IDSF made history at the 2009 Grand Slam in Shanghai. For the first time the new judging system was implemented in one of the most important competitions in the IDSF calendar. The new judging system that was introduced at several adjudicator`s congresses earlier this year, such as in Stuttgart, Maribor, Bologna etc., will grade the IDSF finalists in five component criteria involving Posture, Balance andCoordination, Quality of Movement, Movement to Music, Partnering and finally Choreography and Presentation .

A day prior to the competition all the Grand Slam participants were given a briefing on the new judging system. Some were a little apprehensive but the majority saw, that this is the way forward to introduce Dancesport as a sporting event.

Whilst it is necessary to introduce Dancesport as a sport and also to live up the Olympian spirit of fair judging, the new judging system set of criteria is a justifiable basis to be implement in the future main events like World Games, World Championships and Grand Slams.

This is not a replacement of the reliable skating system that is still being used in the IDSF Ranking Tournament program but an important development for garantueing  transparency and fair judging.