All-Star Doing It All Over

[Just-a-Mom]

A couple of people have mentioned "the direction all-star cheer is heading" in this thread… what direction are you talking about? What do you find problematic with it? (This may be a whole other thread…"

Too pageant-y. The makeup is awful - glitter stars are OK, the smoky eyes and red lips is too much for me. The uniforms are getting way too sexy. The whole thing is definitely more about being fierce than athletic, and that's not what I want for my kids. Other people love it, so it's fine by me - it's just not for us. If you showed me a child from the neck up, I'd be hard pressed to tell you if they were entering a glitz pageant or a cheer competition.

The politics are certainly not exclusive to cheer, but I don't like it either way. The money is outrageous. My daughter dances now (Irish dance), and it's equally as expensive, but where the money goes is different. The EPs are the dance schools and the judges are certified and come from an international panel of judges.

Cheer just seems to be heading down the wrong path, with the wrong people making the decisions. The behind-the-scenes "wheeling and dealing" that goes on is just not worth my hard earned money. (again, not exclusive to cheer, but it's sooooooo prevalent in cheer it's disturbing)

It's hard to put into words but I hope this made sense.

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[njallday]

basically what @Just-a-Mom said.

there probably isn't a youth activity out there that is perfect, but most are moving forward and getting better. cheer, IMO is regressing.

for one, the cost is astronomical. (though for the most part comparable with high levels of other sports) this also depends on what region of the country you live in and what your priorities are. i'd be willing to pay an extra $10-$20 a month for a quality and certified coach, but monthly tuition isn't the only thing you pay for. add in the $300-$500 uniforms every 1-3 years. The $90 shoes every few months because they fall apart thanks to their shoddy craftsmanship. the mandatory $100 practice outfits, which are really just glorified bra and underwear. the $50 bow. the $50 required makeup sets. and then the travel. at the higher levels, i understand traveling to a larger nationals to then be able to travel to worlds/summit/etc. but (using stingrays as an example for a second) my tiny 1 three year old should not be required to travel to WSF-lousiville, CHEERSPORT-Atlanta (not totally traveling, fine), NCA-Dallas, UCA-Orlando in one season. sure i could go elsewhere, but then the quality instruction/coaches come back into play. because of the cost, cheer is also pricing out many families who would love to participate, which is just silly.

next, the laughable governing body. they're trying, i'll give them that. but when the coaches of the industry don't respect the leaders and their decisions, why even bother having one? they can't even stick to the same rules for more than one season. what sport do you know of that changes the rules every year? and then the gym owners and coaches basically riot and throw tantrums to get their way. or the "voting" on new rules where "Everyone's vote counts." until the results of the vote are taken to the "leaders" and they get to choose to do whatever they want anyway and turnover votes if they don't like the results.

the politics. which again, isn't exclusive to cheer. and it happens at all levels, but i'm going to use level 5 as an example right now because it's easy. look at the past few weeks of worlds bid winners and how the winning teams aren't getting paid. again, what sport do you know of that doesn't award the winner the top prize? like hey, your soccer team just won the championship, but we're going to name the other team the champions and give them the trophies. nope. doesn't happen. or the TG/CEA bid situation where the lovely film of the nice act happening includes the EP saying, I easily could have just made TG win if i wanted to, no questions asked (he didn't, because maybe he's a good guy, but the fact that he didn't even blink an eye shows that it is very easy to do and it clearly does happen)

which brings me to my next point. the scoring. why is it so easy for an EP to just change a score and choose a different winner if he so pleases? because the scoring is not live or public and it is extremely subjective. the universal scoresheet will be wonderful, but it isn't going to fix the biases and subjectivity of the scoring.

