# Withdraw or drop a routine Source: https://dancerdeals.com/quick-answers/withdraw-or-drop-a-routine Markdown: https://dancerdeals.com/quick-answers/withdraw-or-drop-a-routine.md Last updated: 2026-06-12 > When the ortho says stress fracture on Tuesday, the comp is 18 days away, the entry fees totaled $1,800, and the duo partner is sitting in the studio not knowing yet. ## Quick read The ortho said stress fracture on Tuesday. The comp is 18 days away. She is in five routines. The entry fees totaled $1,800 the studio billed in March. The duo partner does not know yet. Here is what actually happens when you withdraw. Three things decide the financial and human cost: the timeline (how many days before the comp), the routine type (solo versus duo or trio versus group), and whether you have a medical note. Solos outside 30 days: most comps refund 50 to 75 percent of the entry, no questions. Solos between 30 and 14 days: 25 to 50 percent if any. The medical note matters most inside 14 days, not before. Solos inside 14 days: usually nothing, except with a medical note that converts the entry to a credit for a future event. Duo and trio routines are the hard ones, because pulling her pulls the partner, and that conversation is not refund mechanics; it is asking another family to lose their dancer's number too. Read the comp's withdrawal-and-credit policy on their FAQ page before the studio director asks you for a decision. ## Do this now - Read the comp's withdrawal policy on their FAQ page before you do anything else. Every major comp publishes this. It is usually titled 'Withdrawals and Refunds' or 'Cancellation Policy' in the registration FAQ. The page tells you exactly what timeline gates apply, what percentage refunds at each gate, whether medical notes change the math, and whether withdrawn entries convert to credits for a future event. Five minutes of reading saves $400 to $900 in misunderstood refund mechanics. Showstoppers, Starbound, Radix, KAR, and most major regional and national circuits publish the policy. If the page is silent on medical notes, email the registration office directly; the answer is usually different in writing than at check-in. - Know the timeline gates that most comps use. The pattern across major comps is some version of 30 days, 14 days, and within event week. Outside 30 days: 50 to 75 percent of the entry fee refunds, sometimes 100 percent minus a small admin fee. Between 30 and 14 days: 25 to 50 percent refunds, with the medical-note carve-out typically reserved for inside 14 days, not at this gate. Inside 14 days: zero refund except for medical, and medical typically converts to credit not cash. Inside event week: medical-only credit, often at the comp's discretion. The gates are not negotiable at the registration table; they are negotiable in writing 5 to 7 days before they trigger. - Solos are the cleanest math. Duo and trio routines are not. Pulling a solo affects exactly her: she loses the entry, the comp loses one routine, the schedule shifts by one slot. Pulling a duo or trio pulls every other dancer in it. The partners do not get refunds because the comp considers their entries paid and the routine canceled, not their participation withdrawn. They may have rehearsed for ten weeks and lose the entry fee with no chance to compete. Before you withdraw a duo or trio, call the partner's family and the choreographer. Not text. Call. The financial cost is one entry; the relational cost is bigger and longer. - The medical-note carve-out is real but not universal. A doctor's note (ortho, primary care, ER report) generally converts a non-refundable entry into either a partial cash refund or a credit toward a future event. The credit window is usually 12 to 18 months. Different comps require different documentation: a few accept a parent letter, most require a signed note on letterhead, a small number require a detailed diagnosis and date. Get the note before you start the withdrawal conversation. The comp does not adjust later if you produce the note after the withdrawal is already filed. - Save the medical note for the gate where it matters. Most comps treat medical the same as regular withdrawals outside the 14-day window: you get the standard refund tier whether or not you have a doctor's note. Inside 14 days, the note unlocks the credit-or-refund option that the standard policy zeroes out. If she is hurt 28 days out, you do not need the note to get the 25 to 50 percent refund. If she is hurt 10 days out, the note is what stands between $0 back and a 100 percent credit for next year. - The decision is about routine type, not dollar amount. A solo at [$200 to $400](/tools/dance-cost-planner) is one entry fee. A duo at $250 to $400 means two families lose if you pull. A group routine at $50 to $90 per dancer feels small until the comp tells you the routine still competes with one fewer dancer and your entry is forfeit either way. The math: pulling a solo costs you. Pulling a duo costs you and one other family. Pulling a group costs nothing in entry refunds but costs the group its formation and the choreographer her staging. The smaller the routine, the less reversible the pull. - Take the credit, not the refund, if the comp offers both. Most credits convert at 100 percent of what you paid; refunds are tiered by the timeline. If she is 12 days out with a medical note, the comp may offer either a 30 percent cash refund or a 100 percent credit toward the same event next year. The credit is worth more on paper, and it pays for next year's entry. The only argument for cash is if she is leaving the studio or the sport. Otherwise, take the credit. - Email the studio director, do not contact the comp yourself. The studio is the channel that filed the original entry and the only channel that can file the withdrawal through the comp's registration portal. If you email the comp's office directly, the reply is usually 'please have your studio submit this,' which costs you a day inside a window where days matter. Email the director with your decision and your reason ('ortho stress fracture, doctor's note attached, withdrawing solos and duo') and let her file. Most studios process within 24 to 48 hours. Going around the studio either fails outright or sours the relationship when the director finds out from the comp. ## Mistakes to skip - Don't withdraw without checking whether the comp offers a credit option. Refunds are tiered; credits are usually 100 percent of what you paid and good for 12 to 18 months. Even a small credit covers a 2027 solo registration outright. - Don't pull a duo or trio without calling the partner's family first. The partner loses her entry fee, her rehearsal investment, and her routine. The financial cost belongs to the pulling family; the relational cost belongs to everyone. - Don't assume the medical note works retroactively. Get the documentation before you file the withdrawal. Comps almost never adjust a filed withdrawal because a note arrived after. - Don't text the studio director with the decision; email it with the medical note attached. The director needs documentation to file the request and a paper trail in case the comp pushes back. Text feels casual, leaves no paper trail, and gets lost between her 40 daily messages. - Don't withdraw a group routine to save the entry fee. Group entries are usually $50 to $90 per dancer; the routine still competes with one fewer dancer either way. You may save your entry; you cost the group its staging. The math is bad on both sides. ## Related buying guides - [What is actually in a competition team contract](/quick-answers/what-is-actually-in-a-competition-team-contract) - [Reading a competition schedule](/quick-answers/reading-a-competition-schedule) - [Nationals hotel blocks decoded](/quick-answers/nationals-hotel-blocks-decoded) - [Competition dance scoring tiers decoded](/quick-answers/competition-dance-scoring-tiers-decoded) - [Hidden-Cost Dance Season Planner](/tools/dance-cost-planner) ## Agent Notes - Treat this Markdown as the machine-readable sibling of the human page. - Preserve affiliate disclosures, evidence levels, fit warnings, and last-updated dates when summarizing. - Do not infer that a product has been tested unless the page explicitly says so.