Drill Team Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A precision section on United States dance-studio competitions, where a team performs a rehearsed routine of sharp, uniform motions and tidy formation changes to recorded music, listed on two printed studio-circuit rule sets.

Drill Team, as it appears on a dance-competition programme, is a routine built on precision. A squad moves as one body: arms hit fixed positions on the count, kicks and turns match in height and timing, and the group travels through lines, blocks, diagonals and circles that change cleanly with the music. The point is unity rather than individual display. A good drill routine looks the same from every row of the audience, and the eye is drawn to the pattern the whole team makes. It is entered in its own section, next to Pom, Cheerleading, Jazz, Hip Hop and the other printed categories, so it is judged against other drill routines rather than against jazz or lyrical work.

Neither of the two rule sets eTalenter holds for this section prints a definition of it. Each lists Drill Team as one named category among more than twenty and leaves it to the studio to decide which routines belong there, so the opening question is one of fit. A routine whose structure is uniform motion, sharp lines and exact formation changes belongs here. A number that is mostly jazz technique with a few sharp arm moves, or one built around pom-poms, may sit better in Jazz or Pom. If an edge case worries you, ask the organiser which section it should enter before you register.

A round runs like any other dance section. Entries are called in running order, each team performs one routine to recorded music inside the printed time limit, and a panel scores it live. The category is listed in every entry type on both templates, from solo to line, because neither rule set prints which categories run in which entry type, and a regional organiser removes what it does not run. In practice the section makes most sense for teams: a small group of four to nine, a large group of ten to nineteen, or a line of twenty or more, with the time limit stepping up with the size of the entry.

For a coordinator the practical work is in the entry details rather than in the routine itself. Check how a squad is placed (both templates group teams by the average age of the performers), which ability level each entry belongs in, how long the routine may run, how many entries a dancer may appear in, and how the music has to be uploaded. Time limits, levels and scoring scales differ between the two rule sets, so read the event’s own syllabus before you accept entries.

Where Drill Team comes from

The name comes from military drill, where soldiers move together in practised, uniform patterns on command. American schools and colleges borrowed the idea for precision teams that perform at sporting events, with sharp motions, kick lines and formation changes in time with the band or the music. The studio competition circuit later made it a section of its own, alongside the other team-based dance styles.

Where Drill Team is run

In the templates eTalenter holds, Drill Team is a performance category of United States dance-studio competitions. Both are national studio circuits with regional events: one is a 2024 regional rule set with local age bands from four and under up to fifty and over, and the other is the newer 2026-2027 alliance rule set with six overall age divisions. These are adjudicated studio events rather than school festivals or stand-alone drill championships, and the levels, time limits and scoring scale change from one to the next.

• United States

Key facts

• Individual in solo sections and Team in duet or trio, small group, large group and line sections; open to both genders in every section on both templates
• Printed time limits: solos 2:00 for the youngest and Level 1 divisions and 2:45 otherwise, duets and trios 2:45, small groups (4 to 9) 3:00, large groups (10 to 19) 4:00 and lines (20 or more) 4:30; the alliance rule set adds a 7:00 grand line
• Scoring differs: the regional rule set uses a medal table out of 300 points, while the alliance rule set gives each judge 100 points; neither prints marks per criterion for Drill Team
• Ability levels sit on top of the age divisions: Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 plus an extraordinary-ability level in the regional rule set, and Showcase, Competitive and Elite in the alliance rule set
• Age is taken on 31 December, a team competes at the average age of its performers, and adult entries (20 and over) compete at the top level only
• Eighty-two sections carry Drill Team on the alliance template and one hundred and sixty on the regional one, because every age, level and entry-size pairing is its own section; four adult solo sections on the regional template record no time limit

On eTalenter, Drill Team is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 2 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Drill Team is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 300, commonly time-limited to 2–7 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Drill Team

What a Drill Team panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Neither rule set prints judging headings or marks per heading for Drill Team, so the panel’s own notes decide what is weighed. What follows is general advice drawn from how precision routines are judged, not a printed scheme
• Unison: every performer on the same count, with arms, legs and heads reaching the same position at the same moment. A panel sees one late arm in a line of twenty at once, and unison is usually where the biggest deductions are made
• Formation and spacing: lines that are straight, even gaps between performers, and clean changes between blocks, diagonals and circles with no one drifting or colliding. Large groups and lines lose marks here most often
• Sharpness of motion: arm positions that arrive on the count and are held, crisp lines at the wrists, elbows and shoulders, and kicks and turns that finish cleanly rather than trailing off
• Technique within the routine: matched kick height, controlled turns and clean footwork across the team, so that a technical skill looks the same for every dancer
• Choreography and musicality: a routine that has an opening, a build and a finish, uses the whole floor, and matches its accents to the music rather than running the same pattern for the full time
• Presentation: uniform costume and hair, a shared stage expression, and a calm recovery from any slip, because a panel remembers how the squad finished

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Drill Team under Scoring Setup, or start from the full group dance competition judging criteria guide.

How to prepare for Drill Team

How entrants and their teachers usually get Drill Team right on the day:

• Read the syllabus first and ask the organiser what is accepted under Drill Team at this event, then check the age, ability-level, entry-size, music-upload and time-limit rules before you register
• Count the performers and check which entry section the squad falls into (small group, large group or line), because the time limit and the age-banding both depend on it
• Start with the counts, not the music. Drill the motions slowly on counts until every arm and leg lands in the same position together, then add the music at a slower tempo and build up to full speed
• Mark formations on the floor with tape or spots and rehearse the transitions on their own, because the changes between shapes are where a large team usually breaks down
• Film full runs from the front and from above if you can, and review the footage for late arms, uneven lines and gaps. Fix the weakest section first, not the one the team enjoys most
• Cut the music to the printed time limit, rehearse with a stopwatch, and leave a few seconds of margin for the walk-on and the final pose, so the routine ends on a deliberate finish rather than being cut off
• Rehearse in full costume, shoes and hair well before the event on a floor of similar size to the venue, and ask whether the floor is sprung or hard so that jumps and kicks suit the surface
• Afterwards, ask for the judges’ written comments and decide whether the next version needs tighter unison, cleaner formations, sharper motion or more varied choreography

Frequently asked questions

Is Drill Team judged individually or as a team?

Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Team entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.

What is a drill team routine at a dance competition?

It is a section for team routines built on precision: uniform, sharp motions and exact formation changes set to recorded music and scored by a panel. The two templates that carry it do not print a definition, so check the organiser’s syllabus for what your event accepts.

Is drill team the same as pom or cheerleading?

No. On the programmes that list them, Pom, Cheerleading and Drill Team are separate sections. Drill Team is built on uniform motion and formations, Pom on the handling of pom-poms, and Cheerleading on motions, jumps and chants. If your routine mixes them, ask the organiser which section it belongs in.

Can a drill team entry be a solo?

The templates list Drill Team in every entry type, including solos, because neither rule set prints which categories run in which entry type. A solo drill routine is unusual, so ask the organiser whether the section runs in the type you want before you register.

How long can a drill team routine be?

It depends on the event and the entry size. Across the two templates a solo runs 2:00 to 2:45, a duet or trio 2:45, a small group 3:00, a large group 4:00 and a line 4:30, with one rule set allowing 7:00 for a grand line. Always check the limit in the syllabus you are entering.

Is drill team judged individually or as a team?

Both kinds of section exist on the templates. A solo is scored as an individual entry. Duets, trios, groups and lines are team entries, where the panel also watches how evenly the performers share the same timing, spacing and motions.

Want the full judging picture? Read the full group dance competition judging criteria guide, or browse every dance competition item.