Clary. What would your reaction be to 1/3 of the entries being received after the program has gone to the printer. What use would this magnificant souvenir $12 program be if 1/3 of the names are not listed. Plus the events are not being run according to the program.
I suppose there could be in the program numbers with no name beside them. The names could be announced from the stage. All 70 or so.
There is a right and a wrong way of running a competition either very professional or slap happy.

A program is indeed just a souvenir. I certainly don't expect it to be a Bible for the event.

As a competitor, at recent events I've attended, I've been able to get my a separate heat list for my own events. So competitors should know what's going on.

If spectators feel left out, well, that happens sometimes. If your experience is that you can't trust the information in the program, then don't buy one. I have attended some events where the program was thrown out the window, and as a spectator I just had to go with the flow. It didn't kill me.

Ballroom Dancing is very orderly, How many times have you travelled a hundred miles or so to a competition. Had your first round early and the next round hours later. Is that orderly or is the program just thrown together. If you are willing to accept this, then you would accept that if you went to a stage show it would be OK to put Act 2 on before Act 1. which is not according to the program
At least in a Professional Competition there can only be 20 minutes between rounds. In this day and age with computers ect there is no excuse for a badly organized competition. If it is not so then put in a complaint to the comittee.

In answer to your question, the great majority of the competitions I attend are a lot more than 100 miles from where I live (which is in a rural area in the middle of nowhere). Yes, sometimes there is a long wait between rounds and I don't know whether I've been recalled during that time. (But I'm a pro-am dancer, remember, so by definition that means I'm really, really bad and usually I don't make the cut. But if my biggest problem during a day is that I've waited around a ballroom longer than I "needed" to, well, a lot of people would think I'm pretty lucky.)

I'll also admit that I'm not the smartest person on the block - so I don't understand your analogy between dancing and a play. Maybe dancing itself is "orderly", and maybe a play is "orderly" but I don't understand why the definiiton of an "orderly" competition. Some competition organizers deliberately stretch out the day in the hope that it will keep more people in the room spectating - they consider that "orderly". They run ALL the first rounds of waltz events from newcomer through open, and then subsequent waltz rounds from newcomer to open, and then all the finals of the waltz. Only then will they start the tango rounds. After tango, they might run the first rounds of the Am Champ or other multi-dance events. But they might not run the next round of Am Champ until a few more syllabus events are completed. If the program indicated that there would be a long, long wait between rounds, would you consider that OK? There IS order to it - maybe not to your taste. So would you still object to "bad" organization? I'm just trying to understand.

Also, I'm a bit confused by your reference to the Pro events and the implication that subsequent rounds have to be held within 20 minutes. I'm mainly familiar with NDCA rules, which state that 20 minutes is a minimum time between rounds for Pro and Am Champ events - the maximium is 60 minutes, but that can be extended under reasonably circumstances. (Art. III(D)(8). I acknowledge that it may very well be that you are basing your statement under the rules of a different organization.

This is quite obviously a big issue for you, and yes, you should discuss your objections with the organizer if you dislike the scheduling. But for me, well, I just don't find myself worked up about it - I'll pick a different battle to fight. I just watch the other dancers while I wait.

I watched a couple just back from the UK where they had spent the last five years. They were to have a private lesson later. For over an hour they went through this ritual of warming up. Not with each other but apart. Before they even came together into a dancing position about an hour and a quarter had elapsed. Even then their movement was very modest. I asked the teacher who herself had just returned from Europe. Do all dancers over there go through this sort of warm up. Her answer was . My partner and I haven't been together for a couple of weeks he is in the USA, I think she said Ohio. We wont get into a close hold for probably two days before we start to practice full bore. If at a competition having warmed up there is a great gap between rounds they would have cooled down which would not be good.
Even myself at my level of dancing I am dancing better when its time to go home than I was at the beginning. A bit weary but definately dancing better. Much more feel for the floor and the music
Lesson to be learn. We had a Senior who was the National Champion. In practice one day he went full bore into a Natural Turn in the Waltz and never danced again. Had he warmed up correctly who knows.
For those who are really interested they might take the trouble to find out exactly how much of a warmup these top dancers do.
Stop Press. Entries for the UK in January at Bournmouth are now closed. If you haven't entered don't bother.

This warm up topic is frequently brought up... heres an interesting response, from R. gleave..

when asked about what he did to warm up before going onto the floor , he replied.... " Nothing " .

There is a saying that if you are running your business the same way you did 25 years ago you can be sure your main rival aren't. In most sports the type of training and the attitude they had in those old days wouldn't carry them through today. Just think back to the 50's How many major Championships were there . Blackpool The Star and in 1956 the International. Don't forget that British Dancers could not compete outside the UK. Remember how Graham Strowebridge copped a five year ban for doing just that. That was about 52 or 53. If you can remember the major Photographer at these comps. That was Graham'.s father.
On Richard G's tape he said that before going on the floor and into the competitions he and his partner used to count aloud the Waltz as 1 and 2 and 3 and. And on the floor he would still count the same for a dozen or so bars, softly.
Didn't you go into those afternoon practice sessions at Blackpool.

But also, there were numerous amat. comps, from Novice to 3 and 4 dance just about every w/end ,so plenty of opportunity to get " conditioned " , not to mention the practice time available in many of the larger cities public b/rooms .

Dont think I ever ran out of somewhere to practice ( 7 days a week if necess. )

I was asked when I wrote that my teacher an International Competitor after an absence from her partner would when preparing for a competition not get into a close hold untill during the second day. What on earth do they do during that time. They go over their routines solo dissecting every one of their moves. Every toe every heel and every shape and balance to music solo.

What one seldom sees today, are dancers ( of any level ) literally dancing thru " amalgam,s ", solo .

The old saying " if you cant dance it by yourself, then you sure as hell cant dance it with someone " ,never held more true .