and then there is, of course, the new trend of slutty uniforms. and yes, i am straight up saying the word slutty. not the kids in them, but these new uniforms (if you can even call them that) are embarrassing and tasteless. I lose respect for and cannot take gyms seriously who are wearing them and you want the outside world to recognize you as a sport? it's not possible. (and here we are going full circle - as the governing body sees this trend happening and makes rules to combat it, the gym owners are throwing tantrums and using nude mesh, booty shorts, backless uniforms, and tube tops as a way to say eff you USASF. i also have a good feeling the full top ruling will be overturned before ever coming into effect because if they lose business, they can't make money)

and then there's the hair and makeup, which again as @Just-a-Mom said is pageantry. why does your five year old need hair bigger than their head (and a matching bow that weighs more than their heads), smokey eyes, and red lips? you can argue that it makes you feel "fierce" and that attitude makes you a better athlete all you want. you still look ridiculous. and you're doing nothing to make cheerleading look legitimate in the public's eye.

there's probably plenty more, but all i can think of at the moment. and all this coming from a kid who grew up in the sport. if i ever have a daughter (lord help me if i do) she will be proudly wearing a baggy jersey (with whatever bra she pleases underneath), shorts, and cleats. because i would refuse to put her in this "sport" if cheer continues to travel down this path. though i really hope it gets its act together, because i did love it.

 

[Tosh]

Alot going on here. I have not been in here for a while, but I am going to jump in with my 2 cents.....
Regarding the hair, makeup and uniforms.....I could not agree with you more. I remember the first time I saw a tiny in an all-star half top uni, with the big hair and very red lips.....And as mentioned above, the uniforms seem to be getting more and more outragous. However, the reason I wanted to chime in is to remind you all, that this is All-star, but there is High School cheer out there.....No it is not as glitzy, but it seems as though that is one of the major issues with AS. So why not do HS instead of quitting the sport all together. I know some think that HS is not as competitive, and in most cases you would be correct. However, there are many many great competitive HS and MS squads out there. All three my daughters cheered for HS and one did 1/2 year AS her senior year of HS because her college was more NCA style......but when its all said and done, HS worked out great for them. They are very competitive and has won UCA NHSCC Nationals more than once.
It would also appear that the changes being made on the HS side of cheer is alot of toning down. They went stopped the glitzy unis a few years ago and the girls started with the glitzy bows, and now, while not yet illegal, they are starting to frown upon the glitzy/rhinestone bows.......There are options/choices out there, make the one that best suit you and your standards. JMO

 

[Just-a-Mom]

Yes! @njallday all of that times a million. That's worded much better - and exactly what I was trying to say!

Everyone always compares the cost to other activities. But most activities don't start out at the top dollar level - a 3 year old taking Irish dance spends about $70/month and wears $40 shoes. It takes years to get to the really costly levels. A 5 year old playing soccer doesn't just walk out the front door for their first practice and walk onto a travel team that costs thousands of dollars per year. Most sports build up to the outrageous expense, but cheer just hits you with it before you even know if your child likes it.

I agree - the uniforms this season are embarrassing. I wouldn't put my 19 year old ADULT daughter in most of them - let alone my 11-year-old MINOR child.

And lastly... I'm just going to say it. Way too many people in bed with people they shouldn't be. Literally and figuratively. The US government has less scandals than cheer.

My daughter loved her years in cheer. Absolutely loved it - it changed her life. Even she, at the young age of 19, has said she would never put her child in cheer the way it is right now. Fortunately for the cheer industry, there are enough moms in the world that think red lipstick, a revealing top, and an inappropriate pose on a toddler are "fierce" and adorable - and they'll keep the industry going strong for years to come.

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[DropAndRun]

So.. My 8yo is in her 3rd year of cheer, wears a full top but a pretty large amount of makeup, some fake eyelashes, and hair extensions. (She has about 6 strands of hair)

I walked into this, saw the makeup, have seen the "politics" and the shiny and the sparkly.

But I love cheer and the comps and the people. (For the most part)

And I would choose it again.

Sorry, not sorry!

 

[quitthedrama]

@njallday - if there was ever a time that glitter shimmy that King was trying to give to us was needed, this is it. So although you can't see it, I am sitting in front of my laptop throwing glitter at your post. Well said!

 

[dustinfromdiamonds]

Things I would have done differently: not burned so many bridges.


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[dustinfromdiamonds]

Too pageant-y. The makeup is awful - glitter stars are OK, the smoky eyes and red lips is too much for me. The uniforms are getting way too sexy. The whole thing is definitely more about being fierce than athletic, and that's not what I want for my kids. Other people love it, so it's fine by me - it's just not for us. If you showed me a child from the neck up, I'd be hard pressed to tell you if they were entering a glitz pageant or a cheer competition.

