Behavior at Competitions

[Rip]

After taking a look at the doc, I can see why you say I missed the point, although in my defense, most of the document doesn't address fixing the behavior of individuals or teams. It's only a one page summary so I know it won't cover all the details, but from Section II, the only one that applies to the topic I'm talking about, I still don't see it being effective really. I'm also a cynic as you may guess. The judging parts in Section I and some in II though are really good, I do like that a lot! To me, fixing behavior like what Dheerja mentioned will start with individuals realizing the importance of it, and then competitions enforcing strict rules and repercussions, which doesn't require a committee per say. Again, we just need to call out the teams/individuals, point out deficiencies in specific comps, and hope that people make change where necessary, in their organizations or in themselves.

That being said, something is better than nothing and its a start, so if I feel it is effective or not won't change my support for the movement Dheerja has created. Looking forward to seeing where this goes, so count me in. I may be cynical but I want to be proven wrong.

 

[Ak_Di_Nishani]

I agree with you a 100 % Swi, holding them accountable is the only way you can ensure a safe and positive environment for your dancers.

With our competition (although it is not strictly Bhangra) we only allow team members to stay in the hotel after they are registered with hotel wristbands being the only way those floors are accessible past posted security guards. We also require that a cardholder for each room be given for participants as they will be directly charged for any damages that weekend. (the card is a precaution)

A record of each dancer/executive is kept after verifying with photo ID and the wristband number corresponds to that name. If an incident does occur, that wristband is removed and the person is kicked out (we then have on record the person responsible for causing the disturbance) Points are also removed from that parties affiliated team no questions asked (a strict point protocol is in place for certain disturbances i,e loudness, fighting, disrespecting a competition official). It is not our responsibility to babysit members of teams they are grown adults who should be able to control their own teammates. These are just some of the rules we have in place that we have found very productive in ensuring the monitoring of teams and being able to have accountability.

If we can control the behavior of 10 teams made up of 30 dancers each (not to mention team executives) there is ZERO reason why the same cannot be said of Bhangra teams at competitions. While teams should definetly be responsible for their dancers, the onus is on the organizers of competitions to provide a safe and manageable environment for their participants.

Boom. This is a great way to keep an eye on all teams while keeping the crazies out. Ak_Di_Nishani's post should be sticky'd for all competitions. Maybe even faxed to them. Great work by you guys Nishani Saab. Keep up the good work.

haha, thanks bro.

I'd like to add that alot of our dancers are from local bhangra teams (GTA) so a process like this wouldn't be a stretch for them at all if they had to abide by it.

 

[nmistry2]

I'm new to the circuit so i have never been to a bhangra competition atleast as a dancer and i know i definitely dont want this to happen to me so whatever i can do to help the cause im down to help

 

[DamanSingh]

I wasn't sure about bumping this thread up to the top of the forum again, but I think this bears mentioning for reasons that have become apparent through the discussion in this post.


This past weekend (Feb 14-16th), during Bhangra Fever 4, there were a lot of reports of disturbances at the official hotel. People were going around banging on doors, walls, at 4 in the morning, on the day of the show, disturbing other teams as they were sleeping. People were fighting, yelling at each other early in the morning. People were banging on doors, asking for weed at 6 in the morning.


It's unfortunate this kind behavior has become commonplace and widely accepted at competitions nowadays. It should be apparent to everyone that this kind of behavior jeopardizes the future of the competition. The people that engage in the kind of behavior listed above obviously refuse to acknowledging this. Behaviors, like the ones I mentioned above, would not be considered acceptable and would not be tolerated in any other public environment, but for some reason, people think it's perfectly okay to behave like this at a bhangra competition. I'm not sure what else took place, but I'm sure there are more stories to be told by the hotel staff.

From what I've heard, mostly one team in particular was responsible for this unacceptable behavior. We will likely not permit this team to return to Fever next year. All competition organizers should handle disruptive behavior in the same manner.


Also, as mentioned in the other thread, we did have bouncers near the lobby and elevator area as people were coming back to the hotel from the after party. The incidents that I'm referring to in this post took place early Saturday morning.

 

[Bharathi]

I think a big portion of the behaviour of teams stems from leadership. We competed in a competition with Shan E Punjab from Surrey and all of those boys were respectful, well behaved, and polite all weekend. No drunkenness, no rowdiness, not even any noise. Nothing. The fact that the leadership is strong and nonsense is not tolerated by the team is a contributing factor to how well the team has been doing. There's a significant age gap between the leaders and the dancers, which is why those young boys act like gentlemen, not hooligans which is more than I can say for a lot of people on the circuit.

