National Championship

How It Works

Only step teams that participated in the Preliminary State Competitions, and were invited to compete at the National Championship each year in the month of September based on their state level performance will be eligible to compete (includes graduate from the past year that participated in States). Only members of the team that have signed the “Official Team Roster” can participate in the National Championship. All teams and team members must continue to meet the team requirements and team member eligibility requirements set forth below.

Eligibility

This competition is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States (or the District of Columbia) who are members of a Team that was invited to participate in the National Championship based on the preliminary state competitions. Each team member must continue to meet the following requirements in order to be eligible to participate:

Be currently enrolled in a school or community program within the state for which they are competing for and
Be an active member of their local step team.

Team and Team Member Requirement

Each team must have a primary point of contact who acts as a liaison for the team and USA Step staff.
Each team member must meet the eligibility criteria above.
Each team must have at least 5 team members who perform. ANYONE WHO STEPS ON THE STAGE (EXCLUDING CREW MEMBERS ADMINISTERING PROPS) IS CONSIDERED A PERFORMER AND MUST MEET THE STATED CRITERIA. The total number of performing team members must remain constant throughout all phases of the competition. Teams may NOT substitute team members without prior approval by a USA Step staff member. Each team may also include up to 2 additional team members who serve as crew and/or team advisor. Note that any crew member must meet the team member eligibility criteria above.
Each team will need to provide or have already provided an official team roster. The official team roster is entered and provided through the application process.
No weapons, alcohol, drugs or other controlled substances will be allowed at any competition.

Only Team Members of the Team that are listed on the “Official Team Roster” can participate in the National Championship.

Agreement to Official Rules

Participation in this competition constitutes that each team member’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Administrator’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to this competition. Participation, advancement and/or receipt of any Scholarship Prize are dependent on the applicable team or team member(s) fulfilling all requirements as set forth herein.

Timing

The National Championship will take place in September of each year pursuant to the team information package. USA Step reserves the right to adjust program timing or location at its discretion including National Championship cancellation, if necessary.

How to Participate

Pre-Qualified Team Instructions

The first place winning team from each preliminary state competition are (and have been) invited to compete in the National Championship (includes graduate from the past year that participated in States). Teams must report to the designated staging location on the day and time provided by USA Step staff. The entire team must be present at check-in, in order for that team to be allowed to compete in the National Championship, unless team receives written approval from USA Step for any delay or absence. Show performance times may vary and may be changed at the sole discretion of the USA Step staff. A mandatory official National Championship rules meeting will be held in the official USA Step host hotel on the Friday prior to completion. This meeting is for sponsors and coaches. Any sponsors/coaches who are tardy or absent are subject to sanctions, including disqualification. Sanctions will be applied via disqualification or scoring deductions to the team’s National Championship performance.

Teams will be required to participate in the USA Step seminars during the weekend of the National Completion, which is a part of their participation in the USA Step competition. Details regarding the seminars will be provided by USA Step staff.

Teams that have successfully completed team check-in will compete in the National Championship of USA Step. All confirmed teams should report to their assigned stage as instructed by the USA Step staff. USA Step may allow performing team members and up to two (2) identified crew members and two (2) coaches on stage. Anyone who steps on the stage (with the exception of identified crew members and coaches) is considered a performing stepper and must meet the stated criteria. For purposes of clarity and avoidance of doubt, this means no children/parents/audience members should ever be on stage with a team during a performance. Each team’s performance must continue to meet the performance criteria set forth below.

Team Replacement

If, for any reason, any preliminary state competition 1st place prize winning team cannot accept its trip to the National Championship, the open slot will be filled by offering the opportunity to the appropriate preliminary state competition 2nd place prize winning team (including a refund of their registration fee). If, for any reason, the 2nd place prize winning team from the corresponding preliminary state completion cannot accept, USA Step will offer the opportunity to the appropriate preliminary state competition 3rd place prize winning team. If the slot still cannot be filled in either of these ways, USA Step will offer the opportunity to the appropriate top-scoring team from among all ranked 2nd and 3rd place teams across all preliminary state competitions or USA Step staff will take whatever action it deems fair to offer the slot to another team or the slot will go un-awarded at their discretion.

Scholarship Prizes

The 3 top-scoring teams from the National Championship girls and boys category will receive the following scholarship prizes.

1st Place Prize (for the top-scoring team) - $5,000 Team Scholarship
2nd Place Prize (for the next highest-scoring) - $2,000 Team Scholarship
3rd Place Prize (for the third highest-scoring) - $,1000 Team Scholarship

All team scholarships will be awarded to the winning team school or organization. Payment of the team scholarship will be via a check for the full amount of the team scholarship prize, made payable the school or organization. Payments will not be made directly to individuals and may not be transferred or redeemed for cash. Team scholarships will be awarded to the winning teams beginning no later than October 31 following the National Championship, and are subject to additional, separate terms and conditions. If a request for deferral is made and the scholarship is not used within five years, the funds will be returned to the USA Step program which will donate the funds to the recipient's high school scholarship fund.

For All Scholarship Prizes

No substitution, exchange or transfer of scholarship prizes by team members. USA Step reserves the right to substitute any scholarship prize for one of equal or greater value. Winners are responsible for all taxes and fees, if any, associated with scholarship prize receipt and/or use. USA Step reserves the right to award fewer than the number of scholarship prizes indicated if there are an insufficient number of eligible, qualified teams competing at the National Championship or if the National Championship is cancelled.

