All-Star Closer To Being A College Sport?

[ztaprincess]

No males really lose their scholarships because of women. A school has to comply with the law so they need equal opportunites. There are few places to add more female sports on most school budgets, so sometimes they have to drop male teams and add female teams to balance it out. Adding Competitive Cheer, especially if it can make the school some money to support it's budget, can actuallly create other team opportunites for males if there are enough participants.

No males lost scholarships so far, but the court case happed last year was because other females lost their scholarships because Cheer was going to cost the school less money. That is what I am afraid of. I know that QU got in trouble because they did it all wrong, but I am afraid other schools will do the same thing because cheer is going to cost less to them then another sport.
I just feel cutting one sport for another is not fair to those athletes that get their sport cut. That I guess is my problem with TitleIX in general and I am a female that would benefit from it.

 

[coachrah]

No males lost scholarships so far, but the court case happed last year was because other females lost their scholarships because Cheer was going to cost the school less money. That is what I am afraid of. I know that QU got in trouble because they did it all wrong, but I am afraid other schools will do the same thing because cheer is going to cost less to them then another sport.
I just feel cutting one sport for another is not fair to those athletes that get their sport cut. That I guess is my problem with TitleIX in general and I am a female that would benefit from it.

Two men's teams were cut at QU.

 

[ShoWStoppeR]

In all seriousness, I did read the article and I think it's great for the sport to be taken seriously, however the web of rules and regulations that will come with a "merge" or discussion between the two makes my head spin a little bit.

I think @kingston brings up an excellent point, where will the interest for this type of activity begin? It won't be like anything competed in HS currently (that I know of, feel free to correct me if I am wrong) except for the Michigan competition stuff- I don't know how else to describe it. It scares me. Will there be club programs and will those programs branch into a whole other idea that's not allstars, but "looks like" what STUNT and NCAA are trying to do?

those athletes that just want a comp squad without cheering games...
i'm all for it becoming a sport, but i also think if it does, we will quickly see the attendance at uca and nca college nationals drop. like @kingston was saying with scholarships, it sucks to be an awesome athlete and not be rewarded. if it is to become a sport, i would imagine you would see more money behind it. although great for cheerleading overall, not so great for some of the companies involved. also something to think about, if uca and nca can exist peacefully, why cant STUNT and NCATA? this may be apples and oranges, but i dont really know how.
i could also be blowing smoke out my butt and none of this is applicable. its just something i could see happening.

 

[ztaprincess]

also something to think about, if uca and nca can exist peacefully, why cant STUNT and NCATA? this may be apples and oranges, but i dont really know how.

They will have to combine into 1 and coexist working together if they want to be accepted by the NCAA. That I think is a big roadblock right now because it is going to take some work to get the two to agree on things and work together. Where STUNT has the number of programs participating, NCATA has the backing of the University Officals of the schools involved so it will be interesting to see how they try and combine the two together. I truly see this slowing it down big time. NCAA will not accept it if they stay separate, or atleast that is what I got from the article.

 

[King]

I think an important point that needs to be considered is that how cheerleading currently exist is NOT sustainable. Things will change, but there is no way to keep cheer how it exists now. To ensure cheer remains viable and successful the proper steps need to be taken.

 

[SharkDad]

They will have to combine into 1 and coexist working together if they want to be accepted by the NCAA. That I think is a big roadblock right now because it is going to take some work to get the two to agree on things and work together. Where STUNT has the number of programs participating, NCATA has the backing of the University Officals of the schools involved so it will be interesting to see how they try and combine the two together. I truly see this slowing it down big time. NCAA will not accept it if they stay separate, or atleast that is what I got from the article.

NCAA suggested that but I wonder if they have too. NCATA is very close to being able to demonstrate all of the things the article asks for. From what I understand STUNT is not anywhere near as close. If NCATA produced all the data I wonder if NCAA wouldn't just accept it as the new emerging sport.

I think an important point that needs to be considered is that how cheerleading currently exist is NOT sustainable. Things will change, but there is no way to keep cheer how it exists now. To ensure cheer remains viable and successful the proper steps need to be taken.

I am sure the industry is confident they can continue to make money almost indefinitely with the current format. Cheer would never become a sport that way, though.

