Question 1

Public role and legal status

Accepted Answer

Publicly stated role. The reviewed BDF website material includes the wording “Championing the Dance World. Supporting Its Dancers.”Other reviewed BDF website wording states that BDF is committed to “advancing and safeguarding our Dance World,” aims to nurture a dance community built on sportsmanship, and aims to champion the rights and interests of dancers and competitors.Rule Book objects. The BDF Rule Book states objects including fostering fellowship and sportsmanship and protecting the interests of competitors, demonstrators, adjudicators, teachers and coaches.The Rule Book also includes furthering goodwill and co-operation with the BDF, the British Dance Council and international governing bodies, associations and organisations.These are recorded as BDF’s published website and Rule Book wording.Relationship with the British Dance Council. BDF public material refers to the British Dance Council in a number of contexts, including representation and professional or adjudicator-related routes.The British Dance Council Corporate Members page reviewed separately lists the The Ballroom Dancers’ Federation among its professional dance organisation corporate members.The reviewed material did not establish the voting rights, delegate arrangements or decision-making rights attached to BDF’s BDC corporate membership.Detailed amateur representation through BDF and the BDC is covered separately under Amateur, Parents & Youth Routes.Other organisational relationships. BDF website material refers to the WDC, BCDC, BDFI, Competitors’ Commission, DPA and other dance organisations in different contexts.The nature, current status and decision-making rights attached to each of those relationships were not independently established from the reviewed material.Legal status. The BDF website footer states that the organisation is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales and gives company number 11469290.Companies House material records The Ballroom Dancers’ Federation, company number 11469290, as a private company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 17 July 2018.

Question 2

Public access and membership

Accepted Answer

Publicly accessible information. The reviewed BDF website pages were publicly accessible without login. These included the homepage, Membership pages, About and Executive Committee page, What We Do pages, Help and FAQs, Contact page, Shop page, event and ticketing routes, Rule Book, Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, Safeguarding Policy and Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Policy.A My Account login and registration route is publicly visible. Account-only content was not reviewed.Membership year and costs. The current BDF Membership page states that the membership year begins 1 March 2026 and runs through 2027.The page lists:Student membership for under-16s: FreeFull Membership: £28 per personAffiliate Membership: £60Membership categories. Membership-category wording differs between the reviewed BDF sources.The Rule Book lists Honorary Life, Full, Student and Affiliate membership.The Terms and Conditions list Honorary Life, Full, Associate and Affiliate membership and also separately describe Amateur Registrants.The current website states that Full Membership is available to amateur and professional dancers and competitors, adjudicators, teachers and individuals with a professional interest in competitive dancing.The Terms and Conditions state that Amateur Competitors may not apply for Full Membership and that Associate Membership is for amateur dancers and competitors.The Terms also state that only Honorary Life Members and Full Members carry AGM voting rights. The Rule Book states that Full Members and Honorary Life Members may attend General Meetings and have one vote, subject to the membership provisions set out in the Rule Book.These different statements are recorded as they appear in the respective public sources rather than combined into a single membership-category description.Detailed amateur voting and representation arrangements are covered separately under Amateur, Parents & Youth Routes.Membership and account routes. Public membership subscription and application routes were visible.Completion of membership may involve registration, application or payment. The full internal membership approval process and the content available through My Account were not reviewed through the public-access review.Adjudicator licence route. The BDF does not issue separate adjudicator licences.The reviewed BDF New Professionals information instead refers to external British Dance Council and World Dance Council professional and adjudicator routes and to teaching organisations.For adjudicating, the current BDF information refers to qualification through a teaching organisation and to applying for a British Dance Council adjudicating licence and, where applicable, a World Dance Council adjudicating licence.These are external BDC and WDC licence routes referred to by BDF, not licences issued by BDF.Adjudicator and official information. The BDF Privacy Policy states that BDF may process information concerning adjudicators and officials, including accreditations, qualifications and training, availability, selection and travel information, reports concerning couples and events, DBS information where applicable, and disciplinary and safeguarding information where relevant.Detailed safeguarding and data-protection arrangements are covered separately under Safeguarding, Complaints & Governance.Publicly listed people and member information. Named officers, Executive Committee members, honoraries and other role holders were publicly visible on BDF website pages.A public BDF member directory is also available.Public social-media routes are visible for Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.Competition results, ratings and rankings information. The BDF Privacy Policy states that BDF may process and publish competition results, ratings and rankings data.It also states that comprehensive competition results may be retained for archiving in the public interest or for historical and statistical purposes.Detailed competition and event information is covered separately under Competitions & Participation.

