FLOAT 2026 Instructors
FLOAT 2026 GENERAL CLASS INSTRUCTORS
MASTER AND BONUS CLASS INSTRUCTORS WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN SEPTEMBER 2025
Teaching at FLOAT 2026
Hello there, and thank you for your interest in being an instructor at FLOAT 2026. Please review all of the information below before clicking on the link to fill out your application.
1. If you wish to apply to teach at FLOAT 2026, you must be able to prove that you are operating a legitimate and legal business. You must be able to provide some form of documentation that shows you are operating legally in your state or country of origin. The exception to this rule is if you are a salaried employee of one of the companies sponsoring instructors at FLOAT 2026. LINKS TO WEBSITES OR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS ARE NOT CONSIDERED PROOF OF LEGAL OPERATION.
2. In order to be eligible to teach at FLOAT, you must commit to being present at the 2026 FLOAT Convention at minimum from 3:00 PM Pacific time on Sunday, January 25th through 11:59 PM on Wednesday, January 28th, 2026. Failure to keep this commitment will eliminate you from selection and may cause you to be removed or replaced at a later time should you find you are no longer able to keep this commitment.
3. In order to be eligible for contention in this process, you must submit AT MINIMUM THREE (3) CLASSES aimed at an intermediate to advanced level balloon artist. Do NOT submit beginner level classes; they will be removed from contention. We HIGHLY recommend you submit at least four (4) possible classes for consideration by our advisory board.
4. No one may apply to teach at FLOAT if that person is: (A) considered a professional balloon teacher, running a “balloon school” or consider themselves a “coach” (B) been a problematic attendee or instructor at a previous FLOAT Convention or Fulcrum event or (C) publicly demeaned or defamed FLOAT in any way. If you are unsure as to whether or not you qualify, please email us at [email protected] for clarification before applying.
5. FLOAT will not discriminate against anyone who applies due to their ethnicity, cultural background, gender, sexual identity or preference, religious background or any other reason that has nothing to do with balloons. If you are eligible to apply, we are only interested in the quality of content you are presenting and the professionalism in which you present it.
6. The application process is as follows:
A. The applicant fills out the form to the best of their abilities.
B. If the form is completed to the satisfaction of the FLOAT production team, it will be passed on to the Advisory Board for review
C. The Advisory Board (currently made up of twelve previous FLOAT attendees) will review the class offerings presented by each applicant and decide whether or not they will be considered “approved.”
D. If an applicant is “approved” their information will be passed on to the eligible sponsors for selection in rounds two and three of the selection draft. If an applicant is not approved, they will be notified upon discovery and eliminated from further consideration.
E. No one at this point is guaranteed to be teaching at FLOAT; you are merely confirmed to be eligible.
F. Academic sponsors will select from the list of approved instructors and state who they would like to represent them at FLOAT 2026. If the chosen candidate approves the sponsorship, then at that time and only at that time are they confirmed to be an instructor at FLOAT 2026.
G. As a chosen instructor, you have the right to decline a sponsorship from a company or sponsor you do not wish to represent. However, without a sponsorship you will not be teaching at FLOAT 2026. The convention will not be sponsoring general class instructors in 2026, so any instructors not selected in the drafting process will simply be eliminated at that point.
7. With this in mind, it is HIGHLY recommended that you connect with your favorite sponsor or balloon related company and inquire about whether or not they would be interested in selecting you as an instructor at FLOAT 2026. You can learn who is sponsoring instructors at FLOAT by clicking this link.
8. All terms of compensation between instructors and sponsors should be thoroughly discussed and agreed upon prior to accepting a position at FLOAT 2026. We at FLOAT will provide all chosen instructors with one (1) complimentary academic registration to attend the convention and one (1) official FLOAT polo shirt for you to wear at the FLOAT Opening Night Event. All other terms of your involvement including but not limited to travel expenses, hotel accommodations, financial compensation, food per diem and more should be discussed and agreed upon in advance. FLOAT WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY OTHER RELATED EXPENSES OTHER THAN THOSE LISTED PREVIOUSLY THAT WE COMMIT TO.
9. Anyone selected to teach at FLOAT 2026 will agree to teach two (2) different classes at FLOAT, with each class being taught twice over two 90-minute sessions. So if approved, you will teach a total of four (4) 90-minute sessions at the convention.
10. Anyone selected to teach at FLOAT 2026 will be expected to provide professional class notes for each of the two (2) classes they are presenting. Class notes are at minimum three (3) pages and at maximum ten (10) pages. All rough drafts of class notes are due NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 15, 2025, with final drafts (if necessary) due NO LATER THAN NOVEMBER 15, 2025. Failure to follow this schedule will result in you not being invited back to teach at future FLOAT events.
11. Anyone selected to teach at FLOAT 2026 will be expected to assist FLOAT in the promotion of the event by sharing their involvement on their social media platforms. There will be at minimum three (3) select days where all instructors are expected to share social media content on the same day. Such content will be provided to you by FLOAT.
12. Anyone selected to teach at FLOAT 2026 will be expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times. While instructors are not expected to be “on” 24 hours a day, they are not to find themselves in a state of intoxication through alcohol or drug consumption, legal or otherwise, at any time during the convention.
13. In addition, all instructors are responsible for their own conduct at the convention when it comes to physical and sexual activity. Acts of physical violence or sexual aggression will not be tolerated at FLOAT, and no one in attendance in any capacity is to be harassed, assaulted or put in a position where they feel powerless or pressured by someone else. Anyone who commits physical violence or acts of sexual aggression against another person at FLOAT will assume any and all responsibility for such actions from a legal perspective and will be removed from their involvement in the convention immediately.
14. Applications for general class instructors will be accepted between March 3rd and March 31st, 2025. No applications will be accepted prior to or after said dates.
15. If you have any other questions, please contact [email protected] before completing the application.
Thank you.
CLICK HERE TO APPLY TO TEACH AT FLOAT 2026