The dust settled in the Wilkinson Student Center after an electric night of spinning, dipping, and stomping. On February 18th, 2026, the BYU Country Swing Club ran its annual competition, drawing dozens of dancers to the floor. While everyone else was focused on choreography and judging scores, I was busy watching a custom-built software system handle everything behind the scenes — check-ins, scoring, callbacks, and live dashboards all in real time.
Why We Needed Custom Software
For years, organizing the chaotic mix of Jack and Jill rotations, Strictly couples, and solo Line Dancers meant battling paper scorecards, manual data entry, and inevitable logistical bottlenecks. The organizing team had spent too many nights after events manually tallying scores on clipboards while dancers waited around for callbacks that never came.
This year, we decided to build a solution instead of work around the problem. After a month of focused development, a proprietary judging, check-in, and registration platform made its debut — and it worked flawlessly.
The Invisible Dance Partner: Custom Software
The goal was simple but ambitious: make communication invisible and instant so that everyone could focus on dancing instead of logistics. Here's how the system handled each role during the event:
- For Judges: As soon as a heat ended, scores were logged digitally. Judges always knew precisely what the next round looked like and had immediate access to competitor bib numbers — no more flipping through paper scorecards.
- For the Line-Up Crew: Callbacks were instantaneous. There was no more waiting around for tallies; the crew knew exactly who was advancing the second judges hit submit.
- For Organizers: A live, centralized view showed exactly who was registered, how many scores had been entered, and how couples were forming in real time.
By eliminating the traditional logistical hurdles, the software kept the energy of the room focused entirely on the floor.
The Gauntlet: Three Ways to Win
With the tech handling the heavy lifting, the dancers brought their A-game across three distinct categories:
- Jack and Jill: Leads and follows entered separately and were paired with three random partners across three different 90-second songs. To win here, adaptability is just as important as rhythm.
- Strictly: Partners who had practiced together performed 90-second sets, showcasing synchronized chemistry, complex aerials, and choreographed flair.
- Line Dance: Dancers took to the floor solo to execute complex patterns. While the set originally included three songs, time constraints meant the track "Project" was cut, leaving dancers to battle it out to "Vibe" and "Fabulous."
2026 Podium Results
Judges Kathryn Gamble, Andrew Allred, Aspen Johansen, Mariah Hayes, and Trey Cobb utilized the new scoring system to rank a highly competitive field.
Jack and Jill
With 18 Leads and 24 Follows competing, the random pairings kept everyone on their toes.
- 1st Place: Samuel Geary & Sabrina Richardson
- 2nd Place: Ivin McDonald & Miya Palmer
- 3rd Place: Colton Heaton & Katie Flowers
Strictly
23 couples brought their best-practiced routines to the floor, resulting in highly technical performances.
- 1st Place: Ben Dansie & Ryan Merrill
- 2nd Place: Samuel Geary & Sarah Fjerstad
- 3rd Place: Andrue Holbrook & Abby Oldroyd
Line Dance
18 individual dancers showcased their precision and timing.
- 1st Place: Ryan Merrill
- 2nd Place: Kathryn Erickson
- 3rd Place: Jade Sorensen
Stepping Into the Future
The 2026 competition was a massive success, not just for the dancers who walked away with bragging rights, but for the technological leap forward it represented for the BYU Country Swing Club. With valuable lessons learned about what worked and what can be improved for the next iteration, the new software system guarantees that future competitions will be smoother, faster, and more focused on what really matters: the dance.