Question 3

Rules and policies

Accepted Answer

Rules and policy material. Rules and policy material was publicly visible in the reviewed BDF material.Publicly accessible material included the BDF Rule Book, Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, Safeguarding Policy and Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Policy.Rule Book. The BDF publishes a Rule Book.The reviewed Rule Book includes provisions concerning membership, voting, annual general meetings, the Executive Committee, amendments to rules, suspension and expulsion.Detailed voting, Executive Committee and disciplinary provisions are covered separately under Safeguarding, Complaints & Governance.Terms and Conditions. Public Terms and Conditions apply to BDF membership.They contain provisions concerning membership categories and eligibility, applications, membership approval and refusal, suspension or cancellation, payment, cancellation and refunds.The Terms also contain data-protection wording and state that they are governed by the laws of England and Wales.The current Terms state that BDF membership may also be subject to further regulations and conditions prescribed by BDF and published on its website.Privacy Policy. A public BDF Privacy Policy was reviewed.The policy describes personal-data processing in relation to BDF members, competitors, adjudicators and officials, volunteers, ticket buyers and other customers, and website users. It also identifies categories of information processed in connection with those different roles.Detailed findings concerning personal data and safeguarding-related information are covered separately under Safeguarding, Complaints & Governance.Safeguarding Policy. A public BDF Safeguarding Policy was reviewed.Detailed safeguarding responsibilities, reporting arrangements, background-check wording and material not found are covered separately under Safeguarding, Complaints & Governance.Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Policy. A public Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Policy was identified in the reviewed BDF material.Code of Conduct. A separate publicly available BDF Code of Conduct was not found in the reviewed material.

Question 4

Competitions and participation

Accepted Answer

Competition and event activity. Public BDF event pages, Shop pages and ticketing routes were visible in the reviewed material.Publicly visible events and activities included:The BDF Star BallThe BDF Night of 100 StarsProfessional Showdance ChampionshipsProfessional American Smooth CompetitionInternational Pro/Am Team MatchThe BDF International CongressThe BDF National CongressBDF awardsBDF training activity
Entries, tickets and Shop purchases involve booking, payment or contact routes.DPA/BDF National League. DPA public material uses the name DPA/BDF National League.The public Dance Charts page is headed “DPA/BDF National League Charts” and provides searchable chart categories and results links.The reviewed National League Categories material lists DPA/BDF National League categories across Juvenile, Junior, Adult, Solo, Couples, Sequence, Ballroom and Latin sections.The reviewed material did not establish the formal agreement between DPA and BDF, the division of responsibilities between the two organisations or the current terms governing their involvement in the League.The current-season applicability and amendment status of the reviewed National League categories were also not confirmed.Junior and youth participation. BDF public material includes Junior and Youth events together with a Junior & Youth Training Scheme / Training Camp route.Training or event selection and entry may require contact, application or payment.Detailed youth representation and consultation routes are covered separately under Amateur, Parents & Youth Routes.Pro/Am and other competition formats. The reviewed BDF event material includes Pro/Am, Professional Showdance and Professional American Smooth activity.The International Pro/Am Team Match was also publicly identified in the reviewed event material.The presence of these formats is recorded from the individual public event material. The reviewed material did not establish that all BDF events operate under one common set of event rules.Public results, ratings and rankings. The BDF Privacy Policy states that BDF may process and publish competition results, ratings and rankings data.It also states that comprehensive competition results may be retained for archiving in the public interest or for historical and statistical purposes.The Privacy Policy also states that competitor information may be shared with ratings or rankings organisations such as the DPA.Event rules and review routes. Complete event rules covering all BDF competitions and activities were not identified in the reviewed event material.Event-specific objection or appeal procedures, selection-review routes, complete withdrawal and refund arrangements, adjudicator-selection criteria and event-specific safeguarding arrangements were not found or not confirmed in the reviewed material.Detailed general safeguarding, complaints and governance arrangements are covered separately under Safeguarding, Complaints & Governance.

Question 5

Amateur, parents and youth routes

Accepted Answer

Amateur and competitor representation. BDF public material includes amateur and professional dancer and competitor wording.The Terms and Conditions state that Amateur Registrants are entitled to representation at the British Dance Council, but are not entitled to voting rights, nomination for election to the Executive Committee or attendance at General Meetings.The Terms also state that Associate Membership is for amateur dancers and competitors and that Associate Members receive full membership benefits except voting rights and nomination to the Executive Committee.The current BDF About Us page states that delegates from the Executive Committee represent the Federation on the British Dance Council board of directors.The reviewed public material did not identify which BDF delegates represent Amateur Registrants or Associate Members specifically, how their views are gathered for BDC representation, or how outcomes from that representation are reported to them.ProAm representation. The current BDF About Us page identifies a current Membership Secretary.In his published profile, he describes himself as a former ProAm competitor and states that he aims to “represent the interests of that growing community at the Executive Committee.” The profile also invites people to contact him with questions or ideas.Parent and legal guardian routes. The BDF Privacy Policy refers to parent or guardian contact details for competitors who are children and to individuals acting on behalf of a child.A parent representative, parent voting route, parent consultation process or parent or legal guardian decision-making role was not found in the reviewed public material.Youth and under-18 participation. BDF public material includes under-16 and Student membership wording, Junior and Youth events and Junior & Youth Training Scheme or Training Camp material.The current About Us page also states that BDF organises training camps for Youth, Amateur and Senior Competitors.The BDF Safeguarding Policy covers children under 18.Youth representation and consultation. A youth representative, under-18 consultation route or publicly identified youth voice route was not found in the reviewed public material.A youth-specific appeal or review route relating to selection for the reviewed training activity was also not identified.

