The Jack & Jill system, explained
In a Jack & Jill you dance with randomly drawn partners, and the judges score you, not your partner. Here we explain, in plain words and with an example you can play with, how the judges decide who wins.
What is a Jack & Jill?
You sign up alone and pick your role: lead or follow. Each round you get a different partner, drawn at random. Nobody competes as a fixed couple. The judges are watching you: your connection, how you dance the music, your technique. That's why your result depends on you, not on who you happened to dance with.
Rounds and how you advance
The competition runs in rounds: prelims first, then semifinals, then the final. In each round the judges score and only a set number of dancers per role moves on. Leads and follows are scored separately, so each role has its own list. Battle rounds work differently: there the judges simply pick which couple won each matchup.
How it's decided: the Skating System
Judges don't give you a score that gets added up. Each judge builds their own list and gives you a place: 1st, 2nd, 3rd… based on how they saw you dance. Then all the judges' lists are compared to build the final result. That method is called the Skating System, and it's used in dance competitions worldwide. There's one rule: you win when the MAJORITY of judges is on your side.
- 1
A majority is half plus one
With 5 judges, the majority is 3. With 3 judges, it's 2. You earn a place when the majority of judges put you at that place or higher. Two judges placing you first isn't enough if the third one never shows up.
- 2
It starts at 1st place and widens
First question: is there anyone 3 judges placed first? If so, that dancer takes first place. If nobody reaches 3, the count widens: who did 3 judges place between 1st and 2nd? If still nobody, between 1st and 3rd. And so on until someone reaches the majority. Whoever gets there first takes the place.
- 3
If two get there at the same time
The one with more judges on their side at that count wins. If they're still even, then — and only then — the places are added up and the lower total wins: it's the only place where anything is added, and it works purely as a tiebreaker. With the same scores, the result is always the same.
Why the most #1s doesn't always win
It's the most common question. Lots of #1s help, but they don't decide it alone. If some judges put you way up and others way down, you can end up behind someone no judge placed first but that EVERY judge placed second. Being good for the majority counts more than being the favorite of a few.
Example: below, Ana and Caro each have two #1 votes and still don't win, because 3 are needed. Beto doesn't have a single #1, but all 5 judges placed him second: he reaches the majority before anyone else and takes first place.
Try it yourself
Move each judge's votes with the arrows, or try another scenario. The result recalculates instantly using the same system as the real competition.
Scenarios
With 5 judges, the majority is 3 votes.
Judges' votes
Judge 1
- 1Ana
- 2Beto
- 3Caro
- 4Dani
Judge 2
- 1Ana
- 2Beto
- 3Dani
- 4Caro
Judge 3
- 1Caro
- 2Beto
- 3Dani
- 4Ana
Judge 4
- 1Dani
- 2Beto
- 3Caro
- 4Ana
Judge 5
- 1Caro
- 2Beto
- 3Ana
- 4Dani
#1 votes per dancer
Final result
| Place | Dancer | Counting up to | Judges | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beto | 2 | 5/3 | 10 |
| 2 | Caro | 3 | 4/3 | 8 |
| 3 | Ana | 3 | 3/3 | 5 |
| 4 | Dani | 3 | 3/3 | 7 |
Winner: Beto
Ana · Caro got the most #1 votes (2), but the winner is Beto, with just 0. Beto had the majority of 3 judges counting up to place 2, and that even support is worth more than a few scattered first places.
How ties are broken
When two dancers reach the majority at the same count, it's checked in this order: first, who has more judges on their side; if they're still even, who has the lower total of places; and if there's still a tie, the count keeps widening one place at a time. Only if they're identical in everything do they share the place.