“Championship” competitions are special competitions which must be sanctioned by the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing (SOBHD) and are only danced by Premier dancers. Differences between a normal competition and a Championship include:
Dancers always dance the same four Highland dances: Highland Fling, Sword, Seann Truibhas, Reel
Dancers are judged by three judges, their overall score for each dance being an average of the three scores
The winner of a Championship class is noted as the “Champion”
The 2nd to 6th overall winners are also usually noted as the “1st runner-up” to “5th runner-up”
To ensure all dancers are being judged against the same standard, every year the SOBHD establishes specific steps which must be danced by all dancers in a Championship, regardless of where it is being held in the world