Crazy ideas for improving the all-star industry

[ohkcheery]

I really do get that the East teams don't want to have to pay the kind of money currently being paid by the West teams to travel. (It's pretty much the same difference to the Texas teams.) However, I think that the cost savings in potentially avoiding DisneyWorld would MORE than make up the difference in flight costs.

True, and if that's the case, why have it in a Disney-central area then anyway? If you aren't going to go to Disney, it doesn't need to be in Anaheim or Orlando. It could be in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Las Vegas, etc. I say if the location is going to change, move away from the more expensive states and put it somewhere cheap and cheap to get to for the travelers of the bunch.
edit to say Kingston, I just read your post above and completely agree..
Requiring USASF membership is a great idea.. it would take a lot of the burden off of the L5s and would create a ton of revenue for events/scholarships/operating costs/etc :thumbs up:

 

[pctmom]

At the risk of putting forth a truly crazy idea...how about moving Worlds to another country? Yes I know the majority of cheerleading teams of "world's caliber" come from the US. But if the mandate is to help the world develop than making this a true international competition in a location other than the US would help the situation. The expense, travel time, visas and planning that it takes to send a team to Worlds is astronomical and I don't think fully appreciated by those of you talking about flying to Florida for $500 or to Cali for $700.

Just a crazy suggestion from the R.O.W. (rest of the world).

 

[gerrymd8]

How about this crazy idea....USASF Level tests that match the current rules and are also spell checked, along with appropriate punctuation? Seriously, the "leaders" in the cheer world should spend a few dollars on correcting the certification process. And by the way, if there are any insiders that follow this board, I would PERSONALLY love to hear from you.

 

[BlueCat]

True, and if that's the case, why have it in a Disney-central area then anyway? If you aren't going to go to Disney, it doesn't need to be in Anaheim or Orlando. It could be in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Las Vegas, etc. I say if the location is going to change, move away from the more expensive states and put it somewhere cheap and cheap to get to for the travelers of the bunch.

I would be all for that, but for 2 reasons:

1. I assume USASF has a contract with Disney. I'm guessing a move to DisneyLand would be the only other place negotiable with them.

2. There are people, particularly foreign teams and first timers, who see Disney as a big draw. Many, in fact, come in for several days or even weeks extra. You need to have them be close to something touristy.


Moving to another country - While I can see adding maybe $75-100 to some peoples' airfare, adding several hundred dollars to nearly everyone's airfare is not realistic.

 

[Jessica]

1. I assume USASF has a contract with Disney. I'm guessing a move to DisneyLand would be the only other place negotiable with them.

I would imagine if there is a contract it is with Disney World then Disney Land wouldnt be negotiable because although they are essentially under the same company they are very different

Also i agree and think that moving it away from Disney would be nice..... personally i have been to way too many cheer comps at disney and they are really expensive

Rotating it between FL, GA, MA, TN, TX, IL etc would be nice

(and i think Atlanta would be nice of course)

 

[tumbleyoda]

How about this crazy idea....USASF Level tests that match the current rules and are also spell checked, along with appropriate punctuation? Seriously, the "leaders" in the cheer world should spend a few dollars on correcting the certification process. And by the way, if there are any insiders that follow this board, I would PERSONALLY love to hear from you.

How about it being a real test instead of one that can be passed in 3 minutes if you have a headache?

 

[Level5Mom]

#14 - USASF should REQUIRE membership of all athletes competing at USASF-sactioned events

I would propose that it become mandatory for every competition to require USASF membership for ALL athletes at ALL the levels. (possible exception - Special Needs.) This would spread out the burden of supporting the USASF more fairly among all parts of the industry and alleviate some the pressure to make Worlds massively profitable. You would then be freed up to either lower the costs of Worlds a bit OR spend more money to make it an even better experience.

To go along with this, each membership needs to be accompanied with an athlete identification card that has only been issued after a birth certificate and photo have been sent. The card should have an electronic swipe bar on it, that has all of the athletes information on it, and the picture should be on the front. When an athlete checks in at competition, the employee would check the picture against the card, and swipe the card and enter the division they are competing in. It should all be electronic with the USASF database. THIS WOULD ALLOW CONTROL of crossovers, which is the number one reason why the USASF rules committee has dumped the topic over the last few years: lack of control. The id card would also be used to verify that athletes are age appropriate for the levels in which they are competing. No card, no compete.

How do we pay for all this? The USASF membership requires a $25 annual fee and must be renewed with a new picture annually.

 

[Mclovin]

BlueCat -- I cannot believe you started this topic on a week that I am so busy at work I cannot take the time to reply! lol I have so many things I want to say. I hope this topic is still active when I actually get a chance to sit down and type. GREAT TOPIC!!!!

 

[Hi! It's me!]

