All-Star What's The Difference Between Usasf And Usa Cheer?

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justpeachy

Cheer Parent
Mar 26, 2010
535
1,552
You'd think after 13 years in the sport I would know, but I genuinely have no clue.

Anyone?
 
On January 29, 2019, the ICU recognized USA Cheer as the National governing body for cheer in the US.
USA cheer encompasses Youth/Rec, Middle School, High School, College, All Star, and Stunt
https://cheerunion.org.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/Staff/USA/ICU_NGB_Letter_USA.pdf


On another note, I hope you don't mind me using your thread. Recently Cheer Updates asked: What is stopping All Star Cheerleading, from being considered and governed like other "real" sports? They received the usual Varsity greed, make up and costumes, not recognized for how hard it is, etc comments. Frankly, All Star is governed like any other "real" sport, in the sense they sanction, regulate and promote it. Those are literally the function of any sport governing body. If we want to argue greed and safety, we can debate things such as the NFL hiding concussion safety in an attempt to protect its future growth and population, or the NCAA currently fighting in court it has no legal duty to protect its student athletes from sexual abuse. I'm not sure what people are hoping to gain under this "real" sport title. If it is the hope for competitive cheer to eventually fall under Title IX, I think people could gain some insight from the NFHS <click here>. IMO, the #1 issue:

PROGRAM STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION – Taking into account the unique aspects inherent in the nature and basic operation of specific sports, OCR (Office for Civil Rights) considers whether the activity is structured and administered in a manner consistent with established intercollegiate or interscholastic varsity sports in the institution’s athletics program, including:

  • Whether the operating budget, support services (including academic, sports medicine and strength and conditioning support) and coaching staff are administered by the athletics department or another entity, and are provided in a manner consistent with established varsity sports; and
  • Whether the participants in the activity are eligible to receive athletic scholarships and athletic awards (e.g., varsity awards) if available to athletes in established varsity sports; to the extent that an institution recruits participants in its athletics program, whether participants in the activity are recruited in a manner consistent with established varsity sports.
Secondary sports, including men's gymnastics, tennis, track and field, swimming, golf are getting cut out of college and university sport programs because they don't generate much revenue. Of course, this is a concern of Varsity's, if the cheer population declines, they obviously lose money, but I'm at a loss as to why this isn't a concern for the cheer population, as well.

College sports cutting across NCAA carries deep impact - Sports Illustrated
 
On January 29, 2019, the ICU recognized USA Cheer as the National governing body for cheer in the US.
USA cheer encompasses Youth/Rec, Middle School, High School, College, All Star, and Stunt
https://cheerunion.org.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/Staff/USA/ICU_NGB_Letter_USA.pdf


On another note, I hope you don't mind me using your thread. Recently Cheer Updates asked: What is stopping All Star Cheerleading, from being considered and governed like other "real" sports? They received the usual Varsity greed, make up and costumes, not recognized for how hard it is, etc comments. Frankly, All Star is governed like any other "real" sport, in the sense they sanction, regulate and promote it. Those are literally the function of any sport governing body. If we want to argue greed and safety, we can debate things such as the NFL hiding concussion safety in an attempt to protect its future growth and population, or the NCAA currently fighting in court it has no legal duty to protect its student athletes from sexual abuse. I'm not sure what people are hoping to gain under this "real" sport title. If it is the hope for competitive cheer to eventually fall under Title IX, I think people could gain some insight from the NFHS <click here>. IMO, the #1 issue:

PROGRAM STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION – Taking into account the unique aspects inherent in the nature and basic operation of specific sports, OCR (Office for Civil Rights) considers whether the activity is structured and administered in a manner consistent with established intercollegiate or interscholastic varsity sports in the institution’s athletics program, including:

  • Whether the operating budget, support services (including academic, sports medicine and strength and conditioning support) and coaching staff are administered by the athletics department or another entity, and are provided in a manner consistent with established varsity sports; and
  • Whether the participants in the activity are eligible to receive athletic scholarships and athletic awards (e.g., varsity awards) if available to athletes in established varsity sports; to the extent that an institution recruits participants in its athletics program, whether participants in the activity are recruited in a manner consistent with established varsity sports.
Secondary sports, including men's gymnastics, tennis, track and field, swimming, golf are getting cut out of college and university sport programs because they don't generate much revenue. Of course, this is a concern of Varsity's, if the cheer population declines, they obviously lose money, but I'm at a loss as to why this isn't a concern for the cheer population, as well.

