All-Star Usasf Major Changes

[yojaehs]

All in all I think there is more going on than safety. I mean really!!! This sport has grown at a rate that is amazing. There are injuries in all sports. ALL SPORTS PROGRESS...injuries or not. We must not let the few destroy the masses. Another fine example of accountability 101....take care of your business or face consequences! How long does anyone think the NFL would have been around if (due to injuries) they suddenly came out with “ no more tackling..its causes injury so we are going to play flag football from now on”....or NASCAR...due to safety issues we will set a speed limit of 55 MPH....neither sport would exist today and we all know it....the cap on tumbling is a death sentence to EVERYONE. It will trickle down. I can’t tell you the number of kids who write Kiara everyday saying you inspired me to join cheer etc... I haven’t even mentioned the hit coaches will take regarding private lessons etc. Gym owners will suffer..there fore so to will EP’s and on and on and on....there is just no plus for the rules as they are written.

But gyms will make the SAME money with "Stunt Classes" lol, totally joking.

 

[gofriars610]

If 11 = 20 for tumbling score wise, it means more teams will become confident enough to go to Worlds when they otherwise wouldn't have gone. (they don't have to worry about hanging with the big teams in tumbling.)

more teams going to worlds = more $$ for the U$A$F.

 

[cheerinfo]

If 11 = 20 for tumbling score wise, it means more teams will become confident enough to go to Worlds when they otherwise wouldn't have gone. (they don't have to worry about hanging with the big teams in tumbling.)

more teams going to worlds = more $$ for the U$A$F.

Ha, I thought about that as well, just didn't post it because this effects ALL levels, not just level 5...but I do agree with your analysis, and I had the same one regarding more Worlds teams as well.

 

[Deleted member 15]

I hear ya, but at my gym when new kids come in (levels 1-5 all stretch together) I hear their names brought up frequently and videos shared and discussed via phones. And on the flip side, is her standing tuck-double discouraging people from enrolling? Without it, the "WoW" factor is less. I understand what your saying, but I just can't wrap my head around "removing skills = increasing involvement"? When my kids are throwing the "elite" skills, the energy in my gym is HUGE, my level 2 kids see Sr. Black tumbling and immediately BEG me to spot them or let them work on tumbling. Why remove skills!? Or if you do, be smart about it. Again, I've said I can support no standing doubles, no double doubles (just for the visual that an effort is being made, NOT bc I think those kids are at risk) nor do I think these skills are deterring involvement.

I didn't have that experience at my gym, but we actually had Whitney so there probably wasn't much reason to watch a video of her when she was walking around the gym. I absolutely do not think having cheerlebrities is a bad thing or stops people from getting involved, nor am I convinced they get new people involved.

I wasn't trying to tie it to removing or not removing skills. I haven't said much about the removal of skills yet, which is probably as surprising to me as it is to you.

 

[yojaehs]

I didn't have that experience at my gym, but we actually had Whitney so there probably wasn't much reason to watch a video of her when she was walking around the gym. I absolutely do not think having cheerlebrities is a bad thing or stops people from getting involved, nor am I convinced they get new people involved.

I wasn't trying to tie it to removing or not removing skills. I haven't said much about the removal of skills yet, which is probably as surprising to me as it is to you.

Haha, yeah def no need for video, just say "GO". lol. But I'm having a hard time understanding the "less involvement" thing because in my gym, we grew by SEVENTY kids this year. We implemented new programs (half-year teams, simplified our classes, promoted high school team practices etc.) So the "lack of involvement" argument to me is falling on deaf ears bc I have no sympathy for gyms that "can't hang so let's limit". Cheer Athletics had to MOVE INTO A LARGER FACILITY, are you kidding me!? ACE/CEA/CALI etc. have opened MORE gyms. Sorry, I don't see less involvement. Cheersport ATL, NCA Dallas, Jamfest Indy, and UCA Orlando were the biggest they have ever been, sorry WHERE is this "less involvement"? Is it the gym that isn't good, or the EP that isn't good, again, I say I'm glad they are having "less involvement"

 

[CheerChick123]

Andre- I wouldnt speculate on how Kiara or Whitney motivate kids to get involved in cheerleading that are not alraedy involved. Just like Lakerfan said I'm sure Kiara gets emails from kids saying how she motivated them to start cheer from watching her video's on youtube. Just reading from her fb page lots of kids say they started cheer because she inspired them. So does Kiara and Whitney motivate or inspire kids outside of cheerleading events to get involved I would think so. Maybe Lakerfantlc can give more details about this but from what I see these girls are ambassadors to allstar cheerleading and they both seem to be humble and nice young ladies. Props to them

 

[Mclovin]

See, I interpreted this differently.

It was agreed among these event producers to use score sheets that maximize tumbling scores at "half plus one" to create a majority.​

I looked at it as saying that those EP's all agreed to define their majority as "half plus one". So, in order to get into the maximum range for tumbling scores, you need a majority...."half plus 1" creates that majority.

I went back and looked at the scoring grids for Varsity, Jam Brands, and Cheersport. They all had different requirements for getting into their max scoring ranges. Varsity just stated "majority" but didn't define majority. Jam Brands stated "majority" and defined it as half plus 1. Cheersport's ranges are divided out by thirds (which is completely different). Maybe all these EPs just decided that they would all agree on what they would require to get into that max range.

I could be way off base here, though. Just my interpretation of their verbiage. It would be pretty ridiculous if EVERY team was able to achieve a perfect score on tumbling difficulty at every comp. Seems silly! I really hope that's not the case.

