All-Star Illegal Athlete

[Kelli Nicole]

I thought they were at Wildcheer or something like that.

My 5 years of doing research paper after research paper has probably helped. I really wouldn't have thought much about it had I not watched her video of her worlds experience from this year. I got to thinking, wait a minute she is on a level 6 team and I know she isn't 17. If this were a US team people probably would have called it out right away, but since it is an international team most people don't know the age of athletes, had she not been a youtuber I never would have known.
Plus I know that the USASF likes there to be actual proof when claims like this are made so I want to make sure I get all that I can.

It is the same team - they had to change their name because Laney's parents copyrighted Wildcheer.

As to the disqualification: There was also some discussion in German cheerleading forums regarding this. There was a press announcement which stated the FTG Bullets had placed 4th in 2011. A few people questioned whether this was true because they were apparently disqualified for having an underage team...According to the Bullets coach, the titles are taken from the prelims and the 4th place was never revoked... but I'm not so sure if that's 100% true.

 

[Nikaa]

It is the same team - they had to change their name because Laney's parents copyrighted Wildcheer.

yeah i heard there was a drama about the name. i saw at elite they even put duck tape over wildcheer name on their back packs...

 

[Kelli Nicole]

yeah i heard there was a drama about the name. i saw at elite they even put duck tape over wildcheer name on their back packs...

Yea, they removed the names from their uniforms and taped anything that couldn't be removed. I can't remember if it was just for one season or 2...but the entire club has new uniforms..

 

[ztaprincess]

It is the same team - they had to change their name because Laney's parents copyrighted Wildcheer.

As to the disqualification: There was also some discussion in German cheerleading forums regarding this. There was a press announcement which stated the FTG Bullets had placed 4th in 2011. A few people questioned whether this was true because they were apparently disqualified for having an underage team...According to the Bullets coach, the titles are taken from the prelims and the 4th place was never revoked... but I'm not so sure if that's 100% true.

Thank you for the information. I tried looking at their site, but even after taking German for a few years it is a little dusty so I gave up. It seems that their name was not removed from the Nations Cup standings but was removed from the IASF results page so maybe they kept the 4th place trophy but it means nothing.

I am just interested in finding out if they were disqualified why they were allowed to come back to worlds this past year with the same athlete on their team again. I know that she wouldn't be an illegal athlete this year because of the new age rule, but the fact that they were allowed back with her on the team is bothering me. I am still waiting for a reply which is odd because the first reply I received didn't take long. Fingers crossed that I get some kind of answer and that this problem gets taken care of.

I also highly suggest anyone who thinks that a team is doing something like this to do a little research and see if you can find proof. If you can then don't be afraid to contact the USASF with questions or concerns. I was pleasantly surprised that I even got a response yesterday to my intial question.

 

[Brandon Madsen]

To help clear things up and keep Laney´s name out of this conversation. The past 2.5 years this team has no longer any connection with Wild Cheer. New Staff with new Team and new leaders who make their own decisions. Thank You!

 

[AndrewSky]

At worlds, my best friend was approached by a big gym and was told "it's okay, just turn in a fake birth certificate" -.-

 

[Kelli Nicole]

To help clear things up and keep Laney´s name out of this conversation. The past 2.5 years this team has no longer any connection with Wild Cheer. New Staff with new Team and new leaders who make their own decisions. Thank You!

Laney's name wasn't associated in a bad way! The question was just if it was the same sports club/team since there was confusion about the name.

 

[cheer--il]

At worlds, my best friend was approached by a big gym and was told "it's okay, just turn in a fake birth certificate" -.-

I know one EP who contacted the state about a birth certificate--and found out it was fake!

 

[CheerBank]

How does USASF make sure that the athletes competing are submitting valid birth certificates or are even using their own birth certificates? Do the coaches actually need to produce the original ones when they sign in their teams or are they sending in copies when they send in their rosters? Do the athletes' passes have their names on them or are they just lanyards that say "Competitor" on them? I know of two instances where a gym had a kid on their World's team who turned the correct age just a month prior to Worlds yet they somehow managed to compete (two different kids, two years in a row.) Do we blame the coach for cheating or USASF for not catching it?

 

[MissCongeniality]

How does USASF make sure that the athletes competing are submitting valid birth certificates or are even using their own birth certificates? Do the coaches actually need to produce the original ones when they sign in their teams or are they sending in copies when they send in their rosters? Do the athletes' passes have their names on them or are they just lanyards that say "Competitor" on them? I know of two instances where a gym had a kid on their World's team who turned the correct age just a month prior to Worlds yet they somehow managed to compete (two different kids, two years in a row.) Do we blame the coach for cheating or USASF for not catching it?

Both! Seriously is it all about winning? Is it all about money? Is that really what all star cheer (level 5 primarily) has become? What about the life lessons we teach our kids? It's ok to cheat if it helps you get ahead? It's ok to look the other way when someone does something wrong because it's hard to prove and it impacts your profit margin? Seriously how can anyone point their fingers at our government officials or banks for cheating their way to the top but turn a blind eye here?

 

[Jule]

Well said.

 

[CheerBank]

Both! Seriously is it all about winning? Is it all about money? Is that really what all star cheer (level 5 primarily) has become? What about the life lessons we teach our kids? It's ok to cheat if it helps you get ahead? It's ok to look the other way when someone does something wrong because it's hard to prove and it impacts your profit margin? Seriously how can anyone point their fingers at our government officials or banks for cheating their way to the top but turn a blind eye here?

I honestly believe there are many gyms and coaches who have no problem disregarding the age rules, having witnessed it first hand. And I'm not talking about just on Level 5 teams either but on lower level teams as well. 16 year olds on junior teams, 13 year olds on youth teams. But if the sport itself made you prove your ages in a better way then maybe coaches wouldn't get away with it so easily. I say microchip the kids when they start their cheering career and scan them at every comp before they enter warmups

 

[Emily]

I just wrote an e-mail to the EP who awarded the bid to them for this year's worlds (as well as the year before...) to ask how it happened that they gave a bid to a team that wasn't eligible for a bid...

BowCat there was a national team competing at ICU, not the FTG Bullets, so there shouldn't any exceptions be made for them...

But what I would really like to know is, how nobody at USASF caught this before worlds - a gym entering the same team with mostly the same athletes in the same division, that would have been ineligible to even get a bid...

 

[dream-infinity]

This may be dumb, but I have to ask. At worlds last year did you have to be 17 or turn 17 that year to be on international open 6? Because then I know another team that should have been disqualified as well.... It may be some loophole with the european and american rules though, in europe you just have to be 15, turning 16 to be on a senior team (level 6 as well).

 

[Ashley]

This may be dumb, but I have to ask. At worlds last year did you have to be 17 or turn 17 that year to be on international open 6? Because then I know another team that should have been disqualified as well.... It may be some loophole with the european and american rules though, in europe you just have to be 15, turning 16 to be on a senior team (level 6 as well).

You have to turn 17 by Aug 31 of the year the season starts. So 2011, for the 2012 worlds. I'm honestly not sure if the rules are different for actual international teams (outside of the US)