#14 - USASF should REQUIRE membership of all athletes competing at USASF-sactioned events

I would propose that it become mandatory for every competition to require USASF membership for ALL athletes at ALL the levels. (possible exception - Special Needs.) This would spread out the burden of supporting the USASF more fairly among all parts of the industry and alleviate some the pressure to make Worlds massively profitable. You would then be freed up to either lower the costs of Worlds a bit OR spend more money to make it an even better experience.

To go along with this, each membership needs to be accompanied with an athlete identification card that has only been issued after a birth certificate and photo have been sent. The card should have an electronic swipe bar on it, that has all of the athletes information on it, and the picture should be on the front. When an athlete checks in at competition, the employee would check the picture against the card, and swipe the card and enter the division they are competing in. It should all be electronic with the USASF database. THIS WOULD ALLOW CONTROL of crossovers, which is the number one reason why the USASF rules committee has dumped the topic over the last few years: lack of control. The id card would also be used to verify that athletes are age appropriate for the levels in which they are competing. No card, no compete.

How do we pay for all this? The USASF membership requires a $25 annual fee and must be renewed with a new picture annually.

I absolutely agree with membership and ID cards. Heck we are required to do this in soccer. No card then get off the field. We pay a nominal membership, we don't have to show our birth certificate every year unless you change organizations and they have a central data base that they check the athletes against each year ( no way was my son U16 last year and suddenly U14 this year!). It keeps the cheaters from cheating and is safer overall for everyone.

 

[BlueCat]

Perhaps this should have been split into different topics? or under a different heading? This is probably getting a little difficult to follow.

 

[BlueCat]

The ideal situation is a city with plenty of hotels, easy to get around, plenty of attractions so people have things to do, and a good facility to compete at that is cheap!

Viva Las Vegas!

 

[mg8923]

Chicago!!!

 

[100%PCM]

Here is one for someone to analize....When a team starts a season at a specific level you stay that level or you can move UP, but not down. At our gym the level of the teams is pre-determined at try-outs and then tweaked over the summer depending on skills that were lost or gained. By the first competition, you register a certain level and I think there should be some authority that you report this to and keeps track of it. Then, over the course of the season, you are allowed to move up levels if your team gains new skills, but not allowed to drop a level to gain an advantage or earn a jacket at a large competition. Of course, injury and loss of athletes throughout the season would be something that would need to be addressed, but the ultimate goal is to eliminate gyms from dropping just to win. I have already heard rumors of a local gym dropping a level 5 to a level 3 to win at NCA this year and it irritates me that they feel that they have to do that. Hopefully, it's just a rumor.

 

[BlueCat]

Many have put a lot of time and thought into this subject (keeping teams from changing levels). While most people agree that it is an issue, no one has been able to come up with any workable solutions.

To start with, there really isn't any agreement on what level any particular athlete should be (beyond the obvious.) Some programs may view an athlete as L5 because she has a solid full. Others may keep her L4 because her triple toe back is a little inconsistent. Not all "Level 4" (or 3, 2 etc) teams are made up of similar athletes, so competition results are not always indicative of the quality of the coaching. Taking a set of athletes who start the season with shaky handspring backs and are "close" to standing backs and competing them against a set of athletes who have perfect layouts and standing backs to start with really doesn't fairly compare the coaching jobs done by the two programs.

This is one of the downsides of judging programs too much by their results at competitions. You clearly increase dramatically your winning percentage (short term, at least) by keeping teams at the lower end of their level range. (or from another perspective - being very restrictive about moving athletes up levels.) Again, you can claim that "everything is still a perfectly even playing field because of the level guidelines", but I wholeheartedly disagree with that.

However, there simply is no way to regulate this that I can see. Some people's "perfection before progression" is another's "sandbagging." There is no "right" answer.

 

[cheermommaRN]

1. How about Worlds held at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium???? The DCC has started dabbling in all star cheer and just held a competition there earlier this season....why not a Worlds level comp?
2. I don't agree with standardizing like figure skating or level 2-5 gymnastics. Have you ever been to a gymnastics comp where they compete the same routine? By the end of the day you want to throw yourself under a bus. But what about a skills section...sort of like the old figures of skating? Back in the day you had to compete figures one day and then short/long program other days. What if teams had to meet on Friday and demonstrate to a panel of judges their ability to do the skills in their levels...no flashy music....tank/shorts...just the team and judges. Then that score is added into their performance score the next day.
3. I agree that every couple years Worlds should be taken out of the country...I'm sure people will have issues with the cost but how about all of the teams that travel here EVERY YEAR.
4. Anaheim has an extensive transit system called ART (Anaheim Resort Transit) that covers the whole "Anaheim Resort" area. They provide shuttles from pretty much every hotel in the area straight to Disney or the Convention center. I would personally like to see Worlds away from Disney, if only to make the sport more legitimate.
5. And I completely disagree with event promoters being on the USASF board. It should be a mix of gym owners (small and large) and that's it.