I agree with this. But if elite tumbling range is 9-10, then half plus 1 would only get you a 9. Full squad a 10. Anything in between that is somewhere between 9-10. That's how I read it.

 

[Mclovin]

I understand where this comes from in a way... There are many kids that have a mental block or just are not tumblers that feel like they cannot continue with cheer because they are limited to lower level teams. I see where the USASF (or whoever is making decisions these days) thinks that this will help the sport grow, because even those kids will have a spot on a team.

Do I agree? Eh. I get one or two kids not tumbling, but 11 and 20 being the exact same score is a little ridiculous. At this point, I don't even care which way it goes but I want a REAL answer so I can make proper teams. Between age minimums, tumbling, score maximums, etc my try outs are up in the air waiting on decisions.

I wonder how many kids have quit gymnastics or ice skating or hockey or basketball or football because they realized they just couldn't get as good as the others...It happens in all sports...Changing the rules to keep them around is just a $$$ thing and I hate it. This sport will never gain acceptance in the world when all we're worried about is keeping customers happy...

 

[yojaehs]

I agree with this. But if elite tumbling range is 9-10, then half plus 1 would only get you a 9. Full squad a 10. Anything in between that is somewhere between 9-10. That's how I read it.

What's that? haha JK!

 

[5-6-7-8]

I wonder how many kids have quit gymnastics or ice skating or hockey or basketball or football because they realized they just couldn't get as good as the others...It happens in all sports...Changing the rules to keep them around is just a $$$ thing and I hate it. This sport will never gain acceptance in the world when all we're worried about is keeping customers happy...

I think cheer is great because one can come into the sport as a 17 year old with a cartwheel and compete. Too bad seems to be such a negative feeling about being older on a lower level team...I think it is great!

 

[CoachTamara]

I wonder how many kids have quit gymnastics or ice skating or hockey or basketball or football because they realized they just couldn't get as good as the others...It happens in all sports...Changing the rules to keep them around is just a $$$ thing and I hate it. This sport will never gain acceptance in the world when all we're worried about is keeping customers happy...

I think cheer is interesting in the way it does allow basically anyone to join... In gymnastics, if you can't do a back hip circle, you will never even get the chance to compete at a meet. Yes, they have great progressions, but there is no real opportunity for a child that cannot do the basics. In cheer, there is a level and team for everyone. Maybe not at every gym, but I think almost anyone can join at any age and they will find a spot for them. If you can't tumble, you can be good at stunting, jumps, or dance to make up for it. In gymnastics, if you stink at floor, you stink at that entire level and will not move up.

Also, want to clarify again that I do not agree with the half + 1 being equal to full team, but I think that is the reasoning behind it if I had to make a guess. I'm not even going to get into how I think this thread is directly related to the sandbagging thread, but it is in my mind.

Oh cheerleading, what will you do next?

 

[Mclovin]

I think cheer is great because one can come into the sport as a 17 year old with a cartwheel and compete. Too bad seems to be such a negative feeling about being older on a lower level team...I think it is great!

Right! But society today says you're nothing if you're not the best or at the top. But at the same time we teach our kids to feel entitled like they deserve something they haven't worked for. So on one hand we're saying "be happy and love life even if you're not the best at something" and on the other hand we're saying "my kid DESERVES to be on a level 5 team even though they don't have a back tuck, etc." We can't have it both ways, but it seems as though some people in our industry are trying to make that happen...

 

[CoachTamara]

I think cheer is great because one can come into the sport as a 17 year old with a cartwheel and compete. Too bad seems to be such a negative feeling about being older on a lower level team...I think it is great!

Ah, posted at the same time! But I totally agree with you... I think it's great they have the opportunity, even if some do not want to accept they might be a level 1 or 2.

 

[lakerfantlc]

Andre- I wouldnt speculate on how Kiara or Whitney motivate kids to get involved in cheerleading that are not alraedy involved. Just like Lakerfan said I'm sure Kiara gets emails from kids saying how she motivated them to start cheer from watching her video's on youtube. Just reading from her fb page lots of kids say they started cheer because she inspired them. So does Kiara and Whitney motivate or inspire kids outside of cheerleading events to get involved I would think so. Maybe Lakerfantlc can give more details about this but from what I see these girls are ambassadors to allstar cheerleading and they both seem to be humble and nice young ladies. Props to them

It’s funny you mentioned this because I was just having this discussion with Todd Nowlin last night. He was amazing about it...I was telling him that under these rules our cheerlebrities become average and will cease to inspire kids. Todd said that he isn’t as concerned for Kiara..in his words..”she had her chance to do these skills and compete them”..he feels so sorry for the new generation coming up. He told me he can’t tell anyone enough about how many personal emails Kiara gets with stories of inspiration and hope she has given to these kids and please know that Todd is one of the most humble human beings I know so this was said with a great sense of concern for the new generation coming up...he said that Kiara has had her shot and wanted for all kids to have the same shot she had....so the answer is YES...Kiara, Whitney, Maddie, Kelsey etc ALL lift up our sport...we all need something to shoot for.

 

[5-6-7-8]

Right! But society today says you're nothing if you're not the best or at the top. But at the same time we teach our kids to feel entitled like they deserve something they haven't worked for. So on one hand we're saying "be happy and love life even if you're not the best at something" and on the other hand we're saying "my kid DESERVES to be on a level 5 team even though they don't have a back tuck, etc." We can't have it both ways, but it seems as though some people in our industry are trying to make that happen...

I know! I get tired of hearing parents at the gym wanting to rush their kids onto higher level teams that they may not be ready for.