All-Star Competition Hierarchy

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Apr 14, 2017
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What exactly is the AS cheer comp hierarchy? From what I gather it’s:

1. Worlds
2. NCA
3. Cheersport
4. Majors
5. Spirit of Hope
6. UCA
7. WSF
8. USA

Except I think I’m missing two because I thought there were an even ten?
 
Jamfest and ACA are 2 more big ones. I would put UCA much higher. And Jamfest fairly high up. There are many comps I would put higher than USA. That one is pretty tiny.

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What exactly is the AS cheer comp hierarchy? From what I gather it’s:

1. Worlds
2. NCA
3. Cheersport
4. Majors
5. Spirit of Hope
6. UCA
7. WSF
8. USA

Except I think I’m missing two because I thought there were an even ten?

Summit, ACA, JamFest Super Nationals


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Jamfest and ACA are 2 more big ones. I would put UCA much higher. And Jamfest fairly high up. There are many comps I would put higher than USA. That one is pretty tiny.

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I thought nobody really went to UCA as much as the others above it? And I thought that might’ve been due to its location because how many trips to Disney World can a family afford in two months? That was just my impression since I know some major players don’t go to UCA, whereas Cheersport and Majors get a lot of turnout.

And yeah, I know USA is pretty small but it’s right in my backyard so I hear about it every year. It’s probably much bigger in my head than it actually is.
 
I thought nobody really went to UCA as much as the others above it? And I thought that might’ve been due to its location because how many trips to Disney World can a family afford in two months? That was just my impression since I know some major players don’t go to UCA, whereas Cheersport and Majors get a lot of turnout.

And yeah, I know USA is pretty small but it’s right in my backyard so I hear about it every year. It’s probably much bigger in my head than it actually is.
UCA was a little smaller than usual this past season, but many didn't go because it was the weekend right after NCA, there's usually a bigger break between and it's usually pretty big. Definitely much bigger than SOH. Plus it has that little notion of being one of the "Triple Crown" comps.

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Opinions will vary widely depending on where you are from and what you have experience with. There isn't really a "right" answer. Mine would be:

1. NCA
2. Worlds
3. (tie) CheerSport & Majors/JamFest
5. (tie) UCA/ACA/WSF/USA/ACP/Summit/etc.
 
Opinions will vary widely depending on where you are from and what you have experience with. There isn't really a "right" answer. Mine would be:

1. NCA
2. Worlds
3. (tie) CheerSport & Majors/JamFest
5. (tie) UCA/ACA/WSF/USA/ACP/Summit/etc.

I’ve seen the argument for NCA being first. Why is that? I thought NCA was important because of its relationship to Worlds and the fact that it acts as a pretty good indicator of how things will shake down. Which was why the LAG curse was so weird.
 
I love that NCA doesn’t allow you to compete to lower levels. It’s our favorite competition.

*
1. Athletes competing in a USASF standard division may only crossover into another USASF standard division within the same level.
a. Exception: L4.2 may only crossover to L2, L3, and L4.
b. Exception: L5 and L6 may crossover to each other.
c. Exception: L6 and L7 may crossover to each other.
 
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I’ve seen the argument for NCA being first. Why is that? I thought NCA was important because of its relationship to Worlds and the fact that it acts as a pretty good indicator of how things will shake down. Which was why the LAG curse was so weird.

Although the differences aren't as great now that a single conglomerate owns nearly all of them, NCA is generally the smoothest run and well-judged of all of the events. It has a history none of the others can touch. It was also the first company to truly embrace the "all star style". The arena during finals is unmatched in terms of production, "vibe", sight lines, and noise.

Worlds and Summit and the bid-chase culture they have brought to the sport have positives, but they also come with significant negatives for the sport. Immense added cost is one of those negatives. I have also never been particularly impressed with Disney from a value perspective. The added cost is huge and the competition venues are average at best.
 
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Although the differences aren't as great now that a single conglomerate owns nearly all of them, NCA is generally the smoothest run and well-judged of all of the events. It has a history none of the others can touch. It was also the first company to truly embrace the "all star style". The arena during finals is unmatched in terms of production, "vibe", sight lines, and noise.

