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Dear members of our dance sport community
Another eventful and busy year lies behind us. In order to steer the fortunes of the association, we held 9 board meetings (7 online, 2 in person), as well as a presidents' conference and a delegates' meeting.
The board and its numerous helpers have put in countless hours to serve its members and their athletes.
Interest in attending the delegates' meeting on 18 March could certainly have been greater. Of the 15 member clubs, only representatives from 6 clubs turned up in Olten. The delegates present found this very disappointing.
The increased demands from external bodies, such as FOSPO, Swiss Olympic, etc., have considerably increased the workload on the Executive Board. More professionalism in structures and work processes is rightly demanded everywhere. The growth we are striving for in the market naturally also means a higher workload.
If voluntary work then has to be temporarily put on hold due to private and professional commitments, deadlines can suffer or important results can be jeopardised. However, my colleagues on the Executive Board have always ensured that any stuttering in the gears does not have an impact on the outside world.
With our 7-member Executive Board, we have also reached the maximum management span, which is why we can only manage further expansion by forming individual teams in the departments. The association now has excellent information tools and channels at its disposal, and the clubs and their members are promptly provided with the latest news. Nevertheless, it is clearly noticeable that direct contact in cooperation cannot be replaced by online meetings, however numerous they may be. We need to pay more attention to this in future, even if it means additional travelling time. In doing so, we will build on proven practices such as the successful 'Open Space' and 'World Cafe' rounds of 2020 and the Management Days of 2021.
Data protection
On 1 September last year, the new Data Protection Act became mandatory for all organisations that store and process personal data.
As an association, we are obliged to check the implementation of the corresponding measures. We therefore asked all member clubs to draw up an inventory of the personal data they process and send it to us together with the name of the club's data protection officer.
The result of this action is sobering. We will make a new attempt in 2024 to create a minimum standard within the association that can fulfil the requirements of the law.
Ethics
Swiss Olympic's Ethics in Sport project is continuing as planned. The situation in the federations was assessed in an initial meeting at the end of 2023. On this basis, sport-specific recommendations will be exchanged with the associations. From this, we can derive and implement the required measures for further implementation. In this context, we will place a particular focus on the pedagogical skills of the coaches who instruct pupils and young people.
Membership movement
The COVID trough seems to have been overcome. This can certainly be seen as good news. Although the trend line for passive members is still pointing downwards, membership figures have risen again. There is still an upward trend in the number of active members. The adjusted total has increased by 78 individual members (10%) compared to the previous year (2022) and has exceeded the number of members in 2019.
Swiss Olympic FOSPO
Last year, the "Further development of association funding" project was launched, with the aim of giving association funding a new impact from 2027. The new association funding is intended to provide incentives to ensure high quality and ethical behaviour and enable long-term success in both competitive and popular sport.
The programme includes the following focal points:
The STSV is involved in the development of the new funding model via our umbrella organisation SDSF. This allows us to recognise the direction it should take at an early stage.
WDSF
In recent years, the WDSF Executive Committee has repeatedly and demonstrably struggled with the rules of good governance. In its 2022 report, the ASOIF Governance Taskforce (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations) gave the WDSF a very poor report card in this respect: Out of 133 organisations, the WDSF came a distant last in the assessment of its governance.
The WDSF lost its status as a representative in an Olympic sport at the end of 2023 Breaking will no longer be at the 2028 Summer Games after just one participation. The fact that this negative ASOIF report could have contributed to this decision is of course pure speculation.
However, the effects of this lack of good governance have been felt by everyone. Some more, others less. The statement: "Our actions comply with Swiss law" often sounds like pure mockery. The STSV has almost always remained silent and played along. Our previous inactivity in this regard has also caused incomprehension among other members of the WDSF.
The unlawful exclusion of the STSV from the 2023 annual meeting (refusal of a proxy vote) and the election of the Disciplinary Counsel (DC) of the first jurisdiction of the WDSF in violation of the statutes changed this for us last summer.
As our association was directly affected by these legal violations, we commissioned a lawyer specialising in association law to clarify the matter and, if necessary, to draw up legal remedies and submit them to the WDSF. We have reported on this in various minutes of the Executive Board and at presidents' conferences.
Results from the clarifications:
We will not actively pursue the matter any further. At best, this may result in well-founded motions to the next WDSF Annual General Meeting in October 2024. By standing by our values, we are helping to strengthen trust in institutions and organisations and promote positive change.
We will be happy to answer any further questions you may have at the delegates' meeting.
Walter Vogt
President
At CHF 102,106, operating income is lower than the budget. This is partly due to the fact that the budgeted income of CHF 60,000 from the acquisition of sponsors could not be realised. On the other hand, the Y+S accounting was outsourced to a sub-ledger for clearer delimitation, as a result of which the public sector contributions are CHF 44,806 less than budgeted.
Operating expenses are CHF 96,645 lower than the budget. This is mainly due to the reasons already reported under operating income.
