Frustration With Scores

[CheerC0@ch]

Hi all! I'm looking for a little insight into what judges are looking for at competitions. I've been frustrated by teams with much less difficulty placing high (and not necessarily above my team- just in general). I think if you're competing in the advanced division, there are certain skills that you should HAVE to execute in order to even get a competitive score. I understand that judges like clean routines, however, if your team isn't attempting any of the elite partner stunts, such as full-ups. tick-tocks, or two-mans, should you really be competitive at the advanced level? If you hit a clean routine, but are only doing straight up libs throughout, do you really deserve to place above teams with maxed out difficulty with one or two drops? It's frustrating because I wonder why we are pushing ourselves all year long to master the elite stunts when other teams get by doing intermediate level skills.

 

[omgitssydthekid]

A "hit" routine will almost always beat a routine that doesn't hit, in my experience. A stunt fall is a .75 deduction, that's pretty steep. And if you have two of those, it's enough to take you from 1st to last in some divisions depending on the competition.

So your best bet is to compete the hardest skills you can hit clean 10/10 times. If something isn't hitting before a competition, water it down for the weekend. It's better to take a small hit in difficulty than to risk deductions/taking a big hit in technique.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cheer25mom]

This exactly. We have been to competitions where whole divisions only covered a 1 point spread. It isn't uncommon.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[CheerC0@ch]

Thank you for the responses. I understand how important it is to "hit," but shouldn't there be a certain threshold of difficulty in stunts/tumbling that teams should meet? As in, teams that compete in the advanced level should have to do full-ups to stretch/standing tucks/etc. I'm coming from a high school cheer background, btw (not sure how the requirements differ per level for All Stars). It's discouraging when teams that don't attempt any advanced skills place high just because they didnt drop straight-up libs and extensions.

 

[omgitssydthekid]

Thank you for the responses. I understand how important it is to "hit," but shouldn't there be a certain threshold of difficulty in stunts/tumbling that teams should meet? As in, teams that compete in the advanced level should have to do full-ups to stretch/standing tucks/etc. I'm coming from a high school cheer background, btw (not sure how the requirements differ per level for All Stars). It's discouraging when teams that don't attempt any advanced skills place high just because they didnt drop straight-up libs and extensions.

I was posting from an all-star perspective, so I'm not sure how the levels in your high school's state are divided up or what the scoresheet looks like.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CheerItFullOut]

Thank you for the responses. I understand how important it is to "hit," but shouldn't there be a certain threshold of difficulty in stunts/tumbling that teams should meet? As in, teams that compete in the advanced level should have to do full-ups to stretch/standing tucks/etc. I'm coming from a high school cheer background, btw (not sure how the requirements differ per level for All Stars). It's discouraging when teams that don't attempt any advanced skills place high just because they didnt drop straight-up libs and extensions.

A Good score, I believe almost always translates to three simple things: 1. does it look like its "easy" for your team to do...do the skills look "2nd nature" 2. Are the BONES of a good routine there? Is it well rounded, has difficulty and creativity but not so much that it's distracting (I.E. every skill is twist up or down or you have so many flip in and out transitions you can't tell if a stunt is starting or ending) and most important, does it showcase the BEST of what your team does well? is there a variety of skills?....or is the team showcasing ten different ways to do a heal stretch? 3. Are you giving them what they're asking for? if a score sheet has an area for tosses you have to treat tosses as a team necessity....1 nice kick full in transition to a pyramid sequence isn't going to get you anywhere if someone is featuring 3 well executed synced twist ride baskets regardless if they are not as difficult. its hard...all judges are different...all competitions are different...scoring will always be that foreign language we will always do our best to translate.

 

[WinstonsGirl]

It could be that those teams are working on or have those harder skills but have pulled them last minute for a variety of reasons - injury and changing the routine, something wasn't hitting well at practice, kids on vacation, etc.. I've pulled stunts team-wide because one wasn't hitting consistently the practice before competition. Pulling just the one would have offset the entire routine/formation, so everything got changed. Doesn't mean I don't plan on having it back in next competition. But I will always go for clean over difficult.

 

[Official OWECheer]

A Good score, I believe almost always translates to three simple things: 1. does it look like its "easy" for your team to do...do the skills look "2nd nature" 2. Are the BONES of a good routine there? Is it well rounded, has difficulty and creativity but not so much that it's distracting (I.E. every skill is twist up or down or you have so many flip in and out transitions you can't tell if a stunt is starting or ending) and most important, does it showcase the BEST of what your team does well? is there a variety of skills?....or is the team showcasing ten different ways to do a heal stretch? 3. Are you giving them what they're asking for? if a score sheet has an area for tosses you have to treat tosses as a team necessity....1 nice kick full in transition to a pyramid sequence isn't going to get you anywhere if someone is featuring 3 well executed synced twist ride baskets regardless if they are not as difficult. its hard...all judges are different...all competitions are different...scoring will always be that foreign language we will always do our best to translate.

This.