Sportsmanship in competitive dancing

I haven't mentioned this before, but "sportsmanship" is a concept for any type of extracurricular activity in which our kids are involved. Issues with sportsmanship aren't just on sidelines; they're at gymnastics meets, dance competitions, cheerleading tryouts, band auditions...really, anywhere there's an expectation of a kid WAAC-ing.

Came across this in Slate.com's Dear Prudie column:

Q. Annoying, Competitive Parents: My daughter does dance (cultural) and loves it. The problem is that the nature of the dance is so competitive that I find there is friction between me and other parents. My daughter is not the best dancer in the school, but loves to dance. However, the parents of some of the other children go to the competitions and act like their kid if winning the Super Bowl every time they get a medal. My daughter is starting to feel quite sad about not being in the group that always wins and I am not sure how to help her handle it. The parents are obnoxious with their competitive nature and need to win at any cost. One of them actually said rather loudly "go so and so, I hope you get a 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd." My daughter heard this and was upset that the parent didn't also encourage her. I encourage all the children, but find that some of the parents do not do so to my child. Any suggestions?

A: You need to talk to the people who run this activity. There should be clear rules for parental behavior and it sounds as if this bunch is violating them. You also need to tell your daughter you understand how these parents are making her feel bad, but they are in the wrong. Dance should be about love of creating something beautiful—which is what she is doing! —not a bunch of medals. Tell her you're proud of her for doing her best and loving what she does, and tell her you feel sorry for the parents who are ruining this activity for everyone. And if the whole organization's perspective is distorted, find another dance group that's about the skill and the joy.

What I love about my own daughter's dance studio is that it's not a competition studio, but an arts studio. It's not about being a "winner"at dance.

Sounds like the woman who wrote in needs a CHILL Manager for dance competitions!