All-Star Do All Your Teams/parents Sit Together At Competitions?

[TheRealAlishaD]

Without a doubt, our parents sit together. We usually just follow the band lol. We like to show support for every team from Tiny 1 all the way to Sr 5, and we come out in massive numbers, our parents are the best. For the lower levels, it's pretty easy for our parents to sit together because there's usually not a big crowd of spectators is the arena, so they tend to find a huge group of seats with ease. Now, for level 3 on up, it gets tricky. A lot of times our parents just arrive at the event super early and scope out some good seats and before you know it, the arena is flooded with Red, Black and Gold and the sound of drums and the Fire Siren lol. I LOVE our parents =)

 

[MomOf2ThatsMe]

We try to all sit together...at the big comps (like NCA) it's impossible in the arena but we were able to all sit in the bleachers in Hall B when our girls competed.
At SC Nationals a lady got on me because she was trying to save 6 rows for her gym by herself! We went to sit down and she threw herself across the seats screaming "THESE ARE ALL SAVED!!!" I said "Yeah right, let me know how that works out for you...." She did this to every gym that tried to sit down but most of them ignored her and she got more and more mad. I think she held 3 rows by the time her gym showed up...lol
Nothing beats the all out brawls that break out at comps over seating! I've seen people "escorted" out of the comp because they actually got physical...over seats.....

We went to a local about... three weeks ago I guess. Same thing, a big group of people got up and left, a husband and wife from our gym came into the gym and saw empty seats, sat down. The group came back, had a fit, threw a drink on the mom, verbal altercation ensued, and the cops ended up involved. Over two seats in bleachers...

 

[5-6-7-8]

A related question...

Are your teams required to stay all day and watch other teams from the gym? So either coming early for the younger teams and/or staying late for the older ones? (I can ask this in a different thread but I think it goes with the OP.).

 

[Mom2K]

We try to all sit together...at the big comps (like NCA) it's impossible in the arena but we were able to all sit in the bleachers in Hall B when our girls competed.
At SC Nationals a lady got on me because she was trying to save 6 rows for her gym by herself! We went to sit down and she threw herself across the seats screaming "THESE ARE ALL SAVED!!!" I said "Yeah right, let me know how that works out for you...." She did this to every gym that tried to sit down but most of them ignored her and she got more and more mad. I think she held 3 rows by the time her gym showed up...lol
Nothing beats the all out brawls that break out at comps over seating! I've seen people "escorted" out of the comp because they actually got physical...over seats.....

Hmm...wonder if that was the crazy cheer mom from our old gym? LOL She gets there when the doors open no matter what to save seats. If we got there early, she would start grabbing for OUR bags to spread all over the section, and tell my cp to move to another row to save those too. She also decided who got the "best" seats, saving certain ones for specific people.

I have to say though, that NCA was such a nice change. We had teams in different halls, at widely different times and there was no seat saving. I really enjoyed sitting with people from other gyms from around the country instead of the same ones I see all the time anyway.

 

[Just-a-Mom]

A related question...

Are your teams required to stay all day and watch other teams from the gym? So either coming early for the younger teams and/or staying late for the older ones? (I can ask this in a different thread but I think it goes with the OP.).

We've always been asked/told to at the gyms I've been with before. Sometimes this is just too much to ask though--when you're a couple hours from home, it's Sunday night, etc. And I won't lie, sometimes when I'm there at 7 AM to watch my Mini and then all the older kids start getting there at 2:00 in the afternoon and expect us to stay and watch them...I don't always feel it's necessary unless my older daughter is on one of the later teams. Selfish? Yes. But sometimes I just feel like "Hey, you get what you give. Where were you at 7 this morning when my baby was giving it her all?"

In short, if it's required of everyone, then it should be required of everyone. Why ask me to stay and cheer on Senior 5 when they were nowhere to be found for Mini 1?

Our first gym it was reeeeally required that you be there for all teams--as in if you weren't, you had better have been excused by the owner (which did happen--she wasn't evil, if you had schoolwork etc. she was fine as long as she knew in advance. Don't try to go to her at 4:00 that day and say you gotta go!). The girls who left early had extra conditioning at the next practice.

 

[SheCheers]

We are required to stay and support all the teams. If our level 1 team has to be there at 7am, so does level 5. I feel bad for the older girls because I know people sneak out/leave early when everyone was there to support them.

 

[TheRealAlishaD]

I think alot....or some gyms may follow the "sister team" rule. Teams A, B, C and D support each other and Teams E, F, and G are there for each other. From my experience, having your Tiny/Mini teams there at the crack of dawn and expect them to stay until your Level 5 team performs at 5pm isn't a realistic expectation. What 5 year old is going to do that with a smile? After being at the arena at 7am, by noon or 1pm, my girls enter whine mode and that's just not good for anyone.

 

[Just-a-Mom]

I think alot....or some gyms may follow the "sister team" rule. Teams A, B, C and D support each other and Teams E, F, and G are there for each other. From my experience, having your Tiny/Mini teams there at the crack of dawn and expect them to stay until your Level 5 team performs at 5pm isn't a realistic expectation. What 5 year old is going to do that with a smile? After being at the arena at 7am, by noon or 1pm, my girls enter whine mode and that's just not good for anyone.

LOL--yes! Sometimes I feel like if I have to hear "How much loooonger?" one more time I might just lose it. She's almost 9 now so it's not as bad, but her first year was rough trying to get her to stay allll day. I also rarely see Level 5 teams there at 7 AM to cheer on Tiny/Mini teams. Maybe a handful of the older kids, but I can't recall ever seeing a whole Senior 5 team there to cheer on Mini's.