College sports cutting across NCAA carries deep impact - Sports Illustrated

I read this 10 times. Still digesting. I'm not as smart as I used to be haha
 
But USA Cheer covers allstar too?

If so, why two?

1. USASF, USA Cheer and ICU were all (some still?) backed ( on loan) from Varsity. The tax documents can be found on sites such as Guidestar and Pro Publica organization look up. You will not find tax returns for USASF as they are organized only at the state level which makes them less transparent among other ( IMO) curious side notes. Note that in the tax documents for both ICU and USA Cheer there is explanations for their funding from the The Cheerleading Worlds. These “chosen”organizational structures by all 3 levels of governance are for many reasons not favorable to the membered athletes. As an example organized 501 C3 can accept both grants and tax deductible donations from sponsors (reducing the costs for participation)
2. The IOC has only given provisional status to the ICU. PROVISIONAL being the key word. What that says to me is they have an unmet checklist. International Federations receive acceptance from their individual country’s government and are funded with that acceptance. With that acceptance are rules and more importantly, penalties assessed to rules . Many former news stories have questioned the 103 or so flags “recognized” as members by the ICU. In short, are these countries recognized by their countries as fully integrated and funded? A journalist did a deep dive into the ICUs members... his research said no. Allegedly, there are misleading optics.
USA Cheer is not recognized by the USOC. For many years USA Cheer took out press releases through the AP news wire declaring themselves as the governing body to include All Star Cheer. Again optics not real authority or acceptance by any governing association like the NFHS, USOC or NCAA for which they seek inclusion, and yet they prolonged that process for it not to be a sport for a very long time. It would be interesting to know if a provisional authority such as the ICU has the authority to name governing bodies before they receive full acceptance by the IOC for Olympic inclusion. It’s possible but not sure how to fact check that. Also important to realize that it is the sideline version of cheerleading that is the Olympic model. Forty seconds must be dedicated to crowd leading. I can lead you to a great article on that subject.
3. The OCR guidelines for a sport are very definitive as Schools receive funding from the Department of Education. The path to post season is a key factor. Recruiting is a factor. The benefits ( trainers, academic support, nutritionists, certified strength and conditioning coaches, sports information reporting, facilities and equipment, a dedicated budget to meals, travel/travel/ apparel) to the student athletes is IMO one of the most important as a former parent of a competitive cheer athlete. To date any time competitive cheer was attempted to be made a sport... guess who stopped it? In the case of the California High School interscholastic association guess who lobbied against it? That was just 3 years ago.
4. The real story... the truth... Varsity stepped in at the governmental level to stop the advancement of competitive cheer as a sport. They wrote letters to the Department of Education for that said purpose and made sure they put dance becoming a sport into the trash can as well. Quinnipiac lawsuit up next. The optics on that testimony are fascinating as this was a competition only program... not sideline. To give you an idea of how deep the dive is I will illustrate with this example: In around 2008 a VB employee sent an email to coaches with a warning. VB did not yet own Cheersport or Jambrands. One of those not yet owned entities was advertising their collegiate competitions as a National. The email warned us that if we were named National Champs at the non VB event... we risked being crowned at NCA Daytona if we should win. Think about that! 2 short years later in JW testimony he said that NCA had no path to a post season “ anyone can go”... if that was the case, why send the letter to coaches accept to disrupt the ability for another EP to host a National. Point 2... these strategies, besides being anticompetitive keep the consumer ( the Coach) roped into a for profits illusionary business practices that besides accruing fear ... also accrues acceptance of something that is not really real. You have to Wade your way out of some very deep mud in order to get to any resemblance of the truth.
 
