European Gyms Or Programs

[Miialovescheer]

HI! I know there is alot of european cheerleaders/coaches/parents on the boards and ive always wondered a bit why there is not alot of threads about your gyms or programs or even just a thread to discuss european cheer in general..

So i have a few questions. How many teams does your program have? what levels/ ages are they? is there an even spread betweens levels or do you think that you are heavier on the lower level or higher levels? How do your level system work? do you have an age cap or can you cheer how long you want?

something ive seen in sweden is the lack of coed teams just because getting boys is so hard do any of you have the same problem or do you even have any tips to the swedish gyms to get more boys??

And honestly i just wanted a thread like the canadian one where they tell which teams arequalified for worlds..

Ive tried searching for this but couldnt find anything so just tell me if there is a thread for this... and i did not mean for it to be annoying.. I dont even know how many people read the international forum..

 

[youbetterwork]

My gym has 9 teams:
Mini 1 (4-8 y/o)
Youth 1 (9-11)
Youth 3 (10-12)
Junior 1 (13-15)
Junior 3 (13-15)
Senior 2 (16+)
Senior 3 (16+)
Senior 6 (15+)
Junior/senior team that doesn't compete

We have a pretty even spread with levels and ages. However we have a lot less mini teams than most gyms in Sweden (at least in Stockholm)! I don't really know why that is.

Sweden has the same level rules as USA, but we don't have level 4, and youth is only up to level 3. Ages is pretty much the same for the younger ones, but the senior division doesn't have an age limit.

 

[Miialovescheer]

My gym has 9 teams:
Mini 1 (4-8 y/o)
Youth 1 (9-11)
Youth 3 (10-12)
Junior 1 (13-15)
Junior 3 (13-15)
Senior 2 (16+)
Senior 3 (16+)
Senior 6 (15+)
Junior/senior team that doesn't compete

We have a pretty even spread with levels and ages. However we have a lot less mini teams than most gyms in Sweden (at least in Stockholm)! I don't really know why that is.

Sweden has the same level rules as USA, but we don't have level 4, and youth is only up to level 3. Ages is pretty much the same for the younger ones, but the senior division doesn't have an age limit.

Yeah I know most of these things since i am a swede two but thank you for your answer! And i love Power cheer because of how good your teams are. Now what do you think the swedish federation can do for cheer to grow even more in sweden? and how do you think the level system can change? or do you like it as is? Thank you for your answer!

 

[youbetterwork]

Yeah I know most of these things since i am a swede two but thank you for your answer! And i love Power cheer because of how good your teams are. Now what do you think the swedish federation can do for cheer to grow even more in sweden? and how do you think the level system can change? or do you like it as is? Thank you for your answer!

Yeah I know, I was thinking for all the other people reading this thread I like the level system as it is! Hopefully we can have level 4 in a few years. I think one of the main things that we need is more transparent scoring and more competitions (JAMfest is coming to Sweden this year, it's a start)!

 

[Miialovescheer]

Yeah I know, I was thinking for all the other people reading this thread I like the level system as it is! Hopefully we can have level 4 in a few years. I think one of the main things that we need is more transparent scoring and more competitions (JAMfest is coming to Sweden this year, it's a start)!

yeah Its good for the others!! yeah level 4 would be a big plus. smetimes i think the step between level3 and 5/6 is to big for some. Yeah for me its more comps and finding out ways to atracct more boys.

 

[youbetterwork]

yeah Its good for the others!! yeah level 4 would be a big plus. smetimes i think the step between level3 and 5/6 is to big for some. Yeah for me its more comps and finding out ways to atracct more boys.

It's definitely a big step from level 3 to level 5! I think many teams would go for level 4 if we had that, but I understand why we have level 5 (qualification for Europeans and Worlds).

 

[Sharkie]

my gym offers mainly gymnastics, but also dance and ropeskipping. since last season they added cheerleading.
so far we have 3 teams:
kids (age 7-12)
juniors (11-16)
senior (15 and older)
kids and juniors are allgirl, senior is coed.
i can't say which level we are. it's a mix of levels. i have some coming from my old gym who are more experianced and some that are completely new.

we have 1 national competition in Belgium. for other competitions we travel to France, Germany and the UK.
we have the following age-divisions at our nationals:
mini (8 years and younger)
peewee (8-12yrs)
junior (12-16)
senior (15 and older)
we dont have levels so much. for seniors they can choose either senior cheer or senior cheer beginner.
the first one is level 5 and can get you qualified for ecu europeans and icu worlds. the senior beginner is ment for new starting teams so they have a fair change and get some competition experiance. they are allowed to do basic stunting, but no baskettosses and extension lib must be braced by a prep. also tumbling is more basic. senior groupstunt is level 6.
junior team + groupstunt is level 5.
peewee and mini are the same rules as senior beginner.
our country is new to cheerleading so there are not many teams.

