Stepping Up: A New Competition Category for Adult Irish Dancers

For years, adult Irish dancers who progressed beyond grades in the United States had only one option for competition in CLRG: the Adult championship. However, 2024 ushered in a new category. In almost every North American region, the addition of Advanced Adults has marked a big step forward for adult dancers. It’s been slowly growing in popularity at feiseanna, and has widened the playing field for adults.

We may of course see many adult dancers competing at the World Championships, but they could have been dancing for 15 to 20 years. And while it’s common to see a 23-year-old dancing in Senior Ladies at Worlds, it’s less common to see a dancer over the age of 30 or 40. The Adult champ category, in contrast, included a broad spectrum of dancers, from those who started over the age of 18 to those who’ve been out of competition for five years, along with adults who danced as children. But in a lot of cases, this highlighted a distinct difference in dancing skills between them. 

The recent addition of age groups was a welcomed change, as Senior dancers no longer had to compete against those who are half their age. While it wasn’t perfect, it was a start. However, the age groups were not offered at every feis, and the rules still allowed for dancers who had competed at Worlds just five years ago to compete against those who started as adults.

This was when the discussion of adding another Adult category began. In general, Advanced Adults consists of dancers who danced in their youth, specifically who placed in the top three in Prelims or competed in Open Championship as kids. However, the rules differ from region to region and are not always enforced.

Southern and Mid-America are the only regions that explicitly don’t allow Prelim placers to dance in Adult champs. The North American Irish Dance Championships also enforced the same rule in 2024. In the Mid-Atlantic region, Advanced Adults is not offered but a wide array of age splits are, including U30, U39 and U40 and O40. The Western region is the only one that allows grandfathering for Adult champ dancers to stay in the category, even if they qualify for Advanced Adult.

However, as with a lot of things in Irish dance, the rules are not clear-cut and have not been officially recognised by CLRG. Adult categories are still not offered at Worlds, and the Advanced Adult category has not been added at the Great Britain Championships.

So, what do adult dancers think of the change now that it’s been included at Regional Championships? We asked adults in different American regions, most of whom wished to stay anonymous. 

“I love the Advanced Adult category because otherwise I’d never have been able to compete again unless I went back to Senior Ladies. The group is super competitive but so supportive! The main highlight is that we want to compete against tough competitors, but also our peers — other adults juggling careers, aging parents, spouses and children, etc,” shared one dancer. “But I do think they should raise the age requirement for Advanced Adults. I’ve noticed more and more young, 18 to 23-year-olds coming right before they head off to college or right after graduation with the intent to have a last competition where they win and then disappear from the circuit. It’s frustrating because there are competitive age categories for them already, against their peers.” 

While the additions of age groups in some regions have been welcomed, another dancer thinks this could create problems in the future. “In recent years, the Western Region has introduced Under 40 and Over 40 Adult champ competitions,” one shared. “This year, they added an Advanced Adult category for former champions. However, some former champs opted to remain in the Under 40 group rather than transitioning to the new Advanced Adult category, which created a distinct advantage for them within the Under 40 competition. As someone competing in the Over 40 group, this hasn’t impacted us directly, but I expect it may influence the competitive landscape in the coming years.” 

Western U.S. Regional Council President Stephen Scariff shared in a statement: “We’re thrilled about the addition of the Advanced Adult program, alongside our Under 40 and Over 40 Adult competitions! The Adult program has been flourishing in recent years, and we’re absolutely excited to keep fueling its incredible growth.”

Overall, the addition of Advanced Adults has had a warm welcome, but it’s obvious that there might need to be changes to it going forward. However, having an additional category for Adults allows for more people to compete and could even grow the numbers of Adult Irish dancers. And, ultimately, that can only be a good thing.