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Lisa Welsh

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By Lisa D. Welshwww.CHEERMAD.com
In a press release this evening the United States All Star Board of Directors says “…immediate action was needed for the long term interest of all-star cheer and its’ athletes. ”
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March 28, 2012
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Three days before the end of “National Safety Month” the United States All Star Federation Board of Directors felt the safety of their athletes and the long-term health of the sport was at risk so they acted very quickly and without following their normal procedures.​
“During our March 28th Board meeting conference call, a joint presentation of CHEERSPORT, JamBrands and Varsity with an endorsement from Cheer Limited was made to the Board that stated they believe immediate action was needed for the long-term interest of all-star cheer and its’ athletes. The proposal was the result of analyzing their own internal data relating to these issues as well as extensive discussions with gym owners, coaches, athletes and parents, “the USASF announced in a press release this evening.

Here are the changes the USASF will implement during the 2012-13 season:
Tumbling
  • Standing fulls and standing double fulls are not allowed
  • Double fulls are only allowed in running tumbling and must be preceded by a back handspring
  • Consecutive bounding, twisting skills are not allowed
Age Grid
  • All Open teams (5 and 6 [also Open 4 if it is added in the future]) must be 17yrs old and older
  • Eliminate the International age rule for U.S.A. teams. – All athletes on USA teams must be of the legal age according to the age grid by August 31st of that season. This includes Worlds. The rule, an athlete may be younger than the allowed age as long as he/she becomes of the legal age by the calendar year of the competition, no longer stands.
  • Eliminate Mini L3
  • Eliminate Youth 5 Restricted by placing additional limitations on Youth 5 (No tumbling double fulls, No kick doubles in baskets, Braced flips may not twist)
  • Youth top age is raised to 12
  • No longer separate Junior Coed 3 and 4 from their counterpart All Girl teams
  • Bottom age on Senior teams, Levels 1- 4 and Senior 5R, will be 10 years old
  • Senior 5 teams will remain at 12
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ACCORDING TO THE USASF: One of the primary concerns related to the negative impact of the increased focus on elite tumbling skills. Most programs report an increase in the number and severity of injuries as the tumbling skills become more difficult. The focus on elite tumbling also restricts the growth of the sport because it limits the type of athletes who can compete. It was agreed among these event producers to use score sheets that maximize tumbling scores at “half plus one” to create a majority. This will allow for more diversity of athletes among all teams. Beyond tumbling recommendations, the group also proposed several changes to the age grid and divisions including establishing a minimum age in all senior divisions. There were various reasons for all the changes but the consensus was that all these changes would enhance the sport and were necessary.

Tumblin' Tumbleweeds Beware
The proposal was accepted by the Board and will take effect for the 2012/2013 season. While the Rules Committee has been charged with writing the specific rules, an outline of the changes is attached in an effort to get the word out as quickly as possible.
The primary missions of USASF are to promote the safety of the all-star cheer athletes and to help grow the sport. The USASF Board of Directors is charged with establishing policies and procedures consistent with that mission. The Board typically does this through normal operating procedures but has the authority and in fact, the responsibility, to act outside of those normal procedures if they feel a critical situation exists that threatens that mission. This is not unlike professional football that recently instituted a number of emergency measures to address the issue of head trauma and concussions.
A second issue addressed during the Board meeting today was the approval of the attached Image & Appearance Policy and Etiquette. This is in response to the input gathered during the Summer Regional Meetings and a survey conducted during January /February, in which 2,700 USASF members participated, indicating uniform, choreography, and make up issues needed to be addressed to enhance the legitimacy of the sport.
In a similar move the American Association of Cheer Coaches and Administrators announced:
Summary of Changes

for 2012-13 High School Rules

2012-13 AACCA Rules

Major Changes:
  • Released twists limited to 1 ¼ . That means no more double downs or kick doubles. You can still do a 1 ½ up type of skill where the top stays in contact with a base.
  • Allowed: All inversions that keep the weight-bearing contact below shoulder level. In addition to the handstands from cradle or prone position allowed in last year’s rules, this will allow yo-yos, handstand on a double base thigh stand, cartwheel over the thighs, etc. There are some requirements on these such as having contact at all times, protecting the head area and if the skill is below shoulders AND moving downward there must be two people in contact. An example would be a cradle to back walkover. This does NOT allow the fold-over “pancake” stunt from shoulder level.
  • Allowed: Suspended front and back flips/rolls when braced on both sides by preps with spotters. The top person must have at least three bases/spotters and is not allowed to twist.
  • Allowed: Backward suspended roll from the ground to the ground (have to allow leadup for suspended braced flip)
  • Single base shoulder stands where the feet of the top person are in the hands of the base now require a spotter.
  • Removed “downward” wording on Released Pyramid Transitions. This aligns our rule with NFHS rule, so spotters on bracers, etc. are required any time there is a braced release, not just on the ones that are released from the top to the bottom.
  • Renamed the basketball court restrictions section to “Surface Restrictions”.
  • In keeping with the NFHS changes as well as using information provided to us by the NFHS Medical Advisory Committee, we are allowing baskets, tumbling fulls, and one-arm stunts only on mats, grass or rubberized tracks. This still restricts them from the basketball court but allows them on the rubberized track. The data over two years shows that the majority of head injuries are body-to-body contact and not the performing surface.
Minor Changes/Tweaks
  • Inversions section moved after Partner Stunts and Pyramids
  • Added that a base cannot assume a backbend, handstand or headstand position (Aligns AACCA rules with NFHS)
  • Added a rule for spotters that consolidates other spotter rules and clarifies where they can and cannot be.
  • Added a restriction on spotters that they can’t have their hands behind their back. Note that if a spotter of a prep had their hands behind their back, there’s no illegality. The prep doesn’t require a spotter in the first place.
  • Added a “release stunt” rule that says if you fully release a stunt it must be cradled or braced. (Aligns AACCA rules with NFHS). Exception is 180 degree helicopter. This means for any half-up or full-up skill from a stunt, a base or spotter must remain in contact.
  • Along with the above rule, we changed the “multibase toss to a stunt” rule to basically only allow quick tosses to land in stunts. An exception in the wording still allows switch libs specifically.
  • Combined the previous splits rules (splits from thighs have hand to hand contact and splits from prep, load-in, etc. have to have four people under it) into one rule.
  • Changed wording on swinging stunt to allow it to begin from below shoulder level. This just allows a little more freedom for where to start it, like from a thigh stand, cradle, one foot on the ground, laying down, etc.
 
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