All-Star Usasf Major Changes

[fullpass]

I want to be clear, I am NOT for limiting stunting! I am for pointing out the flaws in the reasoning that these rules are changing. If its safety, it's NOT whip doubles or standing to doubles (yes injuries happen but these aren't the major ones) of our industry has an image problem then we need a plan and it starts with coaches education. If the sport is losing kids we need to make it cheaper not make kids walk around an arena in t-shirts bc guess what, those kids ARE paying. Smokescreens and baindaids won't change anything!

I could not agree more. To fix any problem in life you must first step back and really, truly identify what the problem IS. Emotional upset and lock step resistance to change are all normal and natural reactions, but ultimately those will not solve anything. Calm, cool, impersonal analysis is needed here. Find the problem before you concoct a solution or your solution will eventually fail.

There are problems in All Star cheer just like there are in any sport or industry. I agree that smoke screens and band aids can only hold out so long. Change is needed-possibly very big change. But, I also agree that for sweeping change to be accepted, proper channels must be followed. I am a very strong believer that the best sign of a true compromise is that neither side is completely comfortable with the resolution. We are ALL going to have to give up SOME of what is important (and/or cherished) to forge a brighter future for All Star Cheer.

I personally challenge everyone who loves this sport to step back and dedicate themselves to the preservation of this thing that we love. GIVE your input. TAKE the advice of people you respect. LISTEN to the entire discussion. HEAR what all sides have to say, whether you agree or not. BUILD relationships within this industry. Be willing to LOSE a little to GAIN a lot. It's important.

 

[SuzyB]

IMO what needed to happen was to first clearly determine what they want the end result for allstar cheer to be. honesty--from the rules it's just hard to tell--are they looking to reduce catastrophic injuries? acute injuries? (cuts/bruises) or somewhere in between (ACL? broken bones?) reduce insurance costs? increase the number of kids in the sport? make it more appealing to hetrosexual boys (hence the totally rephrehensible comment about the theatrical movements?) improve their image to the outside world (hence rules on midriff showing?) reduce the power of the super gyms? make themselves look like dictators because they feel they can just mandate whatever? WHAT ARE THE HONEST OBJECTIVES? After the objectives had been clearly defined, hiring an independent research firm to conduct a thorough literature review (regarding injuries) and conduct some form of primary research (adhering to all research protocol including a random sample of gym owners) regarding injuries and image would have been the next step. Third step to show the evidence to all during the year 2012 for review/voting, and new rules starting with the 2013-2014 season. This is just common sense and anyone who has ever taken a course in research methods would have done this. I'm ranting and I apologize. I guess I'm just so upset because the tumbling rules don't appear to have been based on evidence (based on the research which would indicate to eliminate synchronize tumbling) which makes me think the intent of the tumbling rules had little to do with safety and more about something else.

 

[Platinum90]

I feel like USASF is asking for injuries by announcing this so close to worlds, like alot of people have already stated that if these rules for tumbling stay in effect this will be the last Cheerleading Worlds that you will see standing fulls, standing tumbling that ends in a double and bounding passes, so how hard do you think that more athletes are going to push their selves 3 weeks before worlds, to make sure they can throw these skills, that way their skills can either stay in their routine or be put into the routine? I just think that if the rules about tumbling are not taken back before worlds this year, that USASF may have just increased the injuries because who wouldn't want to throw their hardest passes if this may be the last "real worlds"?

 

[viralscorp]

Not to say I don't still want the information that the USASF used to come up with these rules, but I think it's very hard to find a scientific study done with or without the support of the cheerleading community that will hold water.

No cheerleading community - skewed reporting. Not all injuries are reported to a database, not all injuries are cause for a trip to the ER, not all coaches understand when injuries should be taken to the ER.

With the cheerleading community - skewed surveying. Small gym/large gym, athletes/parents/coaches ... there are huge distinctions in the community which all see things differently. I highly doubt any study has surveyed all parties and given them equal representation. (And for no cheerleading community - pretty hard to understand these distinctions without inside help.)

