The Tenth Annual Great American Jack & Jill O'Rama Challenge (6/11-6/13) was a resounding success! The event was started 10 years ago by Maryann Bridges and we all loved it right from the start. Maryann loved it so much that when she retired, she didn't want the event to be retired, too, so she found Gerry Fontes with the help of Gerry's husband Tony to take it over. Later Alicia Leo and recently Vivian Dias combined with Gerry and it seems that the glory days are back.

There were 10 Jack & Jill contests and 3 Street/Strictly Swing contests running the gamut from Juniors through Jack & Jill ProAms, Invitational & All Time Greats Invitational to "All American" open Jack & Jill with $10,000.00 in Awards. The Sheraton Anaheim Hotel provided an excellent venue as well as the very nice sit down dinner Saturday evening that was included in the cost of admission.

Gerry Fontes said that her dream was to bring Juniors of different ages together with adults all the way to "Golden Oldies" to keep West Coast Swing vibrant and alive. She's well on her way to realizing that dream. We'll see you there next year.

JT - ed.

Contest Results