The Australian Rock 'n' Roll Dancesport Council (ARRDC) was founded and incorporated in August 1994 by Denis Blackburn. It is a non-profit organisation identifying all styles of dance under the Rock 'n' Roll umbrella and is basically managed by a President and Secretary, with the assistance of a team of volunteers.

As the recognised body for Rock 'n' Roll dancing, in Australia, the ARRDC is represented by branches in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia Tasmaina plus several regional areas.

In a relatively short period of time and with limited funds, the ARRDC has achieved major recognition as a sport, and has the support of many leading sports associations, clubs and other organisations locally and internationally.

Over the past four years, the repertoire of dances under the Rock 'n' Roll umbrella has developed into many distinctive styles. Styles such as Slow Swing/West Coast Swing Jitterbug, Lindy Hop, Rockabilly, 50s Rock 'n' Roll, Continental, Swing, Jive and Freestyle (floor and liftwork) sections, along with triples teams, cabaret and Pro-Am (teacher with student) events. A combination of various music with a different tempo is played to characterise each individual dance style.

The ARRDC is committed to further develop these styles by running competitions Australia-wide and having standardised set of rules applying for all competitors.

Another primary function is to structure qualifying exams for teachers as well as for adjudicators and examiners, each requiring, a different method of approach, to cater for the various levels of Affiliate, Associate, Licentiate, Fellow and Examiner. Student medallist exams are available also set to encourage the student to improve their dancing and having goals to strive for.

The ARRDC hold championships at city, state and Australasian levels in the categories of minors, juvenile, Junior, youth, adult, senior and masters, as well as provide social family entertainment at these competitions.

Recogniton

• Member Sports Federation NSW Branch - 1997
• Major participant in the Centenary of Federation 2001
• ARRDC members and teachers invited to join NSW Coaches Association - 1997
• Invitation to select applicants for Young Australian of the Year NSW Branch Awards since 1997
• Invited to join Australian Society of Sports Administrators (ASSA) and sit for ASSA exams (Level 1 & 2 Sports Management Course)
• Membership quoted to the Australian Council for Health & Physical Education & Recreation- 1997
• Invited to attend Volunteer Programs run by Olympic Committee- 1997
• Invited to participate as a sport in its own right at Masters Games State and Australian levels also Asian Pacific Masters Games
• Member of the Sports Industry of Australia
• Recognised as a Society by the ADB since 1997

Aims of the ARRDC

• Develop the level of participation and promote all styles of Rock 'n' Roll dancing as a healthy, fun and non-discriminatory sport attainable by people across all ages and backgrounds
• Standardise and establish a system for all styles of Rock 'n' Roll dancing through the development and consistent application of set rules for participants across all competitions
• Improve the standard of teaching through the structure and implementation Of examinations for teachers, adjudicators and examiners
• Encourage participants to improve their dancing by conducting varying levels of competitions and offering medal examinations
• Continually enhance the effectiveness and credibility of the ARRDC, both locally and internationally

A Sport with growth potential

Over the past four years, interest in Rock 'n' Roll dancing has undoubtedly grown as evidenced by the increasing level of participation and the number of dance schools/clubs established throughout the country.

Primary schools are starting to introduce it as part of their curriculum, community courses are having to limit the number of enrolments for classes due to over-enrolments, various clubs are seeing its potential for attracting patrons and offering dance classes. There are increasing, number of Rock 'n" Roll workshops being, held, which also attract international instructors.

Given the fact that not all dance studios/clubs are part of the ARRDC, it is difficult to establish a precise figure on the number of people who dance Rock 'n' Roll or attend classes. The ARRDC has access to almost 3,000 participants covering, all ages, with a database of approximately 350 nationally growing rapidly.

This will expand as the organisation seeks to enhance its networking capabilities to create awareness of the Association and encourage a more unified body with broader representation. Strategies to achieve this include:

• visits to regional areas and attending as many local competitions as possible to 'spread the word' on the functions and aims of the ARRDC;
• promotion through the Education system to reach primary school students and develop proper programmes for teaching;
• promotion through Adult Colleges to introduce Rock 'n' Roll dancing into their programme.
• However the execution of these strategies require resources in people, time and funding, which are presently unavailable.

Target Market,

The ARRDC defines its target market into three groups:

1. Under 18 Youth, male and female (primarily 12-18 years)
2. Young Adults, male and female (18 -35 years)
3. Adults, male and female (35 plus years)

We believe the largest potential is in capturing the Youth and Young Adults market, whilst recognising that there is a strong core of so-called 'baby boomers' and older adults who have a strong sense of wanting to recapture the lifestyle and social scene of the post war years.Like any other sport, it is the Youth who are the most active participants and by providing them with proper learning conditions, opportunities for development, training, establishing clear goals, recognising, and rewarding achievements, strong loyalty to the sport can be established. Indeed, these are the fundamental principles which the ARRDC recognised as critical when it was established.

Partnership Opportunities

Rock 'n' Roll dancing in Australia today is still in its infancy and its rate of growth as a sport largely depends on the level of funding, available to foster its development.

As a non-profit organisation, the ARRDC is committed to achieving, its aims, is highly enthusiastic about the future of the sport and is seeking to establish partnerships with companies who share its vision and can see mutual benefits in aligning itself with sport.

Whilst most organisations who are looking for sponsors have a structured view on the benefits available to the sponsor for a given fee, the ARRDC prefers to work closely with sponsors by firstly understanding their marketing objectives and the key success factors to achieve the sponsor's objectives.

It is important that both the ARRDC and its sponsors have mutually compatible corporate positioning goals and work 'hand in glove' in leveraging off each parties' strengths of their market image.

The ARRDC aims to position the sport of Rock 'n' Roll dancing as typifying the clean, healthy (drug-free), family oriented image, an activity that can be enjoyed socially or competitively by people from all backgrounds. It is this appeal that we believe is an excellent match for companies who wish to align themselves with this market positioning.

Whether it is naming rights sponsorship, a television coverage package, being, listed as a preferred supplier, merchandising, product testing/launch or simply branding association with an event, the opportunities are available and we are happy to discuss various options.

• New South Wales - Secretary - Dianne Kersten (02) 9688 7000
• New South Wales - President - Denis Blackburn (02) 9688 7000 Facsimile (02) 9688 7011 Website
• Marketing Director - Marcia Summers (02)67211537
• Tasmania - President - Dennis Klumpp (03) 6463 1151 Website
• Tasmania - Secretary - Peta Klumpp (03) 6463 1147
• Victoria - Chairperson - Dennis Foley 03 9790 3567 Fax (03) 9790 3553
• Western Australia - Shirley Bickley - (08) 9337 3452
• South Australia - Sue Heindrich 08 82816170
• Queensland - John Watson 07 38248711