Worlds and Summit and the bid-chase culture they have brought to the sport have positives, but they also come with significant negatives for the sport. I have also never been particularly impressed with Disney from a value perspective. The added cost is huge and the competition venues are average at best.
Since there is some bias to anyone answering this question I'll only comment on your cost comment. For the past 5 years it has been significantly cheaper for me to attend Worlds than NCA due to NCA's STP rules.
 
I've always much preferred NCA and felt it superior to all others. There's just something about it that is unmatched.

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Since there is some bias to anyone answering this question I'll only comment on your cost comment. For the past 5 years it has been significantly cheaper for me to attend Worlds than NCA due to NCA's STP rules.

Fair enough. The majority of our athletes don't deal with that at NCA, so our experience is different. Also, it is more of a "value" consideration than purely "cost". I don't mind paying for items that bring value, but I think the venues at WWS are not great for cheer at all - most disappointingly the newest one.

Worlds has gotten a little better, but the event logistics at both Summit and Worlds have typically been below that of nearly every other competition we attend each year. We have had more than the normal share of issues with check-in, warmups, staying on schedule, communication of results/scoring, scoring in general, awards, and general organization at the events. The services Disney provides are usually fine, but the EP part hasn't been.

Both Worlds and Summit have had astonishingly bad years from an organizational point of view (Looking at you D1 Summit 2018) that have probably soured me permanently on WWS as a cheer venue. If our experience there had been great, I wouldn't mind the cost as much.
 
Although the differences aren't as great now that a single conglomerate owns nearly all of them, NCA is generally the smoothest run and well-judged of all of the events. It has a history none of the others can touch. It was also the first company to truly embrace the "all star style". The arena during finals is unmatched in terms of production, "vibe", sight lines, and noise.

Worlds and Summit and the bid-chase culture they have brought to the sport have positives, but they also come with significant negatives for the sport. Immense added cost is one of those negatives. I have also never been particularly impressed with Disney from a value perspective. The added cost is huge and the competition venues are average at best.
For me NCA is on it's own level and the next tier is not even close. If only we could spin off NCA, eliminate Summit entirely and move NCA Dallas to April as a year ending tournament. Then all those other competitions which are by and large the same thing but with different geography (cheersport, cheersport, wsf, spirit fest, spirit of hope, etc etc) just become opportunities to actually compete, overcome, upgrade, improve etc. The incentive to travel far or need hotel rooms would be decreased, and also we could have a nice little offsseason and recharge. I understand the financial incentives involved are such that it would never happen but a cheermom can dream.
 
For me NCA is on it's own level and the next tier is not even close. If only we could spin off NCA, eliminate Summit entirely and move NCA Dallas to April as a year ending tournament. Then all those other competitions which are by and large the same thing but with different geography (cheersport, cheersport, wsf, spirit fest, spirit of hope, etc etc) just become opportunities to actually compete, overcome, upgrade, improve etc. The incentive to travel far or need hotel rooms would be decreased, and also we could have a nice little offsseason and recharge. I understand the financial incentives involved are such that it would never happen but a cheermom can dream.

I think one of the draws and strengths of NCA, that no other comp has going for it right now, is that it's pretty much the only time all season you get unlimited access to teams from every level from all corners of the country before you see them again at Summit or Worlds. ("Unlimited" meaning you don't need a bid to attend, you can just sign up and go.) Pretty much anyone who's anyone goes to NCA regardless of where they're coming from. Gyms usually stick to their respective regions except for NCA and Worlds/Summit. (Especially Summit teams.) It's the only time gyms can actually compete against most of their top competition at once before they get to Worlds/Summit. It's like a trial run for how competitive your routine is. Cheersport is a close-but-not-too-close second.

I like your idea, I just think that the "different geography" part is why NCA is an important part to a lot of team's schedules and what makes it so prestigious. NCA is really the true nationals of cheer. Im skeptical to think it would remain what it is now if you removed the fact that it is the test run to the end game.
 
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