All-Star Covid-19 / Varsity Response

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Looks like a lot of the "big but not goliath" gyms (Woodlands, ECE, SoT, etc.), the ones with worlds titles but not a ton, are all ending their season to give the families some answer instead of keeping them in limbo. I respect them immensely because the hit to their finances I'm sure is huge, as well as the disappointment to a lot of kids and parents, but it's nice for their kiddos to know and not just constantly be waiting to see what happens. It'll be interesting to see what the big boys (Cheer Extreme, Cheer Athletics, Top Gun, Stingray, and Cali) decide to do over the next few weeks.
 
Looks like a lot of the "big but not goliath" gyms (Woodlands, ECE, SoT, etc.), the ones with worlds titles but not a ton, are all ending their season to give the families some answer instead of keeping them in limbo. I respect them immensely because the hit to their finances I'm sure is huge, as well as the disappointment to a lot of kids and parents, but it's nice for their kiddos to know and not just constantly be waiting to see what happens. It'll be interesting to see what the big boys (Cheer Extreme, Cheer Athletics, Top Gun, Stingray, and Cali) decide to do over the next few weeks.
I think many larger gyms have made decisions and are communicating with their parents and kids but might not be making formal public announcements about how they are going to proceed with their season at the time.
 
It'll be interesting to see what the big boys (Cheer Extreme, Cheer Athletics, Top Gun, Stingray, and Cali) decide to do over the next few weeks.

What is sad is most of these gyms are in southern states where people (and their governors) are not taking this as seriously. They aren’t hit that hard yet, but once it really starts spreading there it will be worse for them because they are less prepared. Maryland is taking it very seriously and the governor is doing a great job. That might be one difference in how the gym owners and parents are reacting to this. This could still be affecting us in the fall. The countries that had started easing restrictions are now locking down again (Hong Kong/Singapore) due to a resurgence of cases. It is not going to magically disappear in a month.
 
What is sad is most of these gyms are in southern states where people (and their governors) are not taking this as seriously. They aren’t hit that hard yet, but once it really starts spreading there it will be worse for them because they are less prepared. Maryland is taking it very seriously and the governor is doing a great job. That might be one difference in how the gym owners and parents are reacting to this. This could still be affecting us in the fall. The countries that had started easing restrictions are now locking down again (Hong Kong/Singapore) due to a resurgence of cases. It is not going to magically disappear in a month.

I don't know. I would consider ICE & WE and ECE to be pretty big players here. Big enough that I did a "wow" when I saw that they were done.

Each of those has more than one location and brings some significant contenders to both events.

Weird thought:

I think who stays and goes out of the Last Big Gyms Standing is going to depend a lot on the parents and specific team histories.

Example:

You may feel different about considering pulling a Worlds team from an event if (example) they are a defending champ team with mostly kids who are going out with rings from 2018, 2019, etc.

If your team has not gotten rings, been super close, you have seniors going out who have never gotten them, you missed the title super close last year, that parent pool/staff is going to feel differently.

Or maybe you're in a good season and you feel like this is the one. You feel differently than a team of folks who have been having a rough season.

Then completely diff feels if your team is mostly young but never quite in medal range. Decision-makers may feel like they have more years to come and it's okay to be done.

Ex: I'm sure an SE/Swoosh/Smoex parent feels a bit differently in the "stay or not" discussion than someone whose kid is on Stars/Panthers/Steel/SSX.

I have no idea how this is going to play out.
 
I don't know. I would consider ICE & WE and ECE to be pretty big players here. Big enough that I did a "wow" when I saw that they were done.

Each of those has more than one location and brings some significant contenders to both events.

Weird thought:

I think who stays and goes out of the Last Big Gyms Standing is going to depend a lot on the parents and specific team histories.

Example:

You may feel different about considering pulling a Worlds team from an event if (example) they are a defending champ team with mostly kids who are going out with rings from 2018, 2019, etc.

If your team has not gotten rings, been super close, you have seniors going out who have never gotten them, you missed the title super close last year, that parent pool/staff is going to feel differently.

Or maybe you're in a good season and you feel like this is the one. You feel differently than a team of folks who have been having a rough season.

Then completely diff feels if your team is mostly young but never quite in medal range. Decision-makers may feel like they have more years to come and it's okay to be done.

Ex: I'm sure an SE/Swoosh/Smoex parent feels a bit differently in the "stay or not" discussion than someone whose kid is on Stars/Panthers/Steel/SSX.

I have no idea how this is going to play out.


Yes, every gym has different circumstances to consider when making this decision. It's easier to end the season right now if you have an At-Large Worlds bid and no chance to win or globe. Other gyms feel differently, and I respect everyone's choices/reasoning during this time.

If this Corona situation is pretty much cleared up by June and the US is functioning relatively normally (a decent possibility given what the current curve looks like), and a Worlds could be scheduled around July, you're going to have a lot of disappointed kids sitting at home while everyone else attends Worlds. That's why I think some gyms, especially high profile ones with a legit chance to win, might still be keeping the door open for that opportunity. Ultimately, I believe Worlds will be canceled, but as long as there's a possibility it happens, I respect gyms that didn't just throw in the towel right away and give up on that dream. It's kind of like a "it aint over until it's over" mentality, which I think graduating seniors especially might appreciate.