 

[WorkToWin]

A total of 79 fall-related injuries were reported during the 1-year period. Most occurred during practice (85%, 67/79) and were sustained by high school cheerleaders (51%, 40/79). A stunt or pyramid was being attempted in 89% (70/79) of cases. Fall heights ranged from 1 to 11 ft (0.30–3.35 m) (mean

=

4.7 ± 2.0 ft [1.43 ± 0.61 m]). Strains and sprains were the most common injuries (54%, 43/79), and 6% (5/79) of the injuries were concussions or closed head injuries. Of the 15 most serious injuries (concussions or closed head injuries, dislocations, fractures, and anterior cruciate ligament tears), 87% (13/15) were sustained while the cheerleader was performing on artificial turf, grass, a traditional foam floor, or a wood floor. The fall height ranged from 4 to 11 ft (1.22–1.52 m) for 87% of these cases (13/15).

 

[kristenthegreat]

I can't believe a 'small' gym ACTUALLY thinks that getting rid of these passes will help them win. It's equivalent to cropping the best 20 girls (or guys) from F5/Stars/CEA/Top Gun/CA/Bullets, etc. Now since they can't do those passes (and therefore don't need them on the score sheet), they utilize more people on theoretically 'simpler' passes and thereby bump their standing tumbling numbers AND their running numbers. If this gym didn't have that good of tumbling before, they aren't gonna get it now?!

 

[debbie]

Something I just thought of......I know a hand full of kids that are WOW at tumbling. They however would not be able to cheer without scholarships. It is quite possible they will not get a free ride anymore because they are not needed in this area because the score sheet is now "watered down" .......thoughts???

 

[Ceacoach]

I feel like USASF is asking for injuries by announcing this so close to worlds, like alot of people have already stated that if these rules for tumbling stay in effect this will be the last Cheerleading Worlds that you will see standing fulls, standing tumbling that ends in a double and bounding passes, so how hard do you think that more athletes are going to push their selves 3 weeks before worlds, to make sure they can throw these skills, that way their skills can either stay in their routine or be put into the routine? I just think that if the rules about tumbling are not taken back before worlds this year, that USASF may have just increased the injuries because who wouldn't want to throw their hardest passes if this may be the last "real worlds"?

I have to agree with this... I Have never had more kids
Come in early to work new tumbling skills afraid it's now or never

 

[lakerfantlc]

I have to agree with this... I Have never had more kids
Come in early to work new tumbling skills afraid it's now or never

I agree...it’s kinda sad to see...they are really stressed

 

[mia4life06]

I have to agree with this... I Have never had more kids
Come in early to work new tumbling skills afraid it's now or never

agree we just had three girls get a standing full this week and have been working them for almost a year and there freshman in high school so we re word our whole opening for them to throw it. . . .

 

[cheer360°z]

"Double fulls are only allowed in running tumbling and must be preceded by a back handspring"

This confuses me, does this mean a if you do round off back handspring double, that after the double there has to be a bhs, or there just cant be anything besides a back handspring after it?

this means that if you throw a double there has to be at least a roundoff followed by a back handspring before it.

 

[ufomom]

Just a thought, but how difficult would it have been/would it be for USASF to post polls on each rule to see what the industry sentiment is before they make their decisions? kingston has managed to successfully segregate coaches/athletes/parent sections here. Each group could be polled separately.

Why couldn't they do the same on their website (plus an EP-restricted poll) and take the time to ASK what the majority of their customers want? At least then they would be making an educated decision, even if they decided it was in the best interest of the sport to go against popular opinion. And then they would make those decisions knowing they had better be prepared to justify them.

This would also resolve the small gym complaint that they can't afford to travel to the conferences or that their voices aren't heard. Their numbers are very large and they are undoubtably the majority vote.

I know this isn't exactly what you are saying, but I assumed a lot of the image stuff came from this poll back in February Poll On Image Of Allstar Cheer | Page 2 | Fierce Board - We Talk Cheerleading

While I checked a lot of the boxes that probably led to some of this stuff because I am generally a conservative person who believes in sportsmanship, I believe that the poll was very biased as the answer choices were limiting. No middle ground, I felt. You either agreed with the answer or you were outside the mores of society as a decent person (okay, maybe I going a little overboard with that last statement.)

I am waiting for the USASF to come out clutching a piece of paper with the results of this poll and waving it around as their justification and saying "we did ask".

