All-Star Jamfest Supernationals And Special Needs Teams- No Jackets

[My3KidsMom]

 

[peytonnmariee]

opps, too late for me to edit my other one. but at jamfest super nationals, before one of my teams standings in one of the arenas, was ultimate athletics special needs team... they had the be the cutest things ever!<3 well, i thought it was SO sweet how the athletes who helped out the kids on the special needs team at ua wore all black, instead of their uniform. but the athletes on the special needs team obivsouly wore their uniform! i thought it made the athletes on the special needs team stand out, and showing that it was all about them..not the helpers. i dont know if this was done intentionally for that reason or for another reason, but i liked it! and others commented on how cool that was!

 

[My3KidsMom]

I'm sure you can tell who are the helpers for us although most of them won't be on stage for cheersport because the routine is changing and most of the helpers won't be on stage with them.

 

[icecheer1395]

I think they should get jackets, the competition is obviously making a ton of money and I don't think it would be that much of their profit to get the special needs teams jackets.

&whoever coaches special needs teams should get a worlds ring, that really takes a special person to do.

 

[ACEDAD]

Jamfest does not score the teams, so all special needs teams are exhibitioning. I'm fine with them not getting jackets at Jamfest because they aren't competing. They typically are awarded participation medals. The Jamfest philosophy on this (and I've had lots of discussions with them about it) is that the athletes should NOT be judged and they do not intend to have them judged. I disagree (and will detail why in a moment) but it's their belief, it's their competition and it's their right to run it like they want. They do not charge any fees to the special needs teams (like virtually all other EP's) and treat them like royalty. Jamfest is wonderful to the special needs division and I love what their staff have done over the years.

NCA does score the teams. The winners get the same jackets as all NCA winners. I'm very happy with how NCA is running the division and I'm really looking forward to seeing the teams this year. Historically (but I'm not sure if they will do it this year), Justin Carrier has even gone to the center of the arena and read an announcement discussing the special needs scoring so that everyone has a chance to understand why they are doing it. The division has done very well at NCA.

Cheersport is the "granddaddy" of the division. We made our debut with Kentucky Elite in January 2002 and the division has done amazing since then. Additional teams started competing in 2003 and the division has grown to where we will have 15 cheerleading and 2 dance teams at Cheersport Nationals next month. They do compete and Cheersport ranks the teams. With the number of teams now, there are actually two divisons. From the first, Cheersport decided the teams would get jackets and they have awarded the letterman's jackets from when they were first introduced. When a new athlete competes at Cheersport, they get a jacket after awards. For additional years, the athlete receives a patch identifying them as a participant. If they athlete outgrows their jacket, Cheersport will provide them with a replacement. The Cheersport belief is that every athlete deserves a right to compete against other athletes in similar circumstances. But their effort makes them all champions and that's why they receive the jackets. Cheersport also throws a pizza party for all the special needs teams, their coaches and families on Saturday night. We're expecting more than 650 people at the party this year. All of this costs the teams $0. Cheersport has also helped support the application of specific rules (essentially level 3 with some exceptions) and a specific score sheet for the division.

As to scoring the teams: Yes. Without a doubt, yes. Special Olympics have been running competitions for 40+ years without harming the athletes, so I think we will probably be okay. To be frank, there are generally two types of athletes that I've been able to work with and meet over the years. Some of them have severe disabilities and are probably not completely award of the aspects of competing. For them, the scoring is irrelevent. But a great many know exactly what competing and winning and losing is all about. And for them, the scoring is very important. They want to know how they did. Will a 16 year old on a special needs team understand winning and losing like other 16 year olds? Maybe not, but they will understand it like others that are 14 or 11 or 9 or 7. Do those age athletes know about winning or losing? You bet they do.

And it's also important for the parents. Not a lot of them will necessarily admit it, but I know from the hundreds of parents that I've met over the last 10 years. I know it in the way they say "thank you" and have to stop. Because it's very important that they are able to provide their child a chance to compete and share the stage with the hundreds of other athletes competing. NO OTHER SPORT IN THE WORLD lets all these groups compete together at one time.

It's all important and this sport has benefited tremendously from the generousity shown be everyone over the last 10 years. The phrase "you get more than you give" has never been more true.

