The Southern buckskin and cloth class for women aged 18 to 39 at a competition powwow, scored individually; “So.” stands for Southern and the class sits beside a Northern counterpart.
So. Buckskin/Cloth is the Southern half of a pair of women’s classes in a competition powwow. On the template behind this page it has one class only: female dancers in the Adult band, aged 18 to 39, each entering as an individual. “So.” is short for Southern, and the Northern counterpart, No. Buckskin/Cloth, is its own item with its own list of entrants.
The listing comes from the published dance categories of one competition powwow in the United States. Its women’s programme for 18 to 39 reads Jingle, Fancy, Northern Buckskin/Cloth and Southern Buckskin/Cloth, so an organiser running this template has four women’s lists in the band and every woman belongs on exactly one of them. The rules allow a single category per contestant and do not let a dancer move once the registrar has recorded her choice.
What the page cannot tell you is how the two traditions differ on the floor, and it does not try to. The source names the classes; it does not describe steps, dress or regalia, and those belong to the communities who dance them. The organiser’s job is administrative: make sure the dancer can say which list she is on, and that the registrar has written it down correctly.
The class has no single judged round. The rules the template follows give a points system that builds across the weekend, starting with the Friday grand entry, with each contestant’s registrar-issued number noted at every grand entry. A committee may fold a category with fewer than five registered dancers into another, so a small Southern list can be combined on the day.
Women above the Adult band are not placed in this item. From the Senior band upward the source collapses the women’s traditional classes into a merged Northern and Southern Traditional class, which the template carries as a separate item, so check the dancer’s age against the band before she is entered here.
Where So. Buckskin/Cloth is run
On eTalenter this item is used in one template, the competition powwow template, assigned to female dancers in the Adult band. Competition powwows run across the United States and Canada, typically over a weekend, and each publishes its own style names, age bands and merges. A Northern and Southern split of the women’s buckskin and cloth classes is how this one lays out its schedule; another powwow may use different names or combine the two, so read that organiser’s notice before assuming the same class exists.
- United States (the competition powwow the template is built from)
- Canada and other competition powwows in North America, each with its own published rules
Key facts
- An Individual item: one dancer, one registrar-issued number, one entry
- One template class, female only: Adult (18 to 39)
- “So.” means Southern; the Northern sister class is a separate item and a woman is entered in one or the other
- Older women move to the merged Northern and Southern Traditional item from the Senior band upward
- Placings come from points accumulated across sessions beginning with the Friday grand entry, not from one round
- One category per contestant, no switching after registration, and a class with fewer than five dancers may be combined
- The template uses a 100-mark working scale and no time limit because the source prints neither
On eTalenter, So. Buckskin/Cloth is filed under On Stage and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, So. Buckskin/Cloth is most often entered as an Individual competition, commonly run for Female, typically scored out of 100.
What judges look at in So. Buckskin/Cloth
What a So. Buckskin/Cloth panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- The source gives no scoresheet for this class, so the points below are organiser guidance for agreeing yardsticks with the head judges, not rules from the source
- Time with the singers: whether the dancer hears each change of tempo, keeps with the drum from the first beat and ends on the last one
- Steadiness across sessions: because points add up over several grand entries, an even run of sessions usually beats one outstanding song followed by tired ones
- Belonging in the list: committees generally look for a Southern entrant to dance in the Southern style rather than the Northern one beside it, so the two lists are marked against their own tradition
- Regalia that stays in place for the whole song, so nothing distracts judges from the dancing itself
- Arena manners: listening to the arena director, staying in the dancing area and showing respect to the head judges and fellow dancers
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for So. Buckskin/Cloth under Scoring Setup, or start from judge scoring and tabulation software.
How to prepare for So. Buckskin/Cloth
How entrants and their teachers usually get So. Buckskin/Cloth right on the day:
- Settle the Northern or Southern question with the dancer before registration and explain that the registrar’s record is final
- Confirm her age on the day: 18 to 39 belongs here, while older dancers should be directed to the Senior, Golden Age or Living Treasure items
- Register online before the closing date and note the onsite cut-off on Saturday, since arriving late can mean missing the first points of the weekend
- Train for stamina as well as technique by dancing several full sessions in a row, with breaks planned for water, food and rest
- Practise to unfamiliar songs so that following the drum and finishing on the beat comes from habit rather than memory
- Check every fastening on the regalia a week ahead and carry a small repair kit so a loose piece never costs a grand entry
- Ask the registrar to confirm her number was logged at each grand entry before the final totals are read
Ready-made event templates that include So. Buckskin/Cloth
Open any template to preview it in eTalenter and install it as a live, editable event.
| Template | Category | Score label | Competitions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powwow Dance & Drum Competition (Denver March Powwow) | On Stage | Marks | 1 |
Frequently asked questions
Is So. Buckskin/Cloth judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, commonly for Female, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
What does “So.” stand for in So. Buckskin/Cloth?
Southern. The source lists Northern and Southern Buckskin/Cloth together for women aged 18 to 39, and the template keeps them as separate items.
Is So. Buckskin/Cloth the same as No. Buckskin/Cloth?
No. They are sister classes with separate entrant lists. A dancer enters one and the other stays closed to her for that event.
Can a woman over 40 enter this item?
Not on this template. The class is for the Adult band, 18 to 39. Older women dance in the Senior, Golden Age and Living Treasure items, where the source merges Northern and Southern Traditional.
How are winners decided?
By points added up across sessions, beginning with the Friday grand entry, with each dancer’s number recorded at every grand entry. There is no single deciding round.
Is there a time limit or a mark scale?
The source prints neither. The template uses a working scale of 100 marks and no time limit, and an organiser who wants either should set it in their own event and publish it with the rules.
Want the full judging picture? Read judge scoring and tabulation software, or browse every on stage competition item.
Try So. Buckskin/Cloth in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs So. Buckskin/Cloth, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
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