The politics are certainly not exclusive to cheer, but I don't like it either way. The money is outrageous. My daughter dances now (Irish dance), and it's equally as expensive, but where the money goes is different. The EPs are the dance schools and the judges are certified and come from an international panel of judges.

Cheer just seems to be heading down the wrong path, with the wrong people making the decisions. The behind-the-scenes "wheeling and dealing" that goes on is just not worth my hard earned money. (again, not exclusive to cheer, but it's sooooooo prevalent in cheer it's disturbing)

It's hard to put into words but I hope this made sense.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Fierce Board mobile app

It's hard for me to talk about "politics". I've been apart of a big gym and I've been apart of a small gym. I've first hand experienced both sides of "politics". It is easy to justify a winner, and easier to justify a loser.

I don't feel like you can justly say the industry is becoming too "pageant like". Maybe I am biased because of the program I come from, but I see a very visible effort to combat this issue.


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[Cheer Dad]

I'm on a parent team that really does take what we do seriously, but have a lot of fun at it too; so we're working on full ups and low-high switch libs, and trying to do cartwheels! I'm 42, and not the oldest on the team, either. Cheerleading doesn't have to end when you "age out," find an open or parent/adult team and just have the fun without the stress and drama!

I did a parent hip hop team. Was an absolute blast to see how uncoordinated and rhythm deficient I am.

 

[Just-a-Mom]

It's hard for me to talk about "politics". I've been apart of a big gym and I've been apart of a small gym. I've first hand experienced both sides of "politics". It is easy to justify a winner, and easier to justify a loser.

I don't feel like you can justly say the industry is becoming too "pageant like". Maybe I am biased because of the program I come from, but I see a very visible effort to combat this issue.


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But I see equally as much visible effort to cause the issue.

I don't want to get into a big debate with everyone though. People like it and that's fine. It wasn't for us, so we've moved on. I still have lots of friends in cheer so I stick around to talk to them. When my kids started they wore turtle necks and star stickers and it was cute. Now there is tanning, cleavage, smoky eyes, red lips, the whole 9 yards. The look is very similar to the pageant look. The facials... the same. Judging... the same. It's very similar to me, and I think it's definitely not a coincidence how much overlap there is in girls who do both cheer and pageants.


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[SheCheers]

If I could do it all over again...I would've started cp sooner so she could be a 3yo with a back hand spring.

But seriously...she would definitely still be cheering because she truly loves it and I can't take that away from her. But I'd have definitely educated myself more. I don't know that by doing so, our journey would have been different, but at least is have the knowledge to make the best decisions. I'm sure minor details would be different and I'd probably back off even more and be more supportive less coachy, but overall am happy with what cheer has done for *my child*.

 

[stuntjumptumble]

@njallday beautifully worded, couldn't have said it better myself

 

[311cheermom]

I had suspected our gym was different from the mega-gym that resides less than an hour away. Our youth and under teams dont travel more than 2 hrs away. Makeup is basic, hair just a straight ponytail. Uniforms full top, even seniors. They definitely seem to put the whole child over the cheerleader and have managed to stay competitive at the worlds level over the last five years or so. Gym has been around a long time so maybe owner is holding on to the old ways just-a-mom speaks of.

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[Ashley]

This is very true. But there comes a time in every retired cheerleaders life, usually in college and usually after a little (or a lot) or liquid courage where they round up a couple more retired cheer friends and attempt a stunt. Usually nothing more than a prep. But this is always unsafe and always hilarious.

That's the closest I've ever come to cheering in college. That or the time I based a girl to add some balloons to the top of a balloon arch.

Attending the wedding of former cheerleaders is always fun. Especially if a lot of the guests are former cheerleaders. Stunting in formal wear is fun.

 

[njallday]

@njallday - if there was ever a time that glitter shimmy that King was trying to give to us was needed, this is it. So although you can't see it, I am sitting in front of my laptop throwing glitter at your post. Well said!

well thank you!! pretend i am spinning in circles with the glitter raining on me