1. USASF, USA Cheer and ICU were all (some still?) backed ( on loan) from Varsity. The tax documents can be found on sites such as Guidestar and Pro Publica organization look up. You will not find tax returns for USASF as they are organized only at the state level which makes them less transparent among other ( IMO) curious side notes. Note that in the tax documents for both ICU and USA Cheer there is explanations for their funding from the The Cheerleading Worlds. These “chosen”organizational structures by all 3 levels of governance are for many reasons not favorable to the membered athletes. As an example organized 501 C3 can accept both grants and tax deductible donations from sponsors (reducing the costs for participation)
2. The IOC has only given provisional status to the ICU. PROVISIONAL being the key word. What that says to me is they have an unmet checklist. International Federations receive acceptance from their individual country’s government and are funded with that acceptance. With that acceptance are rules and more importantly, penalties assessed to rules . Many former news stories have questioned the 103 or so flags “recognized” as members by the ICU. In short, are these countries recognized by their countries as fully integrated and funded? A journalist did a deep dive into the ICUs members... his research said no. Allegedly, there are misleading optics.
USA Cheer is not recognized by the USOC. For many years USA Cheer took out press releases through the AP news wire declaring themselves as the governing body to include All Star Cheer. Again optics not real authority or acceptance by any governing association like the NFHS, USOC or NCAA for which they seek inclusion, and yet they prolonged that process for it not to be a sport for a very long time. It would be interesting to know if a provisional authority such as the ICU has the authority to name governing bodies before they receive full acceptance by the IOC for Olympic inclusion. It’s possible but not sure how to fact check that. Also important to realize that it is the sideline version of cheerleading that is the Olympic model. Forty seconds must be dedicated to crowd leading. I can lead you to a great article on that subject.
3. The OCR guidelines for a sport are very definitive as Schools receive funding from the Department of Education. The path to post season is a key factor. Recruiting is a factor. The benefits ( trainers, academic support, nutritionists, certified strength and conditioning coaches, sports information reporting, facilities and equipment, a dedicated budget to meals, travel/travel/ apparel) to the student athletes is IMO one of the most important as a former parent of a competitive cheer athlete. To date any time competitive cheer was attempted to be made a sport... guess who stopped it? In the case of the California High School interscholastic association guess who lobbied against it? That was just 3 years ago.
4. The real story... the truth... Varsity stepped in at the governmental level to stop the advancement of competitive cheer as a sport. They wrote letters to the Department of Education for that said purpose and made sure they put dance becoming a sport into the trash can as well. Quinnipiac lawsuit up next. The optics on that testimony are fascinating as this was a competition only program... not sideline. To give you an idea of how deep the dive is I will illustrate with this example: In around 2008 a VB employee sent an email to coaches with a warning. VB did not yet own Cheersport or Jambrands. One of those not yet owned entities was advertising their collegiate competitions as a National. The email warned us that if we were named National Champs at the non VB event... we risked being crowned at NCA Daytona if we should win. Think about that! 2 short years later in JW testimony he said that NCA had no path to a post season “ anyone can go”... if that was the case, why send the letter to coaches accept to disrupt the ability for another EP to host a National. Point 2... these strategies, besides being anticompetitive keep the consumer ( the Coach) roped into a for profits illusionary business practices that besides accruing fear ... also accrues acceptance of something that is not really real. You have to Wade your way out of some very deep mud in order to get to any resemblance of the truth.

The politics and mud wading falls in line with every sport governing body, and honestly, just governing bodies in general. If you enjoy sport reading a great book is "The League: How Five Rivals Created the NFL and Launched a Sports Empire." I'm not defending the process, just acknowledging the battle of control always leaves behind a lot of wounded and questionable behavior. I, however, see a method to the madness...

