2026 USA Lion Dance National Championships

The USA Dragon and Lion Dance Sports Association is thrilled to be once again working with our friends at Asia Times Square to bring the largest lion dance competition in the Western Hemisphere back Grand Prairie, Texas in 2026! This year, we've got two jam-packed days with the top teams from across the US vying for the the title of USA Lion King in the biennial High Pole (Jong) Lion Dance National Championship (Saturday, July 11) and the annual Traditional Lion Dance National Championship (Sunday, July 12). Team registration is opening on March 8th, so troupes, start preparing your teams!

Event Tickets

Tickets for the lion dance event of the year will be exclusively sold here! Follow us on our social media pages to get the latest updates on when tickets go on sale!

Team Registration

More details on the competition and team registration are detailed in the official Rules and Regulations posted below, but here are some highlights:

• Primary Registration Opens: 12pm, March 8th, 2026

  • To allow for more individual troupes to compete, each will be allowed to register only one entry per category during this registration period.

  • Additional team entries by any troupe will not be considered and must be resubmitted during the secondary registration period.

• Secondary Registration Opens: 12pm, March 15th, 2026

  • Troupes will continue to be allowed to register their first entry per category.  Additionally, any troupe may register a 2nd team with priority given to the entry that is received first and not whether or not the troupe already has a confirmed entry already.

  • Secondary Registration Change: Only high pole category secondary entries are currently being accepted to compete. Due to the traditional category being filled, any new (or secondary) registrations will be automatically added to the waitlist. Please e-mail us at liondanceusa@gmail.com to be added to the traditional category waitlist.

• Registration Closes: 12pm, March 22nd, 2026

  • No registration forms received after close of registration will be considered.

  • Troupes that register before the registration deadline but after the entry capacity for the competition event has been reached will be added to a waitlist in the order at which their registration was received.

Entry Fees (Per Entry)

Traditional Competition

Member Team: $500

Non-Member Team: $700

High Pole (Jong) Competition

Member Team: $600

Non-Member Team: $800

Prizes

Traditional Competition

Champion: $1,700 

1^st Runner-Up: $1,200 

2^nd Runner-Up: $700

High Pole (Jong) Competition

Champion: $2,200 

1^st Runner-Up: $1,700 

2^nd Runner-Up: $1,200

Official 2026 USA Lion Dance National Championships Rules and Regulations

SECONDARY HIGH POLE REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN

Volunteers

Interested in helping us put on the 2026 USA Lion Dance National Championships? Sign up to volunteer HERE!

Merchandise

Check back soon for our exclusive competition merchandise!