Competition organizers of big name comps like Bhangra Idols and BBC have also taken a stand in not taking back certain teams that have caused problems in the past, regardless of what the lineup looks like. It hasn't seemed to affect the standing of their competitions in the grand scheme of things so maybe smaller competition organizers can take note as well.

 

[voxanimus]

From what I've heard, mostly one team in particular was responsible for this unacceptable behavior. We will likely not permit this team to return to Fever next year. All competition organizers should handle disruptive behavior in the same manner.

it's been said earlier in this thread, but you should call them out. public defamation can, and should, be used as a deterrent.

 

[Saleem]

From what I've heard, mostly one team in particular was responsible for this unacceptable behavior. We will likely not permit this team to return to Fever next year. All competition organizers should handle disruptive behavior in the same manner.

it's been said earlier in this thread, but you should call them out. public defamation can, and should, be used as a deterrent.

The Banhammer was ahead of its time.

 

[voxanimus]

i dunno what you mean

 

[Bhangra Idols]

To the Bhangra Community on BTF

We are appalled by reading... one guy punched a female dancer in the face, and then one of the Motor City Bhangra organizers wrote:

"As a committee it is really hard to stop people who are not with a team coming into the Hotel because you don't know if they have a room booked or not but we have found out who that guy is and are taking strict actions towards that guy."

Who is this guy? and what are the strict actions your committee is taking against him?

Raj
Bhangra Idols

 

[Bhangra Idols]

To the Bhangra Community on BTF

We are appalled by reading... one guy punched a female dancer in the face, and then one of the Motor City Bhangra organizers wrote:

"As a committee it is really hard to stop people who are not with a team coming into the Hotel because you don't know if they have a room booked or not but we have found out who that guy is and are taking strict actions towards that guy."

Who is this guy? and what are the strict actions your committee is taking against him?

Raj
Bhangra Idols

Motor City Bhangra reps. you all had enough time (from my post of Feb. 25th to now) to answer my questions for the BTF community to read, and now I'm assuming that the guy got away with punching the female dancer in the face. I feel so bad for that female dancer who got punched-everyone has sisters, female cousins, mothers ect. understand how you all would feel if it happened to one of them...be proactive and produce results so we all know justice is being served...and I don't mean to physically harm that guy but a lot of other actions can be taken such as charging the guy for assault and battery, starting a civil law suit, getting him banned from hotels ect.

 

[sgrewal30]

To the Bhangra Community on BTF

We are appalled by reading... one guy punched a female dancer in the face, and then one of the Motor City Bhangra organizers wrote:

"As a committee it is really hard to stop people who are not with a team coming into the Hotel because you don't know if they have a room booked or not but we have found out who that guy is and are taking strict actions towards that guy."

Who is this guy? and what are the strict actions your committee is taking against him?

Raj
Bhangra Idols

Motor City Bhangra reps. you all had enough time (from my post of Feb. 25th to now) to answer my questions for the BTF community to read, and now I'm assuming that the guy got away with punching the female dancer in the face. I feel so bad for that female dancer who got punched-everyone has sisters, female cousins, mothers ect. understand how you all would feel if it happened to one of them...be proactive and produce results so we all know justice is being served...and I don't mean to physically harm that guy but a lot of other actions can be taken such as charging the guy for assault and battery, starting a civil law suit, getting him banned from hotels ect.

I think for that female dancer and her team's sake, it should be kept private. Who did it, is only the business of the people involved. Dheerja said before that they are handling it legally with those involved. There's really no need to throw out names and further exploit the situation. Instead, what others in the bhangra community should be focusing on is helping to make future competitions a more positive experience for everyone. Bhangra at the Bell for example, and Warrior to come.

 

[Bhangra Idols]

To the Bhangra Community on BTF

We are appalled by reading... one guy punched a female dancer in the face, and then one of the Motor City Bhangra organizers wrote:

"As a committee it is really hard to stop people who are not with a team coming into the Hotel because you don't know if they have a room booked or not but we have found out who that guy is and are taking strict actions towards that guy."

Who is this guy? and what are the strict actions your committee is taking against him?

Raj
Bhangra Idols

Motor City Bhangra reps. you all had enough time (from my post of Feb. 25th to now) to answer my questions for the BTF community to read, and now I'm assuming that the guy got away with punching the female dancer in the face. I feel so bad for that female dancer who got punched-everyone has sisters, female cousins, mothers ect. understand how you all would feel if it happened to one of them...be proactive and produce results so we all know justice is being served...and I don't mean to physically harm that guy but a lot of other actions can be taken such as charging the guy for assault and battery, starting a civil law suit, getting him banned from hotels ect.

