2024 Category and Level Updates

Dear PSO family,

We have been working hard on releasing a large overhaul of the judging, which needs to be done every few years. As our industry changes and evolves, so should PSO. These categories and levels will be used starting with our new season, which begins after 2024 Nationals. Any event occurring after September 1, 2024 will use the new level and category descriptions below.  

This is the first release of a larger set of improvements planned around judging. We must start with the foundations of the categories and level definitions, and then we will move on to the element definitions, scoresheet updates, and judge training.

Each time we do one of these big releases, I think back to 2012 when we started PSO, where there were 3 levels, 4 categories (Championship, Dramatic, Entertainment and Showcase), and rules based on venue restrictions such as having shorts long enough to cover your gluteal fold. How the pole world has changed! 

I would like to thank the many, many people who contributed to this document. Our team, the PSO Unicorns, many instructors, competitors, judges, and other community members have given their feedback and opinions on these changes. I greatly appreciate the time that you all have spent reviewing these pages and helping me obsess over definitions and distinctions. 

-Amy & the PSO team

Here is a link to our new Levels and Categories.