Westiefund
A lone tree in a green field at sunrise

Talent shouldn't need a travel budget.

Westiefund pays flights, hotel and registration for West Coast Swing dancers who have the level but not the money to reach the events that change a dancing life – the US Open, the Classics, the championships.

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Westiefund e. V. i. G. · non-profit association in formation How a grant works

Every season, dancers with the level for the big floors stay home – because a weekend in California costs a month's rent.

How a grant works

One form, one honest conversation, and the money goes where the costs are. No essay contest, no pitch video, no waiting for a committee season.

  1. Ten minutes

    You apply

    Which event, what it costs, what you can cover yourself, and a video of you dancing. That's it.

  2. Within two weeks

    We read it

    Real people from the scene read every application. If we have questions, we write back – no forms, just e-mail.

  3. Directly, where we can

    The grant is paid

    Pass, flight, room. We pay the organiser or the booking directly when possible, so nobody has to front the money.

  4. The whole weekend

    You dance

    Compete, take the workshops, social until four. Meet the people you have only seen on a screen.

  5. Afterwards

    You tell the story

    A short report and a clip we may share. The next dancer needs to see that this is possible.

What a weekend really costs

Registration is the smallest line. Getting there and sleeping somewhere is what keeps people at home. These are honest estimates for autumn 2026 – in the application we ask for your real quotes.

Start an application

US Open Swing Dance Championships, Burbank

from Germany · estimate
  • Full event pass grant ≈ €320
  • Competition entries (2 divisions) grant ≈ €60
  • Flight Frankfurt – Los Angeles, return grant ≈ €780
  • Hotel, 4 nights, room shared by two grant ≈ €420
  • Food and getting around (your share) ≈ €200
Total of which a grant could cover ≈ €1,580 ≈ €1,780

Prices from public event and airline listings, autumn 2026, rounded. Pass prices rise closer to the event; early applications save money.

A large European event, e.g. in Budapest

from Warsaw · estimate
  • Full pass grant ≈ €190
  • Competition entries grant ≈ €30
  • Flight or night bus, return grant ≈ €130
  • Shared apartment, 3 nights grant ≈ €150
  • Food and transit (your share) ≈ €90
Total of which a grant could cover ≈ €500 ≈ €590

Half a month's rent in many cities. Also half of a student's monthly budget – which is why grants are not only for California.

Who is behind it, and who pays

Westiefund is run by people from inside West Coast Swing, and it is funded in three ways – all of them published.

From inside the scene

The team runs the West Coast Swing YouTube channel, the TikTok and Instagram channels and the scoring software used at WSDC events. We know the ladder, the events and what a weekend costs because we are there every month.

Funded three ways

Donations from the community, sponsoring by event organisers, studios and brands – and a fixed share of the advertising revenue of the @wcs YouTube and TikTok channels. Every view of a competition video helps pay for a pass.

Published, always

Every grant, every donation total and every sponsor goes on the transparency page. Right now that page says: founding in progress, nothing paid out yet. That is exactly what we will keep doing.

The next dancer on that floor could be you – or someone you get there.

Applications are open all year. Grants are paid as long as the fund has money, in the order applications arrive and are approved.

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