 

[fullpass]

Work2win thank you for those numbers. I have long believed that our sport has been unfairly labeled dangerous because cheer is actually a number of sports-not just one. Pop Warner, High School, College and All Star numbers get lumped together when they start tallying injury counts! Personally my CP has never done anything but All Stars on a spring floor because I don't feel comfortable with performing on a hard court or grass. (That's just my opinion and I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the other surfaces so don't get mad folks!)

Actually, in our family there is no tumbling or stunting more than a round off or walkover outside of the gym. Not in a pool, not on the beach- nowhere. And, it's a one strike and you're out of cheer rule. I feel very strongly about this not only to keep my CP from being injured directly but I also feel that tumbling on a spring floor is jarring enough so I can't imagine the cumulative impact of years of tumbling on even less forgiving surfaces.

 

[gofriars610]

My $.02

-They're trying to make more teams worlds-eligible, which will pad the pockets of USASF/Varsity/etc. This should be obvious. Podunk Allstars Small Seniors with team standing tucks and 11 fulls now have a legitimate shot at making worlds, and they're more likely to actually go to worlds because the playing field is "leveled" with the new tumbling restrictions.
-If standing fulls/standing to double/etc were actually dangerous, they'd remove them from routines TODAY, not next year. That's how other sports work. In Minnesota, a hockey player was hit from behind and broke his neck. Less than a week later the rules were changed so that those types of hits had a more severe penalty.
-I think it's incredibly hypocritical for coaches who support/came up with these new rules to allow their athletes to throw the now-banned skills on the floor this year at worlds. Why would you be risking your athletes?
-More of you guys need to watch the Penn and Teller show about cheerleading and how the industry is purposefully taking steps to make sure they're not labeled a sport.

 

[wcdad]

I have to agree with this... I Have never had more kids
Come in early to work new tumbling skills afraid it's now or never

The attached video is a compilation of 10 - 12 different teams, no athlete repeated twice, that are considered gym favorites. The increase in injuries is prevalent. The video is only a demonstration of what we see on the floor. What is the number of athletes that where injured and not on the floor? Out of 3 gyms, 9 athletes are out for the season that I know of.

I am not sure how or why these injuries occurred But I ask each gym owner, each coach, each parent and each athlete to analyze why? Is it lack of coaching knowledge? Is it the increase in skill demand in all aspects of the score sheet? Be open and honest.

Maybe the USASF is seeing this in addition to the injuries sustained at EP events and saying we need to take aciion for the safety of the athletes. We need less braces on the floor and athletes to be able to compete the full season.

http://youtu.be/HjdrBgpTvTE Video that was referenced.



The issue with everyone wanting data is there is not any true data out there. The injury data for cheerleading is going to be slanted to stunting by human nature.

If someone gets hurt stunting they go the ER and the report may be written something like this. I was at cheerleading and I was stunting or I was in a pyramid and I fell and hurt my head.

The report will link the two together.

If some one gets hurt tumbling, the conversation can go like this;

I was in the gym tumbling and I hurt my knee.

That report would never be tagged as cheerleading and will miss any studies. I had to fight with the hospital when my daughter had her rotator cuff tear and stress fracture of her foot to include it as a cheer injury.

There are MANY injuries that never make it to the ER and are handled by the primary care DR that would also be missed in any data pools.

I would assume that the Data that the USASF is using as their information on this is from the injury reports that are being written up by the Gyms and submitted to the insurance carriers. I thought I had read somewhere, might have been StarshipTrooper post, that this stance is being driven by the issue there are only 2 insurance providers that are willing to underwrite a policy on a cheer gym. That is why this is an issue.

Like the above post and video show, there is an alarming increase of braces and injuries on the floor at any give competition. It seems to me that there is a get back at what ever the cost approach being taken by gyms, coaches, parents, and cheerleaders. Braces are not healthy by nature. They make the injury weaker. Owners, coaches and parents need to be held accountable. If my daughter is hurt, she is not on the floor until she has finished rehab.. period.

I have been a supporter from the start of a cross training program for cheerleading similar to that of gymnastics. Training, Certification for the coaches MUST be MANDITORY. Technique must be taught and also made mandatory before progression. With out these 3 items, of a long list, we will have no chance at becoming a sport.