What are the Worlds?

The World Championships is the most prestigious dance competition in Irish Dance. The Worlds are the equivalent to the Olympics and less than 1% of dancers qualify for the event.

How do I qualify?
1. You have to qualify for an Oireachtas (regionals).There are seven competition regions in North America: New England, Eastern (Mid-Atlantic), Mid-America (Midwest), Southern, Western United States, Eastern Canada, and Western Canada. In order to do this for the age groups U-13 and below, you must get a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in your prize-winner level dances. For the age groups U-14 and higher, you must be in the level PC (preliminary champion) and place in the top half at least one time at a Feis (local competition that isn't a major). A dancer that is in the age group of U-10 or younger can be entered at the discretion of their teacher.

2. One must recall at the Oireachtas. Here you either qualify for the NAN's (North American Nationals) or the Worlds. To qualify for the Worlds in a single year age group, 5 dancers are qualified for the first 20 dancers, then one more is qualified for every 10 dancers there are beyond the first 20. All World medal holders are automatically re-qualified for the World Championship the following year, so the age group receives one additional qualifying spot for every medal holder. To qualify for the NAN's it's the top ten plus 25% of the total entrants. 

3.  If you don't qualify at Oireachtas for Worlds you can qualify at the NAN's. In order to qualify it's 5 for the first 20 dancers and 1 more for every 10 dancers after that.

What's a Recall?
The scores from the first two rounds (soft & hard shoes) are calculated and the dancers with the highest scores are asked back to dance their 3rd and final round, which is their set dance. The Oireachtas and NAN's recall the top 50% of the total entrants, and the Worlds recalls the top 30%. 

When are the Major Competitions?
July 4th weekend: NAN's
Fall: Oireachtas (each region has a different time- the Mid-West Region is over Thanksgiving)
October: All- Ireland Championships
February: All-Scotland Championships
Easter Weekend: World Championships