All-Star Alcohol/drugs At Worlds

first of all i question if this is even true to start with considering its coming from an anon account..

i wouldnt be surprised if they have a stricter drinking policy year after year after the few years of chaos. But to ban smoking, i dont see how they can or should have control over that, when a good amount of kids are over the age of 18 and 21.
plus how are they going to monitor this, by word of mouth? that wont go over well... Or relying on other teams, coaches, etc to get evidence and report if they see people breaking rules... i cant see that going over well either.
plus im guessing this is only going to be strictly enforced at the allstar resort and not the off property ones.

I was wondering about the veracity too, but the general response indicates that it’s accurate. And if it’s not, everyone certainly believes that it is.

It is true. Our gym was given a firm warning by the owner and athletes were told they would be sued by the gym if their actions caused a disqualification. From what I’ve seen it’s being taken very seriously.

They were told rules go into affect from the time they get to Florida till they leave Florida. I don’t think on the surface gyms are talking about the how’s and whys. Just don’t break the rules. Some international teams have athletes in their 30’s and they were told same rules apply just don’t do it.

Before I believe this I would like to see it from USASF either posted on the website or tweeted by them.
I dont have an issue as such but what for whatever reason you are over 21 and are finished competing on day 1 and will not take the matt does that mean you cannot drink any alcohol at all until worlds is over?
Most gyms I know in the UK have a strict alcohol policy for competitions anyway until the are finished competing surely that if it was a safety reason only enforce until the team is done?

It is all very true and more. They are going from 0 to 60 with no leeway. My friends going to worlds and who are chaperones are stressed. The ramifications for breaking the rules are severe. Name stripped of worlds wins. Giving back bid money. Not being able to compete, etc. No one out after 10pm at all star and Coronado Springs without an adult. Minors must have chaperone at an all star resort pool who is over 21. Watching what they post on social media etc. no drinking. Vaping. Smoking.

I know of a team where the athletes were doing some hard drugs on an off property location with the coach. They had a disaster performance, a couple of injured athletes, and then partied more the next night before going home. I'm not going to name them as the gym changed ownership and the coach left the industry.

My point is that this didn't happen in a vacuum.

The USASF 2019 competition guidelines are very strict and track what the anon account is saying. But these are not new--it looks identical to last year

2019 worlds event guidelines: https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amaz...heer/usasf_worlds_cheer_registration-info.pdf
2018 worlds event guidelines: https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amaz...Worlds/USASF_Worlds_Cheer_Event-Info_2018.pdf

Page 15:
Violation: Under the influence of drugs or alcohol at any venue at any time during the event from arrival to departure on Tuesday.
1st offense: Authorities are called and athlete is ineligible to compete for the remainder of the event
2nd Offense:
Team penalty: 6-point penalty per incident for the team
Member penalty: Athlete membership revoked for up to two years. Review of program membership revocation of up to two years.

Page 17:
Smoking and/or the use of alcohol by an athlete is prohibited at any Worlds event location. An athlete in violation of this rule is subject to immediate disciplinary action including ineligibility for the current Cheerleading Worlds. If the violation occurs after the athlete competes, yet during the event timeframe at any Worlds event location, then suspension for the following competition season will be implemented.

I read this as "if you are caught under the influence of alcohol or drugs during the Worlds time period, your are suspended and your entire team gets a six point deduction--i.e. any shot at advancing or globing is taken away." It looks like the program is not automatically suspended, but is reviewed, and, after review, could be suspended for up to two years.

Re: athletes who are of age to drink--this is a USASF policy, which means it affects Senior Open teams, but not International Open Teams. International Open Teams are governed by IASF rules--couldn't find an equivalent policy for them on this. Anyone know?

Edit: last paragraph

NCCheerMama said:

It is all very true and more. They are going from 0 to 60 with no leeway. My friends going to worlds and who are chaperones are stressed. The ramifications for breaking the rules are severe. Name stripped of worlds wins. Giving back bid money. Not being able to compete, etc. No one out after 10pm at all star and Coronado Springs without an adult. Minors must have chaperone at an all star resort pool who is over 21. Watching what they post on social media etc. no drinking. Vaping. Smoking.

