All-Star D1 Summit Bids For West Coast Teams

abbyandy9 said:

This might not be the best place to ask this, but I'm not finding a better thread to ask. A gym in our area is taking two teams to NCA. One is large senior 4 and the other large senior 3 division 2. Can one gym have one team division 1 and the other division 2? I have no beef either way, I was just curious.


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My understanding is that you can choose to compete "up" in division 1 even if you are technically a division 2 gym

abbyandy9 said:

This might not be the best place to ask this, but I'm not finding a better thread to ask. A gym in our area is taking two teams to NCA. One is large senior 4 and the other large senior 3 division 2. Can one gym have one team division 1 and the other division 2? I have no beef either way, I was just curious.


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Yes, D2 gyms can go either way and each team decides indivudually.

abbyandy9 said:

This might not be the best place to ask this, but I'm not finding a better thread to ask. A gym in our area is taking two teams to NCA. One is large senior 4 and the other large senior 3 division 2. Can one gym have one team division 1 and the other division 2? I have no beef either way, I was just curious.


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Yes, as long as the gym in question has less than 125 athletes total the can compete in the D2 division

Thank you everyone who answered. That makes sense!

abbyandy9 said:

This might not be the best place to ask this, but I'm not finding a better thread to ask. A gym in our area is taking two teams to NCA. One is large senior 4 and the other large senior 3 division 2. Can one gym have one team division 1 and the other division 2? I have no beef either way, I was just curious.


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There is one gym near us that is doing this. They have Summit bids both as D1 and D2. It feels like they are working the rules for their benefit in every possible way. It's really annoying.

To me the D1/D2 Summit option for gyms who qualify is a lot like gyms who choose the US Finals or Summit path for different teams in their gym. As coaches we want to give our teams the opportunity that offers the athletes the most success. I personally feel the disadvantages that a small gym often face against a large program greatly outweigh the advantages that they sometimes have. So if they are staying within the rules and are using them to their advantage in order to offer their program the most success possible I personally say more power to them. We all use the rules to our own advantage in some way shape or form.

FamousMatty said:

To me the D1/D2 Summit option for gyms who qualify is a lot like gyms who choose the US Finals or Summit path for different teams in their gym. As coaches we want to give our teams the opportunity that offers the athletes the most success. I personally feel the disadvantages that a small gym often face against a large program greatly outweigh the advantages that they sometimes have. So if they are staying within the rules and are using them to their advantage in order to offer their program the most success possible I personally say more power to them. We all use the rules to our own advantage in some way shape or form.

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Or, conversely, what should really be a large gym, is gaming their numbers to compete as small. If you have 3 locations, 124 full year athletes on like 12 teams. and 7 prep teams, you are gaming the system in an unfair way. (not directed at you!)

california cheer mom said:

Or, conversely, what should really be a large gym, is gaming their numbers to compete as small. If you have 3 locations, 124 full year athletes on like 12 teams. and 7 prep teams, you are gaming the system in an unfair way. (not directed at you!)

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There is a NorCal gym that fits this description but is only taking D2 bids that I know of. Originally they announced they would be competing in both D1 and D2, but the program seems to have opted for all D2 paths. So far all but 1 team has a bid, and 2 are paid, so they have 9 teams going. I can see how it is beneficial for them to keep the program together at their end of season event, and they will likely have some success in Orlando. It will be interesting to see if they stay D2 next year.

MomMomMamaMom said:

There is a NorCal gym that fits this description but is only taking D2 bids that I know of. Originally they announced they would be competing in both D1 and D2, but the program seems to have opted for all D2 paths. So far all but 1 team has a bid, and 2 are paid, so they have 9 teams going. I can see how it is beneficial for them to keep the program together at their end of season event, and they will likely have some success in Orlando. It will be interesting to see if they stay D2 next year.