The other income and expense items are largely within the usual fluctuation range.
Overall, the operating loss was CHF 5'461.73 higher than budgeted for CHF 20'636.73.
Non-operating expenses/income
The balance from the non-operating parts of the income statement amounts to CHF 11,624, which is mainly due to the capital gain on securities (CHF 4,109) and the extraordinary legal fees (see section WDSF above in this report) totalling CHF 16,461.
With a budgeted Net loss in the amount of CHF 15,000, the year 2023 will therefore end with a Excess expenditure of CHF 32,261.
The income and expenditure from the Youth and Sport (Y+) organisation are managed in a separate accounting system. The web-based solution Clubdesk is used for this purpose.
Profit or loss is offset via income account 3044 in the general ledger.
The main donor is the Federal Office of Sport (with over CHF 50,000 per year). 2023 will result in CHF 4,060 from the Y+S training courses.
The expenses relate to earmarked remuneration to authorised persons in accordance with the "Remuneration regulations".
The colours in the pie charts are intended to establish a link between income and expenditure.
The two large blocks of expenditure relate on the one hand to the operation of Y+S further training courses for experts (light blue and red) and on the other hand to the further development of Y+S with regard to Agenda 25 (yellow).
The expenses for social security contributions (AHV/BGV) are a new addition
The 2023 sporting year offered numerous dance highlights that continue to motivate all association officials to keep going. It is particularly pleasing that there were numerous new dance couples among the children and young people, who performed at the events with great enthusiasm. In the meantime, there has also been a slight increase across all age categories.
Last year, three Swiss Championships were held in accordance with the new STSV regulations, with the organisers TSBE, TSCZ and TDC receiving significant financial and organisational support from the association. Thanks to the renewed production of a live stream at all three events, numerous spectators could also be reached at home. This year, the lighting and sound conditions at the events were defined on the basis of the live stream, which certainly still has room for improvement in terms of implementation. The positive feedback from the foreign judges on the high standard of the final couples at all three championships was pleasing. A major challenge at the end of the year was the accounting of the combination of the championships with other tournaments, which had to be taken into account when distributing the financial result.
In addition to the three championships, six other tournaments took place in 2023, organised by the TGS, DUZ, TTZ and HDB clubs, as well as the traditional Reg Borrow Basic Trophy of the TTZ. In addition, in cooperation with the SDSC, a tournament in Latin solo dances was organised for the first time at the same event as the Swiss Latin Championships in the age categories of pupils and juniors. This is an opportunity to keep dancers without dance partners in the competitive dance scene, which should be developed further.
On 16 July 2023, an exchange of experiences between the tournament directors took place parallel to the first DJ training. Weak points in the tournament regulations and the TopTurnier tournament software were also discussed, which can often only be rectified with a great deal of effort on the part of the officials. In the second half of the year, Monika Kuhn kindly compiled a comprehensive tournament director's handbook. She also drew up a new overview of the dress code, which could not yet come into force, however, as the association was planning to vote on a new division of the starting classes at an extraordinary delegates' meeting in January 2024, which would have had an impact on the dress code. The discussions held with the SDSC in the run-up to this vote in 2023 show that joining forces to achieve the goal of promoting dance sport, particularly in the area of popular sport, is positive and must be pursued further.
The tournament organisers must monitor and enforce the various regulations in their role at the tournaments. This year, for example, one adjudicator had to be warned due to several breaches of the adjudicator regulations. In addition, several warnings were issued for non-compliance with the dress code.
I would like to thank all my colleagues on the STSV Board for their interesting and constructive cooperation. Special thanks go to the group of tournament directors, who contribute to the continuous improvement of the sports organisation area through their involvement in the events and their feedback.
Brigitte Stäldi
In 2023, STSV organised the first training for DJs in the ballroom dance sector.
Out of 6 candidates, 5 have completed the training and thus acquired the necessary skills to provide sound for dance tournaments. Before a final licence can be issued, the new DJs still have to provide the music for a tournament under expert supervision.
The new DJs are: Miriam Lehnherr, Pirmin Kistler, Stefan Frehner, Martin Stählin and Alexander Florin
Gunar Haas
The past year had some highlights in my department, but also some downsides. On the positive side are the sporting successes of the elite couples (especially Davide and Maja), on the other side are various departures in both squads.
Fitness test with Rafael Grüninger
On 5 and 26 March, a total of 13 couples from the junior and elite squads completed the annual fitness test. Rafael once again showed our couples where they stand in this area and how they can improve.
PISTE / Selection process
The new Swiss Olympic requirements were incorporated into the selection process over the course of the year. For 2024, the scales for a few selection criteria will still be adjusted so that a finer assessment can be made overall. In 2023, the auditions were again organised with videos, which has proved successful overall. The quality of some of the videos submitted still needs to be improved so that the assessments reach the highest possible standard. To this end, the first series of videos will be produced together on the squad day on 9 June 2024. The annual fitness test with Rafael Grüninger will also take place on the same day.