Release

By attending the National Championship and any receipt of a scholarship prize, as the case may be, each team member agrees to release and hold harmless the USA Step, 4 Knowledge is Power, sponsors, and all of the respective related companies, parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, promotional partners, prize providers and agents, and any agencies or other companies involved in the development or execution of the competition or production or distribution of competition materials, and each such company's officers, directors, employees and agents from and against any claim or cause of action, including, but not limited to, personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property, arising out of participation in the competition or receipt or use or misuse of any scholarship prize.

General Conditions

USA Step reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the competition, or any part of it, or to change, alter or eliminate any aspect of the National Championship, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor, including, without limitation, failure of any team(s) to participate at the National Championship, impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the competition, or for another valid reasons, as determined by USA Step in its sole discretion. If terminated, USA Step may, in its sole discretion, determine the winning teams using whatever process it finds to be fair, given the circumstances. USA Step, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to disqualify any individual team member it finds to be tampering with the successful and planned operation of the competition or to be acting in violation of the official rules of this or any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner and disqualify the team member and/or team. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the competition may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, USA Step reserves the right to seek damages and other remedies (including attorneys' fees) from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. USA Step's failure to enforce any term of these official rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. By participating in the National Championship, each team member agrees to be bound by the official rules and the decisions of the judges, 4 Knowledge is Power, Inc. and/or USA Step staff. Failure to comply with any of the above rules and regulations may result in immediate disqualification from all USA Step activities, in the sole discretion of USA Step staff. All materials submitted become the sole property of USA Step and will not be acknowledged or returned. By entering the USA Step National Championship, each team member grants to USA Step a royalty free, unlimited and irrevocable gratis license and exclusive right to use, broadcast, publish, copyright and for any other lawful purposes as further described and set forth in each team member's participant waiver and release form, which is incorporated herein by reference, to use and allow others to use team member's likeness, including name, biographical information, voice, statements, performances, recordings or interviews and endorsements made by or attributable to him/her, verbatim or otherwise and participation in USA Step in perpetuity throughout the universe, and in any language, in any manner it desires, in connection with the production, exhibition, exploitation, merchandising (retail and licensed) and promotion of the USA Step program, in whole or in part, in any form, in any and all formats and media, whether now known or hereafter developed worldwide without limitation. All rights set forth herein and any and all materials created incorporating a team member's likeness, in whole or part, will be the sole property of the USA Step program. All Teams will be photographed and filmed and all photos and video are property of the USA Step program and its affiliates. Each team member agrees to release and hold USA Step, 4 Knowledge is Power, and event sponsors and their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, suppliers and vendors involved in the USA Step competition and their respective directors, officers, employees and assigns of each, harmless against any and all claims, damages, losses, expenses and liability of any kind arising out of participation in this competition. All team members assume all risks associated with entering and participating in the USA Step competition and their performance. All team members assume all liability for any injury or damage caused, or claimed to be caused, by participation in the USA Step competition, including travel to and from the events, attendance at the National Championship, the team's performance and the acceptance or use of any prize. All federal, state and local taxes are the sole responsibility of winners. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. 4 Knowledge is Power, USA Step, Promotional Participants and Released Parties are not responsible for any typographical or other errors in the printing, the offering or the announcement of any scholarship prizes or in the administration of the competition.

Limitations of Liability

Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by team member, printing, typographical or other errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the competition; (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines, music MP3s/CDs or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the competition; (4) printing, typographical, technical, computer, network or human error which may occur in the administration of the competition, or in any competition-related materials; (5) late, lost, undeliverable, damaged or stolen mail; or (6) any injury or damage to property or persons, including but not limited to, death or dismemberment, which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from team member's participation in the competition or receipt or use or misuse of any opportunity to compete (including any travel/activity related thereto). Released Parties are not responsible for any technical problems, malfunctions of computer systems, servers, providers, hardware/software, lost or unavailable network connections or failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmission or any combination thereof. Released Parties are not responsible for any unauthorized third-party use of any prior submission or of any recording of a performance in this competition.

Disputes

Except where prohibited, each team member agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this competition or any competition opportunity or prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate Florida State Court located in Palm Beach County, Florida; (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this competition, but in no event attorneys' fees; and (3) under no circumstances will team member be permitted to obtain awards for, and team member hereby waives all rights to claim, indirect, punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these official rules, or the rights and obligations of the team member and 4 Knowledge is Power in connection with the competition, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Florida without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of Florida or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Florida.

Team Members’ Personal Information

Information collected from team members is subject to USA Step’s Privacy Policy as found on its website.

Be currently enrolled in a school or community program within the state for which they are competing for and

Be an active member of their local step team.

Each team must have a primary point of contact who acts as a liaison for the team and USA Step staff.

Each team member must meet the eligibility criteria above.

Each team will need to provide or have already provided an official team roster. The official team roster is entered and provided through the application process.

No weapons, alcohol, drugs or other controlled substances will be allowed at any competition.

1st Place Prize (for the top-scoring team) - $5,000 Team Scholarship

2nd Place Prize (for the next highest-scoring) - $2,000 Team Scholarship

3rd Place Prize (for the third highest-scoring) - $,1000 Team Scholarship