Question 6

Safeguarding, complaints and governance

Accepted Answer

Safeguarding policy. The BDF publishes a Safeguarding Policy. The policy applies to volunteers, contractors, board members and anyone representing the BDF. It defines a vulnerable individual as a child under 18 or a vulnerable adult at risk.The policy states that risk assessments are to be conducted for activities involving vulnerable individuals and that volunteers, board members and contractors working directly with vulnerable individuals must undergo background checks such as DBS checks.The policy also contains safeguarding-training wording and provisions relating to safeguarding arrangements when working with partner organisations or contractors.Safeguarding reporting route. The Safeguarding Policy states that safeguarding concerns or allegations of abuse must be reported immediately to the Designated Safeguarding Lead.The BDF About Us page also publicly identifies a Safeguarding Officer.The policy states that local authorities or the police should be contacted without delay where immediate danger is involved. It also states that the Designated Safeguarding Lead is responsible for keeping records of concerns, actions taken and the outcome of any investigation.A dedicated safeguarding email address or safeguarding reporting form was not found in the reviewed policy. A fuller staged safeguarding reporting process, deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead and event-specific under-18 safeguarding guidance were not identified in the reviewed public material.Complaints and concerns. Public routes were visible for general contact and help, the Secretary, safeguarding concerns and data-protection matters. The Privacy Policy also provides a route to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office about personal-data processing.Membership cancellation and refund wording was publicly visible. Suspension and expulsion provisions were also visible in the Rule Book and Terms and Conditions.A publicly available general BDF complaints procedure setting out stages, timescales and a review or appeal route was not identified in the reviewed material.A separate review or appeal route was not identified in the reviewed public material for general complaints, membership refusal, suspension or cancellation, event issues or selection decisions.Executive Committee and governance. The BDF Rule Book includes provisions covering voting, Annual General Meetings, the Executive Committee, rule changes, suspension and expulsion.The Rule Book states that management is entrusted to the Executive Committee. The public About Us page identifies the organisation’s officers, Executive Committee members and honoraries.The current About Us page states that the Executive Committee meets monthly.It also states that delegates from the Executive Committee represent the Federation on the British Dance Council board of directors. Detailed BDC representation is covered under Public Role & Legal Status and Amateur, Parents & Youth Routes.Annual General Meeting. The BDF website publicly provides information about its Annual General Meeting.The Rule Book contains provisions concerning AGM attendance, voting, quorum, propositions and Extraordinary General Meetings. The Terms and Conditions state that only Honorary Life and Full Members are entitled to vote at the AGM.Public AGM minutes, vote records, candidate lists, election results and decision logs were not identified in the reviewed public material.Data protection. The BDF publishes a Privacy Policy covering personal-data processing for members, competitors, adjudicators and officials, volunteers, ticket buyers and other customers, and website users.The policy includes processing of contact and biographical information, competition results, adjudicator and official information, DBS information where applicable, disciplinary and safeguarding information, membership details and parent or guardian contact information where relevant.It also states that competitor information may be shared with organisations including the WDC, BDC, BCDC, competition organisers and ratings or rankings organisations such as the DPA.The policy provides contact routes for data-protection matters and identifies the Information Commissioner’s Office as a route for complaints concerning personal-data processing.The reviewed Privacy Policy states “Published May 2019.” A later publication date was not identified in the reviewed material.

Question 7

Not found, not confirmed and supporting evidence

Accepted Answer

Complaints and review routes. A clearly titled general complaints procedure with stages, timescales, an appeal or review route and independence wording was not found in the reviewed public material.An independent appeal or review route was not found for complaints, membership refusal, suspension or cancellation, event issues or selection decisions.Representation and governance. A parent or legal guardian representative, parent voting route, parent consultation process or parent decision-making role was not found.A youth representative, under-18 consultation route, youth voice route or youth-specific appeal or review process was not found.Public AGM minutes, vote records, candidate lists, election results and decision logs were not found.Safeguarding and events. A fuller staged safeguarding reporting process, dedicated safeguarding contact route, role-specific DBS renewal process and event-specific under-18 safeguarding guidance were not found.Event-specific safeguarding arrangements, parent or carer guidance, event appeals or objections, selection review routes, withdrawal or refund processes, full image-consent routes and child-image opt-out or takedown routes were not confirmed.Licensing, policies and public information. The BDF does not issue separate adjudicator licences. A current paid teaching-association membership requirement was not confirmed in the reviewed BDF material where adjudicator-related wording appeared.A separate Code of Conduct and a public member directory were not found.British Dance Council relationship. The British Dance Council publicly lists The Ballroom Dancers’ Federation under Professional Dance Organisations.The reviewed BDC material did not establish the voting, decision-making or representative rights attached to that corporate-member listing, or how the different corporate-member categories participate in British Dance Council governance, rule-making or appointments.The BDF Terms and Conditions separately state that Amateur Registrants are entitled to representation at the British Dance Council. The reviewed material did not show how that representation operates, how representatives are selected or instructed, or how outcomes are reported to Amateur Registrants.Last reviewed. 29 June 2026.

The Ballroom Dancers' Federation Ltd

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