I want to share a letter that I received several years ago from Pam Murphy. Her daughter had just joined the new special needs team at Midwest Cheer Elite. If I ever need a "pick me up", I read this letter and all bad things in my life go away. She's allowed me to share this letter.

Dear Mr. Presson,

Here is a link to an article in the Cincinnati Enquirer about my daughter. She’s five and is a charter member of the Midwest Cheer Elite Firecats, their special needs cheer team. We’ve been honored to be part of this program this year, and look forward to many years to come with Midwest!

Amelia’s faced many challenges in her life. She has Spina Bifida, Hydrocephalus, Arnold Chiari Malformation Type II, Growth Hormone Deficiency, a heart defect, difficulty eating, and vision issues. But you’d never guess that she’s got ANY problems when you see her walk into the Midwest gym each week. Everyone at the gym greets her like she’s royalty, and she feels as much a part of the program as the most seasoned co-ed athletes. Having no background in cheerleading I was pretty skeptical of entering into the cheerleading world, but I have been 100% impressed by everything I’ve seen. The athletes, parents, and coaches at Midwest have welcomed our children as equal parts of the gym from day one. The spectators at the competitions have stood clapping after our kids gave incredible performances. The organizers have waived fees so that our families, who face countless medical bills, don’t have to worry about yet another expense for our children.

Yes, we love the people at Midwest, too. Like I said earlier, we’ve gotten so much this year out of the experience! I could ramble on and on about everything the whole family has learned from our year with the Firecats and Midwest. Amelia has learned teamwork and cooperation. She’s gotten stronger and braver and learned not to be afraid of loud noises or crowds. She’s proud of being part of a team and thrilled to be an athlete in a real gym. My other daughters are jealous of her and love to come to competitions and watch Amelia run out on the mat and do her routine. I’ve made such great friends with the other parents this year – and have been able to form lasting relationships with others who go through difficult journeys themselves.

And all that is after only one year!

You should have seen the day Tanya and four other coaches from Midwest came into Amelia’s hospital room to visit and suggested that they teach one of the doctors how to do a basket! It was hilarious! It immediately cheered up Amelia and made us laugh for hours. The nurses kept asking us if all those people were our family and we looked at each other, shrugged, and said yes.

Thank you and the sport of cheerleading for welcoming our children, who truly ARE the same as other children. Thank you for finding them a place in your sport. Thank you to Midwest Cheer Elite for being one of the first to show our children how great they are!

Pam Murphy,
Proud mom of a cheerleader

 

[MomOf2ThatsMe]

Spirit of Hope scheduled each of the SN teams to get awards during different awards ceremonies, so they were all called as National Champions, got their trophy & banner, and their "moment".

 

[NJ Coach]

As someone who has been involved with Special Olympics since I was a little kid, I know those athletes deserve to be scored. Give them a jacket, don't give them a jacket, but score them. At Special Olympics, everyone gets something...but the top 3 get medals...no different than the Olympics. They know and understand what competition is. If they get a 4th place ribbon, they know they need to work harder for the bronze, ect.

I have been involved in several different Special Olympic sports, and each had it's own way of keeping the playing field level...but the constant throughout it all was competition.

These athletes don't place limits on themselves, why should we?

 

[Deleted member 1556]

As someone who has been involved with Special Olympics since I was a little kid, I know those athletes deserve to be scored. Give them a jacket, don't give them a jacket, but score them. At Special Olympics, everyone gets something...but the top 3 get medals...no different than the Olympics. They know and understand what competition is. If they get a 4th place ribbon, they know they need to work harder for the bronze, ect.

I have been involved in several different Special Olympic sports, and each had it's own way of keeping the playing field level...but the constant throughout it all was competition.

These athletes don't place limits on themselves, why should we?[/quote]
This is what it really comes down too.

 

[gymrat12]

All for ranking... we do it in Special Olympics. Before any event the athletes all recite their oath... "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt." It teaches the kids that not everything's about winning and most of them are just competing for the sake of competing and to have the opportunity to feel like a "typical" athlete. As for the jackets, sure, why not? It's the companies that don't even aknowledge their efforts that drive me nuts. We went to a very well known companies early nationals towards the beginning of the season and our girls got NOTHING... not even a shout out! It happend in November and I'm STILL fuming

 

[Special Needs!]

This is very true. I work with a special needs team and they were not given jackets. To be entirely honest getting out there and doing what they do is worth way more than any jacket.

