- Jun 17, 2012
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I have spent a while thinking about this rule change and my response to it.
I am now a retired college cheerleader, and standing at 5’10” I’ve always been a back. I think the new basket rules are inherently sexist.
I do realize men are generally stronger than women, that’s just biology at play. So yeah, a higher basket gives more time for skills to be executed. But there are still all-girl teams who can do beautiful flipping and twisting baskets. This rule punishes teams and programs who have worked hard to get elite skills.
Are there teams who have absolutely no business throwing these now-banned baskets? Absolutely, but they’re not just limited to all-girl. But this boils down to having poor coaches. We’ve seen it across all different levels and types of cheer, coaches who have no idea how to coach and letting/pushing athletes to throw skills they’re not ready for. However, I don’t think flat-out banning skills is the proper step to remedy that. (But this is another can of worms that I’m sure most of us can go on and on about.)
I don’t really like the reasoning of trying to align competition baskets with game day baskets. And in my opinion it doesn’t really justify the male/female separation anyways. I would understand more if they were trying to phase baskets out completely or for safety reasons - but then make it even for all genders.
I feel the need to point out, female firefighters exist. And they do the same thing the male firefighters do, including passing the same physical tests, carrying the same hose lines, and lugging around the same equipment. Sure, the women have to work harder, and there are obviously fewer female firefighters than male firefighters, but they still can do it.
I also wonder the implications this will have on STUNT and international competitions. But I think I’ll save that for a different post and after more thought.
I am now a retired college cheerleader, and standing at 5’10” I’ve always been a back. I think the new basket rules are inherently sexist.
I do realize men are generally stronger than women, that’s just biology at play. So yeah, a higher basket gives more time for skills to be executed. But there are still all-girl teams who can do beautiful flipping and twisting baskets. This rule punishes teams and programs who have worked hard to get elite skills.
Are there teams who have absolutely no business throwing these now-banned baskets? Absolutely, but they’re not just limited to all-girl. But this boils down to having poor coaches. We’ve seen it across all different levels and types of cheer, coaches who have no idea how to coach and letting/pushing athletes to throw skills they’re not ready for. However, I don’t think flat-out banning skills is the proper step to remedy that. (But this is another can of worms that I’m sure most of us can go on and on about.)
I don’t really like the reasoning of trying to align competition baskets with game day baskets. And in my opinion it doesn’t really justify the male/female separation anyways. I would understand more if they were trying to phase baskets out completely or for safety reasons - but then make it even for all genders.
I feel the need to point out, female firefighters exist. And they do the same thing the male firefighters do, including passing the same physical tests, carrying the same hose lines, and lugging around the same equipment. Sure, the women have to work harder, and there are obviously fewer female firefighters than male firefighters, but they still can do it.
I also wonder the implications this will have on STUNT and international competitions. But I think I’ll save that for a different post and after more thought.
