Welcome to the National Shag Dance Championships ("NSDC")
The NSDC started in Myrtle Beach in 1984 and is the longest continuously running shag dance contest in the United States. Past winners of the NSDC have performed on countless TV shows and events including: Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, PGA Annual Banquets, NBA Games, Beach Music Awards, and Harvard University.
The NSDC is the past winner of two "Feather Awards" for best swing dance event in the United States.
In addition to hosting the annual contest, the NSDC established the "Beth Mitchell Memorial Scholarship" in 1998 to annually assist in the education of a deserving college student who is a current or past contest in the NSDC, or whose family has competed in the NSDC. The scholarship foundation is classified as a 501c3 for tax deductions. Scholarship recipients are announced each year at the Finals of the NSDC.
The NSDC is held over two weekends each year with the Preliminaries (Qualifying Round) occurring near the end of January and the Finals in early March. If you enjoy watching dance shows on TV, then you should attend the NSDC and experience the excitement of a first class dance competition in person.
Click on the links above for more information on the contest (including dates, time, tickets, rules, etc.) as well as information on the Beth Mitchell Scholarship, past NSDC winners, and more. Or you can contact us at nationalshag@gmail.com or by calling Barry Thigpen at 843-222-6706
Congratulations to our 2023 Divisional Winners and THANK YOU to all of our contestants. The Saturday night dancing was so exciting it knocked out the power in all of Ocean Drive! We appreciate all of our contestants and the audience for their patience and understanding for what was an unusual finish during Saturday night’s awards announcement!
Overall Winners = Mack West & Trinity Davis
Pro Division = Jackson Batten & Mary Elizabeth Jacobs
Masters Division = Danny & Melissa Johnson
Seniors Division = Sam & Lisa West
Non-Pro Division = Adam Holmes & Erica Russell
Junior 1 Division = Easton Brown & Graylen Kirby
Junior 2 Division = Mack West & Trinity Davis
Beth Mitchell Memorial Scholarship Winner = Gracie Pandure
Dancers should checkout our updated Preservation Song List for Thursday night competition located on our “Dancer Info” Page
The NSDC is proud to announce that Craig Jennings will serve as our 2023 Disc Jockey.
Craig has played for many contests; is a member of the “DeeJay Hall of Fame”; and he and wife, Heather,
have competed and were Runner-ups in the Professional Division.
Welcome Aboard Mr. Jennings!
More Nationals News forthcoming.
Barry Thigpen
Tom Hamrick (Little Tommy to his closest fans), has decided not to Deejay for the coming year – after 13 years! But we are pleased that he is remaining on our Board of Directors! We really appreciate his many years as our record spinner and the great job he did.
The 2023 Deejay has already been selected and will be announced
in our next bulletin of updates!
So glad to see some of the events returning.
Really hearing a great deal about the Juniors & Non-Pros recently.
Have a great summer!
Sincerely,
Barry
Congratulations to our 2022 National Shag Dance Championship Winners and a BIG “THANK YOU” to all of our contestants for making the first Post-COVID event a success! We appreciate your support.
2022 WINNERS
Professional Division – Jackson Batten & Mary-Elizabeth Jacobs
Junior I Division – Easton Brown & Graylen Kirby
Junior II Division – Mack West & Trinity Davis
Masters Division – Milton Nowell & Moncille Thomas
Seniors Division – Gene Pope & Tobitha Stewart
Non-Pro Division – Wes Williamson & Cameron Vaughn
Overall Divisional Winner – Mack West & Trinity Davis
Congratulations to 2021 Winners – Dr. Debbie Connors and Dr. Robert Jansen! Thank you to all of our local celebrity contestants – what a great night!
Beach Shaggers National Hall of Fame
Congratulations to the new “Beach Shaggers National Hall of Famers”. They will be inducted on March 19, 2022 at the Spanish Galleon . As the last twenty months have been a little unorthodox, we are allowing and hope some will want to enter the Masters Division for 2022 March 10-12. Did not want them to miss a year! Applications are due November 30th, 2021. Their partner is not required to be a “Hall of Famer” but they must meet the other requirements (age, etc.). Applications can be found on this site. Hopefully everything will be back on track now.
The Nationals are Proud to Announce That Dale & Jim Hern are the new sponsors of the Non-Pro Division.
They have been runner-ups in the Pro and several time runner-ups in the Senior Division. Jim is currently President of CSA where he works hard to enhance all divisions for years to come!