 

[ztaprincess]

NCAA suggested that but I wonder if they have too. NCATA is very close to being able to demonstrate all of the things the article asks for. From what I understand STUNT is not anywhere near as close. If NCATA produced all the data I wonder if NCAA wouldn't just accept it as the new emerging sport.

NCATA I don't think are close to 20 teams at all and unless I am misreading the article they have to have 20 teams/schools before they can be considered. That is why I think they should join forces because STUNT has the numbers but nothing else really.

 

[SharkDad]

20 or more varsity teams or club teams must exist on campuses AND 10 letters of commitment from institutions.

STUNT can claim teams that participate, but NCATA can claim the committed institutions and their participation is growing.

 

[SharkDad]

this article came out a year ago, but I feel like it illustrates 2 very different approaches to gaining sport status and claiming "participation"

http://www.cheertimes.com/stc/uni_111210.html

 

[King]

NCAA suggested that but I wonder if they have too. NCATA is very close to being able to demonstrate all of the things the article asks for. From what I understand STUNT is not anywhere near as close. If NCATA produced all the data I wonder if NCAA wouldn't just accept it as the new emerging sport.

I am sure the industry is confident they can continue to make money almost indefinitely with the current format. Cheer would never become a sport that way, though.

As long as there are teams that stand on the sidelines (skills or not) they will make money from uniforms. Don't forget Varsity is a uniform company first. Competition wise our sport is either growing or shrinking... and we can shrink a whole lot.

 

[SharkDad]

Agreed. I try not to make it the center of attention, but I am well aware of Varsity's main focus in many of their decisions.

Collectively as an industry I am sure event producers, music producers, gyms, choreographers know that so long as they hold competitions people will show up.

I see many decisions being made with the inclusion of the rationale "will we increase participation" over "is the the best thing for safety"

The numbers of athletes in this sport as a whole don't lie. If the spirt as a whole could take on an organized, focused approach one day it could be one of the biggest (and most profitable) for all involved. If not, it'll keep going the way it is now. Industry professionals will continue to find ways to keep up participation, but it won't benefit the sport as a whole.

 

[Future]

those athletes that just want a comp squad without cheering games...
i'm all for it becoming a sport, but i also think if it does, we will quickly see the attendance at uca and nca college nationals drop. like @kingston was saying with scholarships, it sucks to be an awesome athlete and not be rewarded. if it is to become a sport, i would imagine you would see more money behind it. although great for cheerleading overall, not so great for some of the companies involved. also something to think about, if uca and nca can exist peacefully, why cant STUNT and NCATA? this may be apples and oranges, but i dont really know how.
i could also be blowing smoke out my butt and none of this is applicable. its just something i could see happening.

Why do you think NCA and UCA get along? Because they are owned and controlled by the same PROFIT company….of course they get along…...

 

[SharkDad]

Part of the big obstacle is that companies like UCA and NCA are blocking the creation of the sport with their actions possibly because they feel it will kill their business. That is why as a sport-wide solution, this can easily be addressed: as a sport Competitive Cheer will still need event producers. Even better, there will only be one competitive schedule to contend with so UCA and NCA--who are both owned by the same parent company can adapt and possibly be the main company (or some version of it) that still produces College nationals.

Like @kingston pointed out - for it to eventually to become a sport change will be inevitable. I would hope for a solution driven BY the sport rather than dictated to the sport because companies are standing in the way.

 

[SharkDad]

This is a very interesting press release by USA Cheer: http://usacheer.net/Content.aspx/News/Letter from Bill Seely

While I am very hopeful, it is worthwhile to remember that the line "as the authority on cheerleading" is a self declaration and therefore should read: "as the self-proclaimed authority on cheerleading"

That is the way it will be until USA Cheer becomes a 100% open non-profit, accepted, governing organization that allows the sport to chose it's board of directors rather than self-appoint and guarantee their status through bylaws.

 

[ztaprincess]

I hope that USA Cheer really did open up communication towards NCATA, but I am not sure how well they will work together. Just going by what I have seen between both sides posting on the board over the past year it seems individuals from both sides have nothing good to say about the other. If they want this to work I hope they both do it the right way and try their hardest to coexist.

I also noticed in the USA Cheer press release that it was mentioned high school state associations have contacted them with interest, is this for recruitment purposes or are they wanting to take over high school cheer as well?