All-Star Should Seniors Get Another Year Of Eligibility?

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I don't have a say in this either way, but I'll admit that I'm always confused by everyone talking about how senior year is the final year for cheer. Are there not a lot of open teams in the US? Especially now that USASF offers an open division as well as IASF? What about college? As someone who has only cheered all-star as an adult, this idea of having to be done at 18 boggles my mind
 
I think that seniors and supers should be offered the opportunity to have one more season on the team they were on this season. No obligation to do so though if they are headed away for school. That's just my opinion. I'm not sure how many would take the offer though.
 
I don't have a say in this either way, but I'll admit that I'm always confused by everyone talking about how senior year is the final year for cheer. Are there not a lot of open teams in the US? Especially now that USASF offers an open division as well as IASF? What about college? As someone who has only cheered all-star as an adult, this idea of having to be done at 18 boggles my mind
I think the point of all this is no one got to end their year with their team “as usual” whether Summit or Worlds....it just boom ended.....
 
What I'm noticing is that almost all of our graduating seniors this year are attending school locally-and that seems to be the case when I'm seeing high school graduates in general. I think the feeling is that it's better to stay at home for at least this first year rather than be in a dorm, given COVID. And if so, I could see a lot of kids wanting to continue to cheer. It might be a good year for gyms that previously didn't have open teams to offer one, whether or not super senioring is offered.
 
I think the point of all this is no one got to end their year with their team “as usual” whether Summit or Worlds....it just boom ended.....

But that involves every team, mine included. Even before the pandemic, there were still occasional posts about how an athlete was in their senior year and couldn't cheer anymore after this. Just trying to understand how cheer in the US works
 
I don't have a say in this either way, but I'll admit that I'm always confused by everyone talking about how senior year is the final year for cheer. Are there not a lot of open teams in the US? Especially now that USASF offers an open division as well as IASF? What about college? As someone who has only cheered all-star as an adult, this idea of having to be done at 18 boggles my mind

I don't have a leg in the race since I'm 26 and don't have any children, but I will toss out my perspective as an athlete currently on an Open team and who also cheered in college. Open teams are tricky because you have to have a minimum skillset or else you get turned away, so if you don't twist and aren't phenomenal at stunting, there's just nowhere for you to go. If there was Open 2 or Open 3 maybe it would be different, but with how things stand currently I don't see the issue in giving the kids one more year of eligibility on a senior team, especially if it's with the same gym.
 
I don't have a leg in the race since I'm 26 and don't have any children, but I will toss out my perspective as an athlete currently on an Open team and who also cheered in college. Open teams are tricky because you have to have a minimum skillset or else you get turned away, so if you don't twist and aren't phenomenal at stunting, there's just nowhere for you to go. If there was Open 2 or Open 3 maybe it would be different, but with how things stand currently I don't see the issue in giving the kids one more year of eligibility on a senior team, especially if it's with the same gym.


Thanks. In Canada, most major cities offer lower level Open teams, often NT, usually starting at level 2/3 and up. It would be nice to see more higher level NT teams pop up as an option for open athletes, since it's so much harder to learn to tumble as an adult, but stunting skills can still improve, sometimes a lot.
 
I don't have a leg in the race since I'm 26 and don't have any children, but I will toss out my perspective as an athlete currently on an Open team and who also cheered in college. Open teams are tricky because you have to have a minimum skillset or else you get turned away, so if you don't twist and aren't phenomenal at stunting, there's just nowhere for you to go. If there was Open 2 or Open 3 maybe it would be different, but with how things stand currently I don't see the issue in giving the kids one more year of eligibility on a senior team, especially if it's with the same gym.
It should be with the same gym and team......
 
But that would have a trickle down effect wouldn’t it? There are only so many slots on a team, so if nobody ages out that means kids with maybe another year or two of eligibility who would have otherwise made that team next season would now be the ones without their “moment of glory”. You could argue it was unfair to them unless the age was changed to 19 from here on out so they also had an extra year to compete.
 
IMO, giving senior athletes another year of eligibility is not going to have the same effect for all, and it certainly won’t benefit all.

Many seniors will be moving hours away within their own state and many to other states for their college career in the fall(or whenever they’re allowed), and will not be able to cheer at their gym another year. College students simply do not have the time to drive 5 hours a day, then practice 4 hours then drive 5 hours back. It’s too hard and if they’re not cheering in college, many expected to be done. Arguably, yes they could cheer at another gym...but open teams are very expensive, and at that point parents are paying so much for school that they can’t help out if their daughter/son wants to cheer for thousands of dollars a year.

On that note, another year or eligibility is very possible for some(those going to school locally, those with the funds, etc, etc.) and could be an amazing opportunity for them to have another year doing what they love.

@WinstonsGirl to your comments...unfortunately here in the US, cheerleading past college age is nearly impossible. Lots of emphasis placed on *professional* sports teams and no cheerleading equivalent does not bode well for cheerleaders. Most HS seniors will either be done after HS, or join their college team. You have to have the commitment level of a professional athlete with none of the glory to be above 21/22 and still be competing here, sadly. Props to those on open teams and the national team that are above college age. It’s truly amazing and I admire their dedication. Unfortunately that type of commitment is not realistic for all, and probably 90% of cheerleaders competing in the US are ages 5-22. Before I forget, this sport is hard on the body too. May be another reason lol.
 
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