All-Star Industry Shrinking

[megaflipper]

Does anyone else feel that the industry is shrinking or at least leveling off? I look at some of the larger gyms and they have a noticeable reduction in the number of teams/athletes. Some teams were large and now are medium or small. Thoughts?

 

[dawgshow]

I don't know about shrinking. Around here, we are seeing more small gyms opening and a growth in the number of cheerleaders. Of course, we aren't in a cheer saturated area so there is room to grow. I do see a growing gap between the skills of well established gyms and those that aren't as seasoned. Well, I saw a large gap last year. I'm reserving judgement this year based on what I've seen so far this season.
What I have noticed is a big growth in levels 1-3, which is great for the industry!

 

[Mom2Cheergirls]

Agree with dawgshow. Our area cheer is red hot. New gyms opening and many gyms with lots of young kids - our gym has I think 5 Youth and Mini cheer teams and I know a lot of the other gyms in our area have the same thing. High school comp cheer is becoming big as well but the way it is set here they have already completed their season so many then move onto half year all star teams or were doing both the whole time. Pretty exciting to be in an area where people are starting to get cheer is not just the popular girls standing on the sideline cheering on others BUT are strong male and female athletes in their own right.

 

[BlueCat]

In our area, we see new gyms pop up, some grow, some shrink, and some go out of business. It is hard to get an accurate read on what the overall number is doing. For what it is worth, 2014 NCA Nationals will easily be the largest it has ever been.

 

[Jennie]

I have seen regularly on this board people from California posting that the small gyms are closing because they simply cannot keep up with the big Cali-based gyms and that there is barely any competition out on the west coast because of this - is this a similar thing all over the country?

 

[King]

In our area, we see new gyms pop up, some grow, some shrink, and some go out of business. It is hard to get an accurate read on what the overall number is doing. For what it is worth, 2014 NCA Nationals will easily be the largest it has ever been.

I would say the top largest competitions are growing and the small niche competitions are strong. The middle tier are the ones I see shrinking. So more a reorganization of everyone?

 

[King]

I have seen regularly on this board people from California posting that the small gyms are closing because they simply cannot keep up with the big Cali-based gyms and that there is barely any competition out on the west coast because of this - is this a similar thing all over the country?

Cali is a lot more spread out. One of the risks they run of being too successful is that all the competition goes away and they have no one left to compete with unless they travel.

 

[cheernerd5678]

Two years ago we had one gym in town. This year there are four programs in town, but the original has only grown, not like the other gyms popping up made it smaller. We're all small gyms. So it's definitely growing here.


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[CEAShelby]

I'm not sure whether the industry is shrinking or athletes are just spreading out, a lot of powerhouse gyms have another power house gym close by, CEA/Charlotte, CA/SOT, GA/RAYS, our kids are spoilt for choice, and on the West, they may not have that many options so for California if you want to be on a well-known team thats Cali Allstars. I guess its difficult to have an accurate number of growth/shrinking, it just depends where you are

 

[DaniV]

I love our little pocket up here in the NW. We have our own version of "powerhouse" gyms but they are nothing like the well-known gyms mentioned above. I don't think there is a gym in Washington that has more than 150 athletes... Maybe All-Star Fusion or South Elite, but it would be a close call.

We stay pretty consisent with what gyms exist, it's pretty rare for a new one to pop up, but when they do, it's usually in an area where there isn't another close competitor so it isn't hard for them to stay open.

 

[Keep_Believing]

All the comp. we go to seem to be getting bigger.

 

[LabbyGirlMOM]

In the 3 years I have been involved in cheer I have seen 1 gym in our area shrink or so it seems to outsiders while our gym has grown and keeps growing.

 

[Mr May]

Cali is a lot more spread out. One of the risks they run of being too successful is that all the competition goes away and they have no one left to compete with unless they travel.

were a big state, but your 3 largest programs are within a hour of one another, sometimes 20 minutes depending on the location. As for events getting bigger, out here it seems they are thinning out. i havent seen any major new competitions pop up, so i cant attribute it to new options, but Grand felt smaller than years past and i dont know about ss yet. i am wondering, for all other competitions besides nca, if the number of teams have gone up or the number of competitors. id really like to know if the competition industry is starting to look like a cheer routine, and recycling customers(crossovers) into over all numbers.

as for gyms closing and opening in different areas, that will always come down to basic economics of the given area. a specific area is only going to be able to support x amount of gyms, in normal every day life, the strong stay around and the weak close down. cheer however has developed its own economic eco system. franchising, buy outs, mergers etc mean different things in an industry based on competition vs coffee. starbucks wants all coffee to be starbucks. starbucks doesnt have to compete against dunkin donuts 8 times a year to have a business. the future of my business depends on others doing well also, which is why i dont understand programs being rivals(whole new topic). my worry for the future is we will see A MASSIVE judging shift towards catering to smaller gyms just to keep them competitive. that will in the end undermine the credibility of our sport. it would make sense for EPs to invest in and develop new talent to keep their eggs in different baskets and maintain the over all strength and diversity of their business. although all businesses need to allow the natural course of things to take place. the sad part is, before we as an industry settle we have to go through hard times. that is going to mean hard times ahead for who knows.....but thats why we love this sport, the surprise ending.

 

[cheermommaRN]

In 2009 when the economy was bad I think a lot of gyms shrank but in the past two years they have come back strong...at least in Texas. I think CA is the largest they have been ever along with Spirit. Our program went from a handful of kids at the beginning of the summer to 27 by November and then hit 30 by this month. There is constant interest in RCA and what Taylor is doing so we are expecting even more kids next season along with the mini Navy kids aging into youth/junior. There is already talk of expanding with a junior 3, senior 2, and maybe even a level 4 team next season (but that's all scuttlebut).
BTW any coaches looking for work? LOL