I think it depends on the athlete. My daughter has worn her NCA jacket every single day since she won it. She is incredibly proud of it

 

[Special Needs!]

I say rank them. If they don't want to be ranked, they could exhibition. If they're in a competition they're in it to win...not to just be a heartwarming division. (Which they are, I love special needs teams.) I think it would be the most fair to treat them as you would treat any other division. I know I'd want that for my child.

I have to agree with this. The kids on our team want to know where they stand. They want to know what place they are in. My daughter has Down syndrome and is very aware of placings, rankings and wants to be just like all the other teams. They get just as much feedback on their placing as any other team. This is the feeling of 95% of the kids on our team and we have all ranges of disabilities.

They want to be a competitive team, recognized for their hard work, not just a cutesy entertainment act for the audience. These are kids, not some dog and pony show. That would be a disservice to all the kids on all the teams who work hard to put a routine on the floor.

 

[Special Needs!]

I get that they want to be treated the same but i feel like it would be very difficult to rank considering its pretty hard to rank them when say your ranking children in a wheelchair compared to all able bodies. Or even a child who is deaf and blind compared to a higher functioning child. Just trying to put in a different perspective.

The division is getting large enough that it can start being divided into more equable divisions. Just like level ones don't compete with level fives, special needs has enough diversity that as the division evolves, ways to split it will start to become more apparent, such as how independent teams vs teams with helpers on the floor.

 

[BlueCat]

I can certainly understand the desire for the teams to be scored. I can also understand why some EPs or coaches feel the other way. (There are some valid issues about the level of help they get from helpers, scoring discouraging teams from including those with lower levels of functioning, etc) There are valid points on both sides of this I believe. I don't think that feeling one way or the other on this issue in any way defines how much you support those athletes or teams in this division.

 

[ACEDAD]

The division is getting large enough that it can start being divided into more equable divisions. Just like level ones don't compete with level fives, special needs has enough diversity that as the division evolves, ways to split it will start to become more apparent, such as how independent teams vs teams with helpers on the floor.

I agree with this, but it has been my biggest worry since the division started. The division is currently treated very well by the EP's and get to compete with no cost. But, my concern for every part of the division is to avoid ANYONE ever getting the thought "oh no, not another special needs team."

Splitting into additional divisions concerns me because of the additional time and expense for the EP's. We've got to be sure not to push their generosity too far. If we ultimately want the division to be treated exactly like the rest, we'll have to be prepared to pay for the privilege.

I don't have an answer, just a concern.

 

[Special Needs!]

As to scoring the teams: Yes. Without a doubt, yes. Special Olympics have been running competitions for 40+ years without harming the athletes, so I think we will probably be okay. To be frank, there are generally two types of athletes that I've been able to work with and meet over the years. Some of them have severe disabilities and are probably not completely award of the aspects of competing. For them, the scoring is irrelevent. But a great many know exactly what competing and winning and losing is all about. And for them, the scoring is very important. They want to know how they did. Will a 16 year old on a special needs team understand winning and losing like other 16 year olds? Maybe not, but they will understand it like others that are 14 or 11 or 9 or 7. Do those age athletes know about winning or losing? You bet they do.

And it's also important for the parents. Not a lot of them will necessarily admit it, but I know from the hundreds of parents that I've met over the last 10 years. I know it in the way they say "thank you" and have to stop. Because it's very important that they are able to provide their child a chance to compete and share the stage with the hundreds of other athletes competing. NO OTHER SPORT IN THE WORLD lets all these groups compete together at one time.

It's all important and this sport has benefited tremendously from the generousity shown be everyone over the last 10 years. The phrase "you get more than you give" has never been more true.

I think this says it all. My daughter is in her 7th year on her team. Around the 3rd or 4th year, when she was becoming pretty cheer savvy, she said to me "this is the first time I feel normal."

And this is because she trains in the same gym and competes in the same competitions as all her friends, regardless of what team they are on. She is 'just' another division in a competition with lots of divisions.

We parents fight for inclusion. What more could we ask for.

I also want to give a huge shout out to all the other cheerleaders. I have never seen a group of young people so gracious and so supportive. Last year, walking down the halls of the Dallas Convention Center, you cheerleaders made our kids feel like royalty when you would stop and clap, wish them good luck, etc. You hear many snarky things about cheerleaders, but as a group, they are some of the best kids I have ever met.