do you?

Sorry to labour the point ... but what it costs you is pretty much irrelevant to a customer ... its whether the customer thinks its value for money. With the cost of driving across the Pennines and back for the day it was cost us well over £100 ... and though that could be money well spent if competing, personally thats a lot of money to spectate. For others, its cheap .... viva la difference etc etc

PS ... so your costs have gone up around 6-8% ... and you've maintained the same prices as last year? Welcome to the credit crunch :-)

[Lynn]

Surprisingly enough we have a copy of Blackpool yellow pages in our local library. Hundreds of addreses and phone numbers.
but how many quote prices for single rooms?
quote post code?
will allow entry after 2am?

I went to a Ceroc weekender at Blackpool a few years ago and a brief search on the internet and some enquring emails found a range of B&Bs all fairly similar - basic but fine - selected one at about £17pp sharing (I think the single rate was about £25 per night), breakfast, ensuite, about 10 mins walk from Tower Ballroom and they had no problem with us arriving back late at night (ie well after 2am as we stayed to the end and chatted to folk afterwards).

[frodo]

I went to a Ceroc weekender at Blackpool a few years ago and a brief search on the internet and some enquring emails found a range of B&Bs all fairly similar - basic but fine - selected one at about £17pp sharing (I think the single rate was about £25 per night), breakfast, ensuite, about 10 mins walk from Tower Ballroom and they had no problem with us arriving back late at night (ie well after 2am as we stayed to the end and chatted to folk afterwards).

Nice thing about general hotel booking web sites is that it is very easy to find those which have single rooms and the postcodes / locations, and more importantly you can check the reviews of the hotels from people who've stayed.

Of course not every hotel is available that way, but Blackpool has reasonable coverage.

[AussieJ]

Well I'm just about sorted now - I found a B&B 4 mins away from the Tower, £40 for two nights incl breakfast and en-suite. I also got myself advance train tickets to Blackpool and back to Glasgow, £28 return.

Paid for my Friday and Saturday tickets at £52.50 and also competing in the Take A Chance MJ category for £6. So all up I ended up saving a bit of money compared to the £161.50 weekender package.

On a side note, I am a bit disappointed to hear that the WCS Newcomer Jack & Jill category had been cancelled - due to lack of numbers apparently (and I had put myself down for that competition too!!)


Oh well ... as long as I get to dance MJ and WCS freestyle and thereby meeting heaps of new dancers and make new acquaintances and friends, that's what I'm looking for and will make it an awesome weekend for me!!

And I keep hearing how fantastic the Tower Ballroom is, so I definitely want to check it out and take photos and show it off to my friends back home in Australia

[CJ]

Come and say Hi, dude...

U bringing an Aussie flag to put beside our Saltire??

btw, what's the Aussie flag called?? We have the Saltire, the Union Jack, etc... U have "The One That's Not as Cool As The New Zealand Flag" (I assume is its real name??)

P.S. Did U meet Yli?!?!?

[Achaeco]

Sorry to labour the point ... but what it costs you is pretty much irrelevant to a customer ... its whether the customer thinks its value for money. With the cost of driving across the Pennines and back for the day it was cost us well over £100 ... and though that could be money well spent if competing, personally thats a lot of money to spectate. For others, its cheap .... viva la difference etc etc

PS ... so your costs have gone up around 6-8% ... and you've maintained the same prices as last year? Welcome to the credit crunch :-)

Attempting to justify the cost Gus, is not irrelevant to customers; if we charged 4X as much we would be called upon to justify our pricing so why not justify keeping it low????

[Billi Wiz]

Just a question - we can't make it this year due to an accident - We've already paid for entry to day of competition - DWAS & Intermediate - Shame to waste £94- Can we donate to someone else? ???

[AussieJ]

Come and say Hi, dude...

U bringing an Aussie flag to put beside our Saltire??

btw, what's the Aussie flag called?? We have the Saltire, the Union Jack, etc... U have "The One That's Not as Cool As The New Zealand Flag" (I assume is its real name??)

P.S. Did U meet Yli?!?!?

CJ we've already met mate, JJs one time, and more recently at the Ceroc Champs - but I'll say Hi again

I dont have an Aussie flag - the thought never occurred to me to acquire one and bringing one along. I've just been attending things like the Weston WCS champs as part of the Scottish contingent

And the flag is just simply known as the Australian National Flag - comprised of the Union Jack, the Commonwealth Star, and the Southern Cross.

[Achaeco]

Just a question - we can't make it this year due to an accident - We've already paid for entry to day of competition - DWAS & Intermediate - Shame to waste £94- Can we donate to someone else? ???

Sorry to hear that.

We would be more than happy for you to donate your tickets to someone else.

Give us a call and let us know what you decide.

Matt

[Billi Wiz]

Sorry to hear that.

We would be more than happy for you to donate your tickets to someone else.

Give us a call and let us know what you decide.

Matt

Sorted ---- Sue helped us arrange swap...

Many thanks to all at C2D!!


-- & everyone else who has shown us such marvelllous support right now!!

WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT ALL!!

Bill

[Tiger Pants]

Good luck to everyone competing this weekend. It seems more than a little strange to even think about the Blackpool competition and know that I'm not going I'm now thinking of the fun I've had there over the past 5 years. I wish you all a great time especially those dipping their toes in the water for the first time. Good luck.