Click to expand...

is this only when the athletes are competing, or for the entire worlds weekend. Im not totally against the rules, but i think if teams are done after semi, they should be allowed to legally do what they want at that point. But then i guess at that point what is usasf really going to do to teams who break the rules and didnt make it past semis anyways.

caffeineandglitter said:

The USASF 2019 competition guidelines are very strict and track what the anon account is saying. But these are not new--it looks identical to last year

2019 worlds event guidelines: https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amaz...heer/usasf_worlds_cheer_registration-info.pdf
2018 worlds event guidelines: https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amaz...Worlds/USASF_Worlds_Cheer_Event-Info_2018.pdf

Page 15:
Violation: Under the influence of drugs or alcohol at any venue at any time during the event from arrival to departure on Tuesday.
1st offense: Authorities are called and athlete is ineligible to compete for the remainder of the event
2nd Offense:
Team penalty: 6-point penalty per incident for the team
Member penalty: Athlete membership revoked for up to two years. Review of program membership revocation of up to two years.

Page 17:
Smoking and/or the use of alcohol by an athlete is prohibited at any Worlds event location. An athlete in violation of this rule is subject to immediate disciplinary action including ineligibility for the current Cheerleading Worlds. If the violation occurs after the athlete competes, yet during the event timeframe at any Worlds event location, then suspension for the following competition season will be implemented.

I read this as "if you are caught under the influence of alcohol or drugs during the Worlds time period, your are suspended and your entire team gets a six point deduction--i.e. any shot at advancing or globing is taken away." It looks like the program is not automatically suspended, but is reviewed, and, after review, could be suspended for up to two years.

Click to expand...

oops typed to soon.

This is happening. I had to sit through the 90+min webinar that laid out everything about this several days ago. For athletes over 18/21, they're not allowed to drink/vape/drugs/etc. even if they're of legal age. Basically it's from check in on Thursday to check out on Tuesday. After that, you are no longer considered a Worlds athlete and can party as you please. The basic message for adult athletes was that if you can't go for 4-5 days without a drink you have a bigger problem to worry about.

I'm on board with this, even for adults. It's not fair if some people on a team can drink and not others, especially for Intl teams where some people are of legal age at home and not in the US due to age differences. I've also seen way too many athletes, both of and under age after competing being completely wrecked and I don't think it sets a great example for other athletes. And for all the talk of wanting to be treated as a sport, you don't see other athletes of this caliber going on 2-4 day alcohol/drug benders after their Worlds/Olympics. I'm sure they have a few drinks, but you don't hear about police helicopters/ambulances/etc. each year. Though I understand the line up at McDonalds get longer and longer each day at the Olympic village.

NCCheerMama said:

It is all very true and more. They are going from 0 to 60 with no leeway. My friends going to worlds and who are chaperones are stressed. The ramifications for breaking the rules are severe. Name stripped of worlds wins. Giving back bid money. Not being able to compete, etc. No one out after 10pm at all star and Coronado Springs without an adult. Minors must have chaperone at an all star resort pool who is over 21. Watching what they post on social media etc. no drinking. Vaping. Smoking.

Click to expand...

10pm doesnt seem realistic since half the time certain divisions go past that. Ive also heard its 12am not 10pm. 10pm is for people visiting the resort not staying. But anywho im not against some of the changes I just think some of the punishments are too harsh for something as stupid as smoking a cigarette or being on resort property past 10pm.

They probably think that if they make the punishment so severe, it will really deter anyone from thinking of breaking the rules. And for the most part, they’re right. But you still might get a clown or two who doesn’t believe they’ll get caught and tries to drink anyway. And it seems pretty brutal to punish an entire team or organization (and their parents who are paying for Worlds) based on the actions of one idiot.

UCFKnights07 said:

10pm doesnt seem realistic since half the time certain divisions go past that. Ive also heard its 12am not 10pm. 10pm is for people visiting the resort not staying. But anywho im not against some of the changes I just think some of the punishments are too harsh for something as stupid as smoking a cigarette or being on resort property past 10pm.

Click to expand...

10pm is Disney rules for no guests on property. 12am is curfew/in rooms a per USASF. If you are at a team event/the competition and arrive back after midnight, they've requested you go quickly and quietly to your rooms and to bed so as to not disturb others who are already sleeping

It was also stated that USASF are reasonable people (though popular opinion on social media may disagree - yes, she actually said something like that). If you're being a jerk about it, sure they'll look at harsher punishments, but if you're respectful, polite, they won't. It's also about the severity of the offence. They're not going to ban a gym for 3 years for 1 21+ athlete having a smoke, is my guess. Treat this like police. If you're respectful, you generally get off with a warning/ticket. If you're a jerk to them, they start looking for more, at least that's my feeling about this