 

[xbtmom]

LOL--yes! Sometimes I feel like if I have to hear "How much loooonger?" one more time I might just lose it. She's almost 9 now so it's not as bad, but her first year was rough trying to get her to stay allll day. I also rarely see Level 5 teams there at 7 AM to cheer on Tiny/Mini teams. Maybe a handful of the older kids, but I can't recall ever seeing a whole Senior 5 team there to cheer on Mini's.

At our gym we try to sit together. We have our team moms send out texts to everyone letting them know where we are sitting. It is hard to get 300 parents together. I know that I do my best to at least try to sit with my daughter's team families.

We are very lucky at local competitions that we have almost all of the level five cheerleaders at the competitions to watch all day starting with the tiny teams. We don't require it, but they show up early on their own and then have to stay till the very end. I have had to get up early many times to drive over an hour to watch our tiny team at 8 am and my daughter doesn't go on until 9 pm.

If we are away at a competition we then require that the cheerleaders are present to cheer on the other teams from our gym. We also try to go cheer on teams from our area too.

 

[Just-a-Mom]

At our gym we try to sit together. We have our team moms send out texts to everyone letting them know where we are sitting. It is hard to get 300 parents together. I know that I do my best to at least try to sit with my daughter's team families.

We are very lucky at local competitions that we have almost all of the level five cheerleaders at the competitions to watch all day starting with the tiny teams. We don't require it, but they show up early on their own and then have to stay till the very end. I have had to get up early many times to drive over an hour to watch our tiny team at 8 am and my daughter doesn't go on until 9 pm.

If we are away at a competition we then require that the cheerleaders are present to cheer on the other teams from our gym. We also try to go cheer on teams from our area too.

Hopefully whatever gym we end up at next season does this. I really like when everyone cheers everyone on. I know most gyms at least try to do this--and I'm seeing it more and more now.

 

[xbtmom]

That

Hopefully whatever gym we end up at next season does this. I really like when everyone cheers everyone on. I know most gyms at least try to do this--and I'm seeing it more and more now.

It Is one of my favorite parts about our gym is going to the competitions and cheering everyone on. I feel so bad for the teams that have only a handful of peoe cheering them on in the VIP section. It may be a long day, but it worth it when you see how excited the little ones get when the "big kids" come and watch and cheer for them while they are performing.

Good luck on your search for a gym. I have read a lot of your posts and I am very impressed with your ideals for a gym for your cheerleaders. Research thoroughly and find the gym that feels right to you. Your gut feeling is usually the way to go. I had a bad feeling about some gyms we thought about and I am so glad we made the decision to go where we did. It's not only a winning record that matters...the environment means a lot too.

 

[Just-a-Mom]

That

It Is one of my favorite parts about our gym is going to the competitions and cheering everyone on. I feel so bad for the teams that have only a handful of peoe cheering them on in the VIP section. It may be a long day, but it worth it when you see how excited the little ones get when the "big kids" come and watch and cheer for them while they are performing.

Good luck on your search for a gym. I have read a lot of your posts and I am very impressed with your ideals for a gym for your cheerleaders. Research thoroughly and find the gym that feels right to you. Your gut feeling is usually the way to go. I had a bad feeling about some gyms we thought about and I am so glad we made the decision to go where we did. It's not only a winning record that matters...the environment means a lot too.

Aw thanks! Yes, we've narrowed it down to 2 or 3. We love the one we're with, but it's just too expensive. It'd be one thing if they all cost that much, but I've found 3 that are closer to me and about $100/month cheaper! We have 2 comps left, so I thought I'd check out the other gyms at comp too (I think you can see a lot of their environment even away from their gym). And we'll visit each one once or twice in April. That way by May we'll be ready to go!

My girls know I love to stay and watch the whole comp anyway--and now my little one is getting used to it. Plus she's getting big enough that watching the older girls is motivating for her. And you're right--she looooooooves when the Seniors cheer her little Mini team on. One of them yelled "Get it Mini's!!!" at her last comp last season and she cracked up laughing on the mat!

 

[AllHeartxo3]

I think you've pretty much been answered on this, but I'll chime in too. You should go read the competition pet peeves thread in the Newbie section--"saving seats" is posted at least a dozen times. Trust me, people don't "understand".

Back to topic--we always sit together at smaller comps where everyone is competing at roughly the same time (morning, afternoon etc.) but at bigger comps it's too difficult. And like everyone said at comps where there is priority seating, that's really when we get together. I'm usually too busy running around because my kids are such different ages, one of them is always coming or going.

And I totally agree about sitting up higher--those people in the seats on the floor are on their own!

i think because we had a smaller team. not every parent sat together on the team, but most did. I can see if you have a big team with a lot of parents it's annoying, but we got there early enough so if everyone who wanted to sit with us could.

 

[5-6-7-8]

I think the "sister" team is a great idea. No one is around to cheer on our tiny / minis and I certainly get that it is hard to stick around with a 5 year old. But we try to stay for as many teams as we can. My CP actually loves being able to go in the VIP seating where the energy is usually very high.

 

[kristenthegreat]

I'll just say that as a college student on an Open 6 team, I got up and went to see minis on day 2 of Jamfest AC. And that was the earliest I'd gotten up since I'd moved into college the year before. I was sooo tired. But attempted to be cheerful..