BALLROOM dancing organisers have defended a proposal that could prevent same-sex dance partners from competing against mixed-sex couples.
The British Dance Council (BDC) is considering a rule change later this month that would define a dance partnership as being "one man and one lady ... unless otherwise stated".
Critics have claimed the proposal could see same-sex dance partners banned from ballroom competitions because organisers or competitors are not comfortable with their participation.
But BDC president Bryan Allen insisted the proposal followed complaints that mixed-sex dance partners were disadvantaged in competitions against all-male couples.
Mr Allen said: "There had been complaints from a number of people who felt they were unfairly disadvantaged by the participation of all-male dance couples who are physically stronger."
Heather Devine, who competes with her female dance partner Chrisi Lyons, said: "I am really distressed that the BDC is even considering banning us."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article