 

[Miialovescheer]

my gym offers mainly gymnastics, but also dance and ropeskipping. since last season they added cheerleading.
so far we have 3 teams:
kids (age 7-12)
juniors (11-16)
senior (15 and older)
kids and juniors are allgirl, senior is coed.
i can't say which level we are. it's a mix of levels. i have some coming from my old gym who are more experianced and some that are completely new.

we have 1 national competition in Belgium. for other competitions we travel to France, Germany and the UK.
we have the following age-divisions at our nationals:
mini (8 years and younger)
peewee (8-12yrs)
junior (12-16)
senior (15 and older)
we dont have levels so much. for seniors they can choose either senior cheer or senior cheer beginner.
the first one is level 5 and can get you qualified for ecu europeans and icu worlds. the senior beginner is ment for new starting teams so they have a fair change and get some competition experiance. they are allowed to do basic stunting, but no baskettosses and extension lib must be braced by a prep. also tumbling is more basic. senior groupstunt is level 6.
junior team + groupstunt is level 5.
peewee and mini are the same rules as senior beginner.
our country is new to cheerleading so there are not many teams.

Thank you for your answer. You may not have much cheer in your country but before you know it you will have lots! And the whole ompetition thing is something i can see with swedish cheer too but we are growing over here so maybe in a few years you will to!

 

[Miialovescheer]

It's definitely a big step from level 3 to level 5! I think many teams would go for level 4 if we had that, but I understand why we have level 5 (qualification for Europeans and Worlds).

Yeah ist better than before! Ging from what i think is like level 2/3 (intermidiate) to level 6 is a bigger step. The team i root for won level 5 at nationals (not that i dont root for Eagles i totally do. winning nationals so many years in a row is really good and they will get it back! Envy is just closer because it is my closest team location vise.)

 

[elsa]

i think finnish and swedish cheerleading are really close, like all the levels seem to be really similar. and i can totally feel your pain about the coed teams! our program is one of the biggest programs in finland and still my team is having a difficult time trying to find boys.. its hard to find a 15 year old boy who wants to do cheer when almost every boy i know is already playing hockey or football

 

[Miialovescheer]

i think finnish and swedish cheerleading are really close, like all the levels seem to be really similar. and i can totally feel your pain about the coed teams! our program is one of the biggest programs in finland and still my team is having a difficult time trying to find boys.. its hard to find a 15 year old boy who wants to do cheer when almost every boy i know is already playing hockey or football

yeah that is a problem. in sweden i think we have 2 truly coed teams and a few with one boy on them but i can be wrong. yeah fotball or handball is the biggest sports where i live and getting boys to skip them is hard. and we even have team gym teams with boys on them down here. what do the team gym programs do right that the cheer programs need to learn? sometimes i ask myself that.

 

[Austriancheer]

In Austria we change the rule/ level system 1 1/2 year ago. Now we operate in levels but they are limited to age categories:
Level 1 - just tiny age
Level 2 - just mini
Level 3 - just youth (up to 13 years)
Level 4 - junior or seniors
Level 5 - juniors or seniors
Level 6 - just seniors

I think one main problem is that the level system isnt equal to other countries. For example, i coach a level 3 youth team, but when we want to go to international competitions, like slovenia or germany, we cant compete in our normal level because this countries dont have them :/

 

[Miialovescheer]

In Austria we change the rule/ level system 1 1/2 year ago. Now we operate in levels but they are limited to age categories:
Level 1 - just tiny age
Level 2 - just mini
Level 3 - just youth (up to 13 years)
Level 4 - junior or seniors
Level 5 - juniors or seniors
Level 6 - just seniors

I think one main problem is that the level system isnt equal to other countries. For example, i coach a level 3 youth team, but when we want to go to international competitions, like slovenia or germany, we cant compete in our normal level because this countries dont have them :/

Yeah that with age can be a struggle. in sweden you arent reallya allowed to compete before you are 10 (i think) and youth is up to 13 as well junior is 13-16 and seniors is 16 and up. I like that you have the level system but isnt it hard to be a junior or senior and being new to cheer?

 

[randomactsofcheer]

In Austria we change the rule/ level system 1 1/2 year ago. Now we operate in levels but they are limited to age categories:
Level 1 - just tiny age
Level 2 - just mini
Level 3 - just youth (up to 13 years)
Level 4 - junior or seniors
Level 5 - juniors or seniors
Level 6 - just seniors

I think one main problem is that the level system isnt equal to other countries. For example, i coach a level 3 youth team, but when we want to go to international competitions, like slovenia or germany, we cant compete in our normal level because this countries dont have them :/

I am very excited to see there is all-star cheer in Austria! We spend a lot of time visiting our family there during the summer. My CP really wanted to see a European gym and I was hoping to find her a place to work-out last year but my cousin couldn't find one. But I also think she didn't understand me when I described cheerleading to her.

 

[Austriancheer]

I am very excited to see there is all-star cheer in Austria! We spend a lot of time visiting our family there during the summer. My CP really wanted to see a European gym and I was hoping to find her a place to work-out last year but my cousin couldn't find one. But I also think she didn't understand me when I described cheerleading to her.

When you are in Austria, where do you stay?
Maybe I can help you find a Gym for your Next visit