When it comes to cheer and sport status, unfortunately I'm old and remember HS's eliminating their gymnastic programs in the late 70's. The HS gymnastic population fell 75% in 14 years and if cheer becomes a sport, the problem would be the same as gymnastics. Well trained coaches who also teach in Elementary/MS/HS's are rare, and colleges taking on coaches, scholarships, recruiting, and athletic trainers for a sport that's costly isn't a great selling point. Granted, many HS's were able to develop partnerships with gymnastic clubs, but cheer gyms are not widely available across the nation, so decline would be inevitable with sport status. When you have rapid decline, your workers have to find other income, so it becomes extremely costly to gain back both trained staff and customers. Obviously right now, more than anything, is the effect of the pandemic on MS/HS and collegiate sports. The budgets are so tight secondary sports are being eliminated, so if there were ever a time I was happy cheer wasn't a sport, it's right now. It's going to take a long time for those sports to get back to where they used to be, and many wonder if the budgets will ever return to the level they once were.

 
The politics and mud wading falls in line with every sport governing body, and honestly, just governing bodies in general. If you enjoy sport reading a great book is "The League: How Five Rivals Created the NFL and Launched a Sports Empire." I'm not defending the process, just acknowledging the battle of control always leaves behind a lot of wounded and questionable behavior. I, however, see a method to the madness...

When it comes to cheer and sport status, unfortunately I'm old and remember HS's eliminating their gymnastic programs in the late 70's. The HS gymnastic population fell 75% in 14 years and if cheer becomes a sport, the problem would be the same as gymnastics. Well trained coaches who also teach in Elementary/MS/HS's are rare, and colleges taking on coaches, scholarships, recruiting, and athletic trainers for a sport that's costly isn't a great selling point. Granted, many HS's were able to develop partnerships with gymnastic clubs, but cheer gyms are not widely available across the nation, so decline would be inevitable with sport status. When you have rapid decline, your workers have to find other income, so it becomes extremely costly to gain back both trained staff and customers. Obviously right now, more than anything, is the effect of the pandemic on MS/HS and collegiate sports. The budgets are so tight secondary sports are being eliminated, so if there were ever a time I was happy cheer wasn't a sport, it's right now. It's going to take a long time for those sports to get back to where they used to be, and many wonder if the budgets will ever return to the level they once were.

I’m old too... I always appreciate your insight and wisdom. I do believe that nothing is perfect but I also know from the hundreds of lawsuits I have read...there are very fine people who have organized a safe governing methodology. I don’t see cheer declining..I see it reorganizing with people at the helm who realize prosperity can be gained by ethical means.
 
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I’m old too... I always appreciate your insight and wisdom. I do believe that nothing is perfect but I also know from the hundreds of lawsuits I have read...there are very fine people who have organized a safe governing methodology. I don’t see cheer declining..I see it reorganizing with people at the helm who realize prosperity can be gained by ethical means.

Thank you, I appreciate your insight and wisdom, as well.

I know people's ears perk when they hear about lawsuits, but lawsuits are just a part of corporate business, and many doesn't translate into guilt. Most corporate lawsuits are either thrown out or settled privately and quietly with very little effect on the masses. >>> I tend to focus on the laws that protect or defend their ethics and practices instead. Sports, including youth, are heavily intertwined with government. Politicians promise their voters tax revenue from sports and tourism will pay for the billions they spend building and improving their cities via these government facilities, universities, parks, and hotels where these sporting events and camps take place. Another issue I have when it comes to safety, it often just translates into higher insurance premiums versus actual protection. Yes, you can be Tom Cruise and hang off the side of a plane taking off, but it's going to cost you.

I tend to believe most people that have a passion for something go into it for the right reasons. My take on Varsity is they are still growing this sport globally and while we often think of cheer as established in the US, back in 2007 JW said, "Right now, [international cheerleading] is a seed," says Jeff Webb, CEO of Varsity Brands, which dominates the U.S. cheer industry. "We have to nurture that and bring it to fruition." in a Newsweek <article>. My best analogy is the US sees cheer as an adult and it's time to relinquish power, whereas, when it comes to establishing and merging things such as age grid and safety standards globally, it's still very young. From a once corporate exec employee perspective, once something is bound to regulation, it's MUCH, SO MUCH, more expensive to grow and change....and, it will happen at a slower pace, but it's going to cost you.
 
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