Everyone, with the possible exception of dads with daughters, loves a good pole dance. But if you can take your eyes off the nudity for just a sec you’ll see there’s a lot more athleticism, and art, to rocking that pole than most people think. Until recently, most pole dancing “competitions” were judged by applause or some other equally arbitrary method. There wasn’t an impartial way to give the art of pole dancing the recognition it deserved. Which is why the US Pole Dancing Federation was created in 2008. See a video of 2010′s USPDF Professional champion, Alethea Austin, along with 70 pics of her and other pole dancers including Miss Pole Dance World Felix Cane, Miss Pole Dance Canada Crystal Lai, and Miss Pole Dance USA Jenyne Butterfly after the jump!

We have a winner! Australian hottie, Felix Cane was just announced Miss Pole Dance World 2009, and boy are we proud. No, we didn’t have a hand in her winning. We just want to help make sure this magnificent sport gets as much coverage as humanly possible. Because the more people know, the more chicks will take up pole dancing. And that is NEVER a bad thing. (Ok, almost never.)