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Hmm, we might be talking about the same gym. Last week they were advertising for new members to join their Summit teams, listing the teams that had kids that would be kicked off if they didn't get new skills.

california cheer mom said:

Hmm, we might be talking about the same gym. Last week they were advertising for new members to join their Summit teams, listing the teams that had kids that would be kicked off if they didn't get new skills.

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Oh wow! I just saw that. I didn't realize they were small enough to be D2.

california cheer mom said:

Hmm, we might be talking about the same gym. Last week they were advertising for new members to join their Summit teams, listing the teams that had kids that would be kicked off if they didn't get new skills.

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Yep I know what gym you both are referring to also-and I saw the announcement last week about looking for athletes to go to Summit with them this year. This gym used to be very big but seemed to kind of fade out when Cali opened in Livermore. They seem to be coming back and their teams are very good but very small (they had a team a few seasons ago go to Summit on a Wildcard and then won their division). That being said-they continue to lose athletes every season it seems and it's things like this (advertising for replacement athletes) that make me see why...

*** = THESE POSITIONS ARE DEPENDENT ON CURRENT ********* (Gym name deleted) ATHLETES MEETING THE SKILL REQUIREMENTS NEEDED... IF THE ***** ATHELTES DO NOT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS, THESE SPOTS WILL OPEN UP!

So, basically if a kid is on a team that won a bid but is not considered "good" enough to actually go to Summit they are gonna kick that kid off and replace them with someone shiny and new? I feel so bad for those kids that have that hanging over their heads. That is not the kind of "family" I would pay to have my kid be a part of...

california cheer mom said:

Hmm, we might be talking about the same gym. Last week they were advertising for new members to join their Summit teams, listing the teams that had kids that would be kicked off if they didn't get new skills.

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Oh and also I specifically remember them advertising at the beginning of this season that their level 5R was a "practice" level for level 5 and would not be allowed to go to Summit. I remember thinking WTH?

torycf said:

Yep I know what gym you both are referring to also-and I saw the announcement last week about looking for athletes to go to Summit with them this year. This gym used to be very big but seemed to kind of fade out when Cali opened in Livermore. They seem to be coming back and their teams are very good but very small (they had a team a few seasons ago go to Summit on a Wildcard and then won their division). That being said-they continue to lose athletes every season it seems and it's things like this (advertising for replacement athletes) that make me see why...

*** = THESE POSITIONS ARE DEPENDENT ON CURRENT ********* (Gym name deleted) ATHLETES MEETING THE SKILL REQUIREMENTS NEEDED... IF THE ***** ATHELTES DO NOT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS, THESE SPOTS WILL OPEN UP!

So, basically if a kid is on a team that won a bid but is not considered "good" enough to actually go to Summit they are gonna kick that kid off and replace them with someone shiny and new? I feel so bad for those kids that have that hanging over their heads. That is not the kind of "family" I would pay to have my kid be a part of...

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Exactly. My CP doesn't cheer to win competitions. She cheers to be a part of a team, have fun, and be a part of a cheer family. The trips to Summit are bonuses, not the end game to be lorded over the kids. No way would I want my kid to be a part of that, especially at youth and junior ages!

With such small teams, they are pretty limited on how many they can replace. But yeah, the pressure has to be unreal.

torycf said:

Oh and also I specifically remember them advertising at the beginning of this season that their level 5R was a "practice" level for level 5 and would not be allowed to go to Summit. I remember thinking WTH?

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I don't have an issue with this as much as the tryouts for the summit spots. All teams may need minor changes in roster but geez this is ridiculous.

MomMomMamaMom said:

With such small teams, they are pretty limited on how many they can replace. But yeah, the pressure has to be unreal.

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Not the first team known to do this but why would parents choose a program that enourages this sort of pressure on younger athletes. There is enough pressure to compete, win a bid, etc. I think there are certainly circumstances that require changes but this is unfair unless Suzy went from level 4 skills to level 1 skills. Even then I would expect it to be handled individually and a bit more delicately.