Financial support / Appendix 1 to the management regulations
The Executive Board was forced to discontinue Anh ang 1 with effect from 24 January. For some time now, expenditure has exceeded the financial resources available for the promotion of our athletes. Without an association sponsor, there will probably be no more direct payments to squad members in the immediate future.
Personnel situation
Without the PISTE database developed especially for the STSV, I would hardly be able to prepare the annual analyses. The time required for this is considerable. I urgently need support in my department so that we can offer the squads efficient support in the future. Although the recording of data has been simplified, I unfortunately still don't have the time for new projects and additional squad days.
Other activities
In addition to the tasks within my department, I spent many hours supporting the J+S Manual author team in 2023. This is gratifying work, which should and will get popular sport moving. I am also involved in discussions with the SDSC and/or swissdance. This cooperation will enable the STSV to gain a stronger foothold in popular sport. It will also indirectly benefit elite sport, as the STSV will become more attractive to potential sponsors thanks to its greater reach.
Participation in the media team
My expertise is also very popular with the media team. Be it when Beni Hadorn is not available at a SM or when the music system is humming instead of playing at a SM. At the standard SM, we realised that the TTZ cables are not long enough for every hall, so we have supplemented the stock accordingly so that we can place the cameras in the ideal position at all times in the future.
Oliver Baumann
Head of junior and elite squad
Last year was dominated by the new Y+S manual and the associated learning modules. The 53-week transmission of the sport of dancing standard/Latin started in March 2023. The manual serves as a teaching aid for the basic training of instructors and places the focus within the FTEM on "Foundation" and thus on popular sport. Competitive sport can later develop on a solid foundation.
The core team for this project on the STSV side consisted of four people: Oliver Bauman n, Julia Schaub, Simone Schärer and Nadia Wullschleger. The team was supervised by two employees from Youth and Sport, Martina Maurer and Ulrich Känzig. The weekly exchange was time-consuming and intensive, but also very exciting. There was room for personal ideas and input, but the basic content and structures were provided by Youth and Sport in order to create a standardised basis for all types of sport.
The work carried out included, among other things:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the core team for their great cooperation and the many exciting discussions. I would also like to thank the other Y+S experts and dance sport coaches who contributed their ideas.
In order to promote popular sports, youth and sport should be given a higher priority in clubs in the future. Jugend und Sport has been training leaders in a wide variety of sports for years, and standard/Latin dancing has managed to be recognised as a sport in its own right. It is therefore desirable that Y+S instructors will be working in all clubs in the future, as Y+S not only offers solid basic training, but also a wide range of further training programmes, and the clubs benefit from subsidies when Y+S instructors teach at their clubs.
A lively element was added to the STSV's communicative service package in 2023. The STSV website is now also optimally embedded on the two social media channels of Instagram and Facebook and has a professional look. The STSV media team was able to recruit the creative editor Cordin Camenzind for this. He has attracted new attention with original posts, contributions and videos and has already helped the Swiss dance sport community to grow.
The media team has further refined the existing offerings. The most important information tool, our association website www.dancesport.ch, is intended to present the relevant topics of the association in a clear form and inform readers about activities in Swiss dance sport. Claude Pribitzer and Vera Bruderer have further optimised the content and graphic design. We see further opportunities for optimisation and improvement, the work here is never finished.
Our video team, led by Benjamin Hadorn, did a very good job in its second year. We noticed progress in terms of visual language in the five live streams last year. At the same time, however, we continue to struggle with technical challenges. Last year's three Swiss Championships in Kirchberg (10-dance) Uitikon (standard) and Felben Wellhausen (Latin) as well as the Glatttalpokal in Wallisellen and the TRAFO Cup in Baden were each available online two weeks after the event on the website under the term "Replay" (in various places). Organisers can now place their sponsors in a clearly visible position during live streams, provided that the required information and elements are supplied to the media team in good time.
Thanks to our top photographer Reini Egli, we always have up-to-date and excellent image material that we can utilise for the website and social media channels.
2023 was also the start of the sponsorship acquisition phase, which was still part of the Communications department. Together with the agency "by the way communications" in Bern, initial contacts were made. It takes a lot of persuasion to convince companies and organisations to become involved in dance sport as partners. We are convinced that the STSV will be able to report its first successes in 2024 and tap into fresh financial resources in this way. The willingness of new partners to support our sport and association is also linked to the public perception of Swiss dance sport.
I would like to thank the entire volunteer media team for their work in 2023 - the team will stay together and we will go into 2024 together. In addition to optimising previous projects, we will also strive to penetrate conventional media in 2024. Swiss dance sport should also be covered on TV, in newspapers, magazines and news portals.
perceive.
Martin Zinser
STSV Marketing/Communication
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Together with our media partner Swiss Sport TV, we are offering an uncommented live stream with all the decisions and award ceremonies from the Swiss Latin Championships in Wallisellen. So if you can't be there, you can still watch it live.
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