I think for that female dancer and her team's sake, it should be kept private. Who did it, is only the business of the people involved. Dheerja said before that they are handling it legally with those involved. There's really no need to throw out names and further exploit the situation. Instead, what others in the bhangra community should be focusing on is helping to make future competitions a more positive experience for everyone. Bhangra at the Bell for example, and Warrior to come.

I understand making the situation private for the female dancer and not further exploiting it, however a criminal offence did occur and people like myself and others would like to know if in fact there is an action of any kind. Further, if a person asks a question, whether it is going to be answered or not, there still must be a response-I don't see a point in a non response, which leads to many assumptions.

 

[sgrewal30]

To the Bhangra Community on BTF

We are appalled by reading... one guy punched a female dancer in the face, and then one of the Motor City Bhangra organizers wrote:

"As a committee it is really hard to stop people who are not with a team coming into the Hotel because you don't know if they have a room booked or not but we have found out who that guy is and are taking strict actions towards that guy."

Who is this guy? and what are the strict actions your committee is taking against him?

Raj
Bhangra Idols

Motor City Bhangra reps. you all had enough time (from my post of Feb. 25th to now) to answer my questions for the BTF community to read, and now I'm assuming that the guy got away with punching the female dancer in the face. I feel so bad for that female dancer who got punched-everyone has sisters, female cousins, mothers ect. understand how you all would feel if it happened to one of them...be proactive and produce results so we all know justice is being served...and I don't mean to physically harm that guy but a lot of other actions can be taken such as charging the guy for assault and battery, starting a civil law suit, getting him banned from hotels ect.

I think for that female dancer and her team's sake, it should be kept private. Who did it, is only the business of the people involved. Dheerja said before that they are handling it legally with those involved. There's really no need to throw out names and further exploit the situation. Instead, what others in the bhangra community should be focusing on is helping to make future competitions a more positive experience for everyone. Bhangra at the Bell for example, and Warrior to come.

I understand making the situation private for the female dancer and not further exploiting it, however a criminal offence did occur and people like myself and others would like to know if in fact there is an action of any kind. Further, if a person asks a question, whether it is going to be answered or not, there still must be a response-I don't see a point in a non response, which leads to many assumptions.

It's been made clear by the captain of their team that it's being handled. Anyone honestly concerned wouldn't make an outrageous assumption or even a little one. Anyways, hope you get the answers you are looking for since without answering you directly seems to mean nothing is being done at all. Which based on the seriousness of this situation would be an outrageous assumption.

 

[Bhangra Idols]

To the Bhangra Community on BTF

We are appalled by reading... one guy punched a female dancer in the face, and then one of the Motor City Bhangra organizers wrote:

"As a committee it is really hard to stop people who are not with a team coming into the Hotel because you don't know if they have a room booked or not but we have found out who that guy is and are taking strict actions towards that guy."

Who is this guy? and what are the strict actions your committee is taking against him?

Raj
Bhangra Idols

Motor City Bhangra reps. you all had enough time (from my post of Feb. 25th to now) to answer my questions for the BTF community to read, and now I'm assuming that the guy got away with punching the female dancer in the face. I feel so bad for that female dancer who got punched-everyone has sisters, female cousins, mothers ect. understand how you all would feel if it happened to one of them...be proactive and produce results so we all know justice is being served...and I don't mean to physically harm that guy but a lot of other actions can be taken such as charging the guy for assault and battery, starting a civil law suit, getting him banned from hotels ect.

I think for that female dancer and her team's sake, it should be kept private. Who did it, is only the business of the people involved. Dheerja said before that they are handling it legally with those involved. There's really no need to throw out names and further exploit the situation. Instead, what others in the bhangra community should be focusing on is helping to make future competitions a more positive experience for everyone. Bhangra at the Bell for example, and Warrior to come.

I understand making the situation private for the female dancer and not further exploiting it, however a criminal offence did occur and people like myself and others would like to know if in fact there is an action of any kind. Further, if a person asks a question, whether it is going to be answered or not, there still must be a response-I don't see a point in a non response, which leads to many assumptions.

It's been made clear by the captain of their team that it's being handled. Anyone honestly concerned wouldn't make an outrageous assumption or even a little one. Anyways, hope you get the answers you are looking for since without answering you directly seems to mean nothing is being done at all. Which based on the seriousness of this situation would be an outrageous assumption.

Explain further what you mean by: "since without answering you directly seems to mean nothing is being done at all"

 

[yraparla]

Explain further what you mean by: "since without answering you directly seems to mean nothing is being done at all"

I think she's referencing your comment that you assumed nothing happened since you received no response.

Motor City Bhangra reps. you all had enough time (from my post of Feb. 25th to now) to answer my questions for the BTF community to read, and now I'm assuming that the guy got away with punching the female dancer in the face