This is obviously an unprecedented and weird time and there's no perfect way to handle it because there are still so many unknowns. Ultimately, all gyms remain in limbo over when they can re-open, hold tryouts, and actually begin a new season, whether Worlds happens or not.
 
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Yes, every gym has different circumstances to consider when making this decision. It's easier to end the season right now if you have an At-Large Worlds bid and no chance to win or globe. Other gyms feel differently, and I respect everyone's choices/reasoning during this time.

If this Corona situation is pretty much cleared up by June and the US is functioning relatively normally (a decent possibility given what the current curve looks like), and a Worlds could be scheduled around July, you're going to have a lot of disappointed kids sitting at home while everyone else attends Worlds. That is why I think some gyms, especially high profile ones with a legit chance to win, might still be keeping the door open for that opportunity. Ultimately, I believe Worlds will be canceled, but as long as there's a possibility it happens, I respect gyms who didn't just throw in the towel right away and give up on that dream. It's kind of like a "it aint over until it's over" mentality, which I think graduating seniors especially might appreciate.

This is obviously an unprecedented and weird time and there's no perfect way to handle it because there are still so many unknowns. Ultimately, all gyms remain in limbo over when they can re-open, hold tryouts, and actually begin a new season, whether Worlds happens or not.

I will say Woodlands Elite World teams were paid. They had a great shot at Medaling and even bringing home some Gold medals. The gym still chose to end the season.
 
I will say Woodlands Elite World teams were paid. They had a great shot at Medaling and even bringing home some Gold medals. The gym still chose to end the season.

Yes, I'm sure there are a boatload of additional reasons for ending the season or keeping options open other than simply "are we capable of winning/globing at Worlds or not". For Woodlands Elite, they likely will have many more opportunities to globe at future Worlds.

If Varsity/USASF/Whoever would just outright cancel it, it would prevent gyms from being put in this difficult position.
 
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I don't know. I would consider ICE & WE and ECE to be pretty big players here. Big enough that I did a "wow" when I saw that they were done.

Each of those has more than one location and brings some significant contenders to both events.

Weird thought:

I think who stays and goes out of the Last Big Gyms Standing is going to depend a lot on the parents and specific team histories.

Example:

You may feel different about considering pulling a Worlds team from an event if (example) they are a defending champ team with mostly kids who are going out with rings from 2018, 2019, etc.

If your team has not gotten rings, been super close, you have seniors going out who have never gotten them, you missed the title super close last year, that parent pool/staff is going to feel differently.

Or maybe you're in a good season and you feel like this is the one. You feel differently than a team of folks who have been having a rough season.

Then completely diff feels if your team is mostly young but never quite in medal range. Decision-makers may feel like they have more years to come and it's okay to be done.

Ex: I'm sure an SE/Swoosh/Smoex parent feels a bit differently in the "stay or not" discussion than someone whose kid is on Stars/Panthers/Steel/SSX.

I have no idea how this is going to play out.

I don't think this has anything to do with who wants the medal more and who is "out for blood"... This has more to do with state governments forcing gyms to close and making the season close to impossible to finish out.

ECE is in MA with a stay-at-home order until May 4th.

ICE is in IL with a SAHO until April 30th.

Can't find MD's SAHO end date - might be open ended, but VA, right next door, is until June 10th.

I'll remind you that Varsity's rescheduled events go from May 16th to June 14th.

Some states have been slow to react. Not giving my opinion on what they should or shouldn't have done because every area's outbreak looks different right now. I think it's a matter of time before the other big gyms will be forced to end their seasons once more and more local and state governments start placing restricitions on daily activities. No US cities are at projected peak yet for COVID. Earliest for NYC looks like late April. Texas further out at mid-May.

Varsity hasn't said anything about their rescheduled events despite the federal government extending guidelines until two weeks before their first new comp dates. A lot of peaks are projected for May. State health boards in a handful of states are saying if you leave the state or travel to a city/state that is a hotspot, you must self-quarantine for 14 days. (Texas being one of those states so it's easy to see why WE, SoT, etc have ended as well despite Texas being slow to embrace isolation.) Besides all the complexities of athletes being out of the gym for 2 months, it'd be absurd for gyms to put families in a situation that requires them to self quarantine for 2 weeks for a youth sports competition. Knowing that unemployment projections are coming in at around 30% of the population at it's height, I don't think I could ask parents to extend the season so they can add another Disney trip to the next season when the world is in a global recession.
 
Looks like CA (at least Plano) has pulled out of Worlds and Summit based on all the posts I'm seeing.

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This is true (for CA Plano) Other CA gyms have different situations and are making their own decisions on their timeline. I can't speak for them at this point.
Thanks for confirming. Couldn't have been an easy decision to make, but I definitely think it was the right call.

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