Sprite Step Off

[DrPhil]

Has this been posted yet? I can't keep up.

Originally Posted by Sprite Step Off just posted this on their FB via Twitter

The Sprite Step Off was initially created as a way to recognize talented college students and give out scholarships to help support their higher education. If we put on some entertaining step shows and brought people together along the way, all the better.

After the National Finals Competition this past weekend in Atlanta wrapped, we got together to do our post-competition review and found a scoring discrepancy in the sorority results. After looking at it and looking at it AGAIN, we determined there isn’t a definitive resolution.

Sprite is all about preserving the honesty and integrity of this competition. Because the scoring discrepancy can’t be resolved and due to the really tight margin between the first and second place sorors, we feel that the only right thing to do is to name both Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Tau Chapter & Zeta Tau Alpha, Epsilon Chapter, co-first place winners of the Sprite Step Off.

With these revised results, we’re gonna increase Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Tau Chapter’s scholarship prize to $100K, consistent with what Zeta Tau Alpha also got for their first prize winnings.

Thanks again to everyone who helped make The Sprite Step Off happen. And to one last stroll in the name of unity...

Argh, shimber me timbers. Me wonders whether Sprite will do this next year. The profit may be outweighed by the troubles and cost. Welcome to the world of step competitions, Sprite.

[rhoyaltempest]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Has this been posted yet? I can't keep up.



Argh, shimber me timbers. Me wonders whether Sprite will do this next year. The profit may be outweighed by the troubles and cost. Welcome to the world of step competitions, Sprite.

More importantly, if we are going to support the event like this with the D9 on all the advertising, then we need to demand some creative control and have a say in how things go. Please tell me how Chili (TLC), Luda, Monica, Ne Ne (Desperate Housewives of ATL), etc. are going to judge a greek stepshow? LMMFAO!!

Oh and the MC should also be greek or at least have gone to college. I hear that the MC for the national competition was very distasteful and made comments about AKA having weaves and ZTA having real hair. WTF!!!

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by rhoyaltempest

More importantly, if we are going to support the event like this with the D9 on all the advertising, then we need to demand some creative control and have a say in how things go. Please tell me how Chili (TLC), Luda, Monica, Ne Ne (Desperate Housewives of ATL), etc. are going to judge a greek stepshow? LMMFAO!!

Oh and the MC should also be greek or at least have gone to college. I hear that the MC for the national competition was very distasteful and made comments about AKA having weaves and ZTA having real hair. WTF!!!

Seriously though, do you have to be Greek to judge a Greek step show? Do you have to be beautiful to judge a beauty pageant. Do you have to be a singer to judge AI..., etc.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by ladygreek

Seriously though, do you have to be Greek to judge a Greek step show? Do you have to be beautiful to judge a beauty pageant. Do you have to be a singer to judge AI..., etc.

Well, you do need to understand music if you're going to be giving pointers and judging people on their musical abilities.

I think it would have been helpful for them to have someone judging who knew what s/he was supposed to be looking for during the show.

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

Well, you do need to understand music if you're going to be giving pointers and judging people on their musical abilities.

I think it would have been helpful for them to have someone judging who knew what s/he was supposed to be looking for during the show.

Do we know for sure that the judges didn't know this? Just asking?

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by ladygreek

Do we know for sure that the judges didn't know this? Just asking?

I think it's a fair assumption, with the numerous "borrowed" steps/transitions throughout the show. It looks like these judges glossed over the "creativity/originality" section.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by ladygreek

Seriously though, do you have to be Greek to judge a Greek step show? Do you have to be beautiful to judge a beauty pageant. Do you have to be a singer to judge AI..., etc.

Ideally, AI judges, beauty pageant judges, and America's Best Dance Crew judges have expertise, experience, or knowledge in the subject matter. Inexperienced judges have been criticized in other realms before, as well.

Every stepshow that I respected enough to attend had Greeks and/or people who have some knowledge of stepping as judges. I'm very picky about which homecoming and other competitive shows are worth my attendance. I attend stepshows relatively rarely and wouldn't attend one where celebs were judges for the sake of celebrity---especially for "the largest national step competition ever."

Some may wonder whether all of this would've been an issue had an NPHC org won. I say, yes, it would've if people didn't think the particular NPHC org should've won. Stepping for money has always been surrrrrrrrrrious bidness.

[rhoyaltempest]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Ideally, AI judges, beauty pageant judges, and America's Best Dance Crew judges have expertise, experience, or knowledge in the subject matter. Inexperienced judges have been criticized in other realms before, as well.

Every stepshow that I respected enough to attend had Greeks and/or people who have some knowledge of stepping as judges. I'm very picky about which homecoming and other competitive shows are worth my attendance. I attend stepshows relatively rarely and wouldn't attend one where celebs were judges for the sake of celebrity---especially for "the largest national step competition ever."

Some may wonder whether all of this would've been an issue had an NPHC org won. I say, yes, it would've if people didn't think the particular NPHC org should've won. Stepping for money has always been surrrrrrrrrrious bidness.

Exactly. Since one of the scoring categories is usually originality and/or creativity (or something like this) and you seldom attend stepshows or have no idea about what goes into stepping, how can you recognize when a theme or steps have been done by others before or are overdone? You're all excited as a judge because you think this step team just brought something new but they haven't, not even close.

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by rhoyaltempest

Exactly. Since one of the scoring categories is usually originality and/or creativity (or something like this) and you seldom attend stepshows or have no idea about what goes into stepping, how can you recognize when a theme or steps have been done by others before or are overdone? You're all excited as a judge because you think this step team just brought something new but they haven't, not even close.

But there are a whole lot of greeks who don't have a clue either. Which is why there is usually some controversary about who won even in NPHC sponsored shows.

[rhoyaltempest]

Originally Posted by ladygreek

But there are a whole lot of greeks who don't have a clue either. Which is why there is usually some controversary about who won even in NPHC sponsored shows.

I agree; however, when it comes to the big shows (Stomp the Yard) and even the undergrad shows, those involved in organizing these shows contact the alumnae chapters to provide the judges. Usually our Basileus will do it and if she can't, she will ask someone else in our chapter. This builds up a nice "judging resume." She and others in my chapter have now judged many many shows in our area and I'm sure this is happening in other cities as well, although possibly not always (although I don't think I've ever heard of undergrads doing the judging). But I think seeking BGLO alumnae is the best way to go since there SHOULD be more maturity and honesty there but the alumnae chapters should ask members to judge that frequent stepshows and/or who have stepped themselves.