All-Star Closer To Being A College Sport?

Emily Jane said:

That's why I don't like stunt as much. If I worked for the NCAA and both organisations applied for emerging sport status, I would be much more impressed with NCATA (despite their lack of teams) because they're running it like a proper sport with their teams competing a full season.

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kingston said:

I think it probably comes down to how many schools are recognizing it as a sport as well. How many of the STUNT schools and how many of the NCATA schools recognize either as a sport?

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cheersafety said:

ALL of the NCATA schools follow the same rules and regulations as all other varsity sports. The president of the university has signed a letter committing to acrobatics and tumbling as a sport with according financial support. Each university pays dues to the NCATA for membership and they currently host the only nationals where all teams competing are "compete only" teams. They are a 501c3 non-profit registered with IRS.

As far as STUNT I am not aware of any letters from university presidents. I heard Adams State may have but it hasn't been confirmed or posted to their website. They have a lot of possible participants but I don't know a lot about the athletic administrators being involved if at it all.

You are comparing lists that don't meet the same criteria. For the NCAA to count it as one of the 10 you need a letter from the university president or athletic director. To be counted as one of the 20 schools, the program must meet Title IX requirements.

So for the 10 letters the NCATA has 8 and Varsity has 0.

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kingston said:

So NCATA is only 2 schools away? I guess they don't really need to join varsity then?? They already have USAG backing.

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Andre said:

From http://www.wiaa.com/ConDocs/Con273/ocrguidance.pdf

1. Whether selection for the team is based upon objective factors related to athletic activity. Discussion: The type of factors usually considered when selecting athletes includes speed, strength, agility, ability to be cooperative and competitive, citizenship and the role the athletes fulfill on the team. For activities such as dance, drill, and cheerleading to be considered an athletic offering, selection must be based on factors similar to those used for selecting athletes for other sports.

2. Whether the activity is limited to a defined season. Discussion: The state association will be responsible for establishing a starting and ending date as well as rules and regulations that are similar to other sanctioned sports. Typically those determinations are made with input from school personnel and others who are knowledgeable about the activity/sport.

Each school must determine if it will sponsor competition squad(s) and the impact that such a decision will have on providing the traditional cheerleading and dance and drill squads that have been a part of the support groups for athletic events for decades. A school could choose to field competitive squads and continue to provide squads that support athletic events through sideline activity and halftime entertainment. In fact, some participants may choose to be involved in both offerings. (To review the WIAA’s goal for this issue, please read the addendum.)

3. Whether the activity is administered by the athletic department. Discussion: This is self-explanatory and a matter of developing the proper chain of responsibility, oversight, and funding.

4. Whether the team prepares for and engages in competition in the same way as other teams
in the athletic program with respect to the following:

a. Coaching -- Individuals who coach dance and drill and cheerleading would need to meet the same hiring and evaluation criteria as other coaches. This would also include monetary stipends and any other benefits such as opportunities to receive training.

b. Budget -- The programs would receive a budget that would meet the needs of the activity and is comparable to that school’s other programs. The budget would include allowances for equipment, uniforms, travel, meals, lodging, and any other items similar to other sports programs.

c. Tryout and Eligibility – Participants would be required to meet the same local school and state association eligibility guidelines. (Please review the WIAA’s goals in the addendum.)

d. Length and number of practice sessions – The squads would receive comparable practice time as well as use of comparable facilities. The state association will establish the number of practice sessions prior to initial competition.

e. Competitive opportunities and recognition – While the number of regular season competitions would be established by the state association, the athletic director and coach would be responsible for establishing league affiliation to insure that a schedule is as complete as other sports teams in the school district. Awards such as a varsity letter, “all-league” and “top scorer,” which are appropriate and are common with other sports, must also be provided.

5. Whether the primary purpose of the activity is athletic competition and not the support or promotion of other athletes. Discussion: Competition must be the focal point of the event in which the student participates. The traditional “appearances” that are part of other athletic contests are not appropriate avenues to showcase these participants as athletes.

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kingston said:

I think it probably comes down to how many schools are recognizing it as a sport as well. How many of the STUNT schools and how many of the NCATA schools recognize either as a sport?

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SharkDad said:

Funny you said "Join Varsity" and not "Join USA Cheer"

It is a fact Jeff Webb testified that Varsity created USA Cheer "so that if collegiate competitive cheer ever became a sport he wanted to have his foot in the door" Possibly a reason he does not want USA Cheer to become a full non-profit, but I can't speculate to that, only that it isn't right now.

Also keep in mind that while there are a number of "participating" club or sport teams on the STUNT list they were all sponsored in one way or another or given discounts to NCA or UCA nationals. If you reference the article I posted earlier you can also see that USA Cheer blocked teams last year that might have been interested in NCATA by telling them if they competed at any NCATA meets even as a trial they would not be allowed to go to NCA/UCA nationals.

editors note: I am not trying to bash on either Jeff Webb or Varsity but while people formulate their opinions on the emerging sport issue they should be ablke to see all sides of this issue, not just a USA Cheer press release.

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nccheerdad said:

Sadly, at several (not all) of these schools listed under stunt, the university administrators see these teams in the same light as their ultimate frisbee teams.

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kingston said:

Maybe just my thought process? I forget if I asked this earlier (and I am too lazy to scroll up): Can a non profit be 'controlled' by anyone? (we are talking legally not under the table influence). Can a not-for-profit?

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SharkDad said:

The terms are subtle and I admit I had to go look them up. Think of "nonprofit" as an organization such as Cheer for a Cause, and "not-for-profit" as an activity such as "Bake sale to raise money for XYZ"

Both can be organized or run the same.

I think the big reason that people keep pointing back to whether or not USA Cheer or USASF are full nonprofit organizations it that there are standards for their board make-up/respresentation and most importantly that all their activites must be auditable and reportable since they will receive revenue from their membership.

Some decisions may be made differenly if they were held accountable to the sport as a whole and could risk losing their board seat.

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