[imagesource: Jeff Mitchell / Getty]

It has been a hell of a month for sporting scandals.

It is almost like Mercury has been in retrograde. Oh, see, it was, having supposedly started on September 9 and ended on October 2.

Whether you believe in the influence of the planets or not, something has been brewing in the world of competitive sports.

Besides the chess world peeling away at layer after layer of scandal, the world of competitive fishing and the poker community are grappling with their own controversies.

Now, the niche world of competitive Irish dancing is also being rocked by allegations of competition fixing and cheating in what is the largest-ever scandal to engulf the sport.

The Telegraph notes that there are even allegations that sexual favours are being traded in exchange for podium finishes.

Where there’s a major incentive to make extra money, there’s a cheater hustling for it all. In the fiercely competitive world of Irish dancing, teachers and dance schools benefit from their pupils winning competitions.

It essentially provides them with sufficient prestige to allow them to charge higher fees.

Screenshots of texts show 12 dance teachers asking for CLRG officials to rig competitions. Some of the teachers have continued to judge competitions since.

The Irish Independent, which exposed the scandal, obtained screenshots implicating another six teachers, including one which suggested the trading of sex for scores.

It is understood that one of the teachers has been accused of interfering with scores at competitions in the past.

Image: Jeff Mitchell / Getty

The Guardian reported that some parents and teachers are seeing a code of loyalty and silence about criminal activity akin to well-known gangster movies:

Several parents and teachers, speaking anonymously, told the paper the tight-knit industry was like the mafia, with one former Riverdance star citing the HBO show The Sopranos.

A US-based teacher said she was afraid to ask one of the allegedly crooked judges for a favour. “Because once you do, you’re indebted to them for life. It’s like The Godfather.”

The Irish Dancing Commission, a governing body known in Irish as An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG), has appointed a former judge to investigate these rigging claims:

The Dublin-based CLRG said in a statement that in July it had received allegations, with supporting documentation, of grievous breaches of its code of conduct.

“Such unethical behaviour cannot and will not be tolerated by this organisation.”

Irish dancing has become a highly competitive, global phenomenon that was once a quaint tradition with modest roots.

Image: Jeff Mitchell / Getty

A parent commenting on the message board Mumsnet said it has become “big business”:

“It’s changed since it got a very American presence and in some ways it reminds me of the US beauty pageants. It’s all quite superficial and more what you wear, who designed your dress and wig styles than it is about the actual dancing. I’d like to see it go back to basics,” she said.

US-based magazine Irish Dancing said that all eyes are on the judges and results for any upcoming competitions, adding that if the allegations are proven true, “many are hopeful it will bring in new judging procedures and processes to prevent any real or perceived misconduct in the future.”

Bringing these covert activities to the fore is indeed just the start.

[sources:telegraph&guardian]