Rules and Requirements
By applying to compete in The PDSM Competition, competitors agree to the following rules. Failure to do so will lead to penalisation or disqualification.
General Rules (Video Round & Live Final)
● Entrants must be 18 or over at the time of entry.
● Categories are only currently open to solo performances.
● Competitors may apply to compete in more than one category.
Competitors may submit more than one entry per category.
● All competitors are allowed to undress partially or fully. Partial or full nudity is not obligatory, but it is welcome and it is a choice.
● Genital stimulation and insertion are not permitted. Suggestive touching is permitted.
● Timings
○ Performances must be no longer than 4 minutes. Performances are strongly recommended to be no shorter than 3 minutes, as you will struggle to fulfill all points on the criteria.
○ Competitors must have at least 1 minute 45 seconds of pole work in their performance. Pole work qualifies as anything where the competitor is touching the pole in any way, including: tricks, low flow and pole assisted floorwork moves.
● Competitors will be judged on the same criteria for the video round and live final. This is with the exception of ‘Costume’. Costume will not be judged in the video round, but will be judged in the live final.
● All the information in this manual regarding criteria and marking is complete; the competitors, judges and moderator receive the exact same information.
● As well as a rigorous application and screening process for judges, there will be a moderator to ensure judges are following The PDSM Competition criteria and upholding to the competition’s values at all times. If you have a query about your feedback, we fully encourage you to get in touch.
● Physical interaction
○ Any physical interaction between spectators or ‘human props’ must be consensual.
○ ‘Human props’ are allowed, however, they may not assist you with any pole work.
● Bribing or blackmailing judges in any capacity is strictly prohibited.
○ Judges will be required to flag competitors to whom they are
connected. This includes: in-person or online students; work
colleagues (including freelance work) and relations. This is to inform the moderator to allow them to mediate implicit bias.
● Competitors must be respectful to sex work and sex workers. Please think carefully if choosing a ‘theme’ and be mindful that it is respectful towards our highly stigmatised workers. Please consult with the organiser if in doubt.
● Competitors' performances must be respectful to other marginalised and stigmatised communities in general. We have a zero tolerance policy of any discriminatory or negative behaviour. Any breaches of this may result in penalisations, disqualification or a permanent ban from all PDSM events.
Music
Music selections must adhere to our inclusion statement.
We do not accept any music with language that could be interpreted as a racial slur, unless you are of that race.
If you suspect your music may contain a racial slur but are unsure, we would recommend not using that piece of music to be safe.
We do not permit music by known abusers such as Chris Brown, P.Diddy etc.
Please do your research into the artist/s of your track if you are unsure.
● If you require any reasonable adjustments to be made to the application process, the video round and at the live final due to disability or health condition, we would like to support you. There will be the option to disclose the accommodations you need on the application.
● The performance you submit in the video round and the live final may be the same piece or a different piece.
● You must be available for the live final and able to attend.
● To have the opportunity to compete in the Upcoming Performer categories in the live final, competitors must have applied to compete in one of the 4 other categories in the video round. Competitors are selected mathematically to make this a totally unbiased process. All competitors in each category will be ranked- the top 3 competitors of the lower 25% will make up the Upcoming Performers for each category.
Video Round only
Competitors will be solely judged on their video submission.
Each entry costs £50. This will be payable once you have submitted your application form. This fee covers your entry into the video round, detailed feedback from expert judges and, if successful, a place in the live final.
There will be a limited number of subsidised applications and grants to low-income sex workers.
Our invigilator will scan all video entries for rule breaks. If they find any breaks worthy of penalisation or disqualification, the video will be bounced back and the competitor will be able to attempt to submit another video. The second video will be the final video a competitor can submit, regardless of rule breaks.This system is only available up until 10am on 23rd July. If you submit a video after this point, you will not be able to resubmit a video before the deadline, even if there are rule breaks.
Failure to resubmit or late entries will be open to immediate disqualification from the Invigilator. If enough elements of the entry are viable, we may still present this to our judging team, however, they may not be able to award you the maximum amount of points for insufficient elements.
You will only be able to resubmit a video if our invigilator finds rule breaks. Please consider the link you submit as final, unless you are informed otherwise.
Videos restrictions
Videos must be no more than a year old.
Videos must be no longer than 4 minutes. If the video is longer, there will be no penalisation, however, the judges will not watch beyond the 4 minute mark.
Videos are recommended to be no shorter than 3 minutes, as competitors will struggle to satisfy all elements of the criteria.
Videos must be filmed as one continuous piece with zero editing, zooming or panning (you may cut the beginning and end of the video to only include your performance).
Competitors must be well-lit and fully visible at all times.
Videos must be uploaded to Youtube or Vimeo, set to ‘unlisted’ or ‘public’ (not ‘private’) and then submitted via link form. We have additional link guidance here.
The music in the video must be audible and listenable. Please also check this on a mobile/laptop device.
Any pole or poles may be used.
Competitors will not be judged on ‘Costume’.
5 successful competitors from each category in the video rounds will proceed to the live final for Sensual, Show, Strip Tease and SS Twerk. 3 successful competitors from each category will make up the Upcoming Performer’s categories for the live final.
Live Final only
● Stage specifications will be provided to finalists well in advance of the live event. Note that there will be one brass 50mm static pole.
● Props
○ Props that could cause a slip hazard are prohibited. Non-slip mess that can easily be cleaned may be allowed at the venue and organiser’s discretion.
○ Props that take less than 2 minutes to set up on stage and less than 2 minutes to remove from stage are permitted.
○ If in doubt, please consult the organiser about proposed props.
● Competitors must arrive at the venue a minimum of 2 hours before the event begins.
● Competitors will be given at least 3 minutes each to test the pole and the stage at specified times. There will not be an opportunity for a full run through or tech rehearsal. You will be able to check your music with the DJ. We advise competitors use their time on stage to: mark through their routine, space their routine, test the poles for how spins feel, grippiness and height.
● Competitors will be allocated performance slots. You will be notified of this well in advance of the event.
● There must be no physical interaction with the judges when performing.
There must be no duplicates of music choices. Song selection is first come first served.
There are no free tickets/plus ones available to competitors. All chaperones or human props must buy a ticket. There will be an exclusive presale for finalists to ensure essential people can support you.
Professional photos and videos are an extra service we will endeavour to provide to competitors. There will be the option for you to purchase these post-event.