All-Star New Iasf Rules

[CheerBank]

I agree.

If Wiki is close to being correct, there were 74 IO 5/6 teams in the US and Canada last year. If that's true, these rules only affect around 2,000 athletes in the US and Canada. In reality, they truly don't stand to lose that much money in what they are hoping to gain. If this is about safety, so be it, nothing would deter me from a new sport like some good ol' catastrophic injuries. I know I wouldn't want to be thrown around or have someone flying at me without exceptional training at that level. Great coaches don't appear out of nowhere, I like the idea of a Res IO 5/6.

And I'd bet if you looked at all the ages of the 2000 or so athletes on IO 5/6 teams, you'd find at least half still fall within the age range of a senior team.

 

[MOPSMommy1]

Okay, forgive me for sounding incredibly dumb, but what is the point of having the new lower level International teams if once the athletes get to International 5/6 they can’t do these skills? Will they start to dumb down the skills of (for example) International 4 in anticipation of getting to Intl. Level 5? Am I even making any sense!?! Lol

PS - I realize only level 5/6 compete at Worlds, but now they are having International 4 (and maybe lower?) compete at The Summit this year.


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[luv2cheer92]

Okay, forgive me for sounding incredibly dumb, but what is the point of having the new lower level International teams if once the athletes get to International 5/6 they can’t do these skills? Will they start to dumb down the skills of (for example) International 4 in anticipation of getting to Intl. Level 5? Am I even making any sense!?! Lol

PS - I realize only level 5/6 compete at Worlds, but now they are having International 4 (and maybe lower?) compete at The Summit this year.


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International 4 at Summit is Junior/Senior. Open 4 is not a Summit division (yet). The international divisions at Summit will follow the IASF age grid, not the standard USASF one.

ETA: And the no twisting in baskets rule is being applied to all levels under IASF, not just 5/6.

 

[katiecheer8]

And I'd bet if you looked at all the ages of the 2000 or so athletes on IO 5/6 teams, you'd find at least half still fall within the age range of a senior team.

So for those still of age for senior teams they could potentially be placed on a senior aged worlds team if the gym had room for them but what about the other half of athletes that are aged out?

 

[MOPSMommy1]

International 4 at Summit is Junior/Senior. Open 4 is not a Summit division (yet). The international divisions at Summit will follow the IASF age grid, not the standard USASF one.

ETA: And the no twisting in baskets rule is being applied to all levels under IASF, not just 5/6.

Thank you for being kind with your reply and not making me feel dumb! [emoji4]


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[AndyT_T]

CheerUpdates suggested a great idea for a new worlds division which would be Resctricted IOC5/6. I think this is a great idea for those countries that want to compete but feel like they can’t compete against US teams. I feel like it would be more like the Premeir/Elite divisions off ICU. Which could solve all these problems

TBH I think open 4 at worlds would help a ton and be more effective than restricted. Level 4 difficulty in stunts allows a lot of skills that were 5/6 for years but tumbling that’s more reasonable for international teams. I could see level 5/6 teams from other countries going O4 if it was a worlds division.

 

[CheerBank]

So for those still of age for senior teams they could potentially be placed on a senior aged worlds team if the gym had room for them but what about the other half of athletes that are aged out?

Those are the athletes I really feel bad for with these changes. Hopefully given the response to this, things are being reconsidered at least for this season.

 

[cheermommaRN]

This is the first step in watering down the cheer industry in preparation for Olympic status. In order to be considered a viable Olympic sport you have to show that you would have enough competitors to make it worth doing. Right now there are few countries that could field a competitive truly Olympic level team (USA, Canada, UK, Japan, Thailand, Germany (?), AUS). That is not going to cut it. They need to make it open enough that multiple countries could enter and maybe not win but could at least feel like they weren't wasting the money instead of funneling it into their gymnastics and diving programs. You can't compare cheer to basketball or gymnastics, those are both long established sports, that when established were not at the skill level they are now. They are trying to start cheer at the circa 1932 gymnastics level. Do I agree with it? HECK NO. I would rather there be a clear division between "acro" and all star cheer.
This is just the beginning. Call it putting on my tin foil hat but when it comes to this whole Olympics thing, Varsity isn't driving the bus anymore, the IOC is. While other sports have club teams, they don't operate under a completely different set of rules from their Olympic counterparts. They will continue to make changes until you have 10 levels and you can't do a tuck until level 4, can't compete a certain level until you reach a defined age...it's coming.

 

[Jolette]

I am really following this because my CP is still youth age but her dream like most her age in our area is to be on an IAG5 team. In our part of Canada that's where it's at, those are the teams they stay to watch at the competitions and dream of being on one day.

 

[TealShades]

This is the first step in watering down the cheer industry in preparation for Olympic status. In order to be considered a viable Olympic sport you have to show that you would have enough competitors to make it worth doing. Right now there are few countries that could field a competitive truly Olympic level team (USA, Canada, UK, Japan, Thailand, Germany (?), AUS). That is not going to cut it. They need to make it open enough that multiple countries could enter and maybe not win but could at least feel like they weren't wasting the money instead of funneling it into their gymnastics and diving programs. You can't compare cheer to basketball or gymnastics, those are both long established sports, that when established were not at the skill level they are now. They are trying to start cheer at the circa 1932 gymnastics level. Do I agree with it? HECK NO. I would rather there be a clear division between "acro" and all star cheer.
This is just the beginning. Call it putting on my tin foil hat but when it comes to this whole Olympics thing, Varsity isn't driving the bus anymore, the IOC is. While other sports have club teams, they don't operate under a completely different set of rules from their Olympic counterparts. They will continue to make changes until you have 10 levels and you can't do a tuck until level 4, can't compete a certain level until you reach a defined age...it's coming.

I always felt this way when it comes to making all star/cheer a sport. I feel like people want it to be sport just in name but not actually go through change to make it a real sport. And everything you mentioned is what the work/changes that need to be done. If this is the route IOC is taking then I guess it has to be done. It would be an interesting read on basketball/volleyball history.

 

[cheermommaRN]

I am really following this because my CP is still youth age but her dream like most her age in our area is to be on an IAG5 team. In our part of Canada that's where it's at, those are the teams they stay to watch at the competitions and dream of being on one day.

This right here. Whoever the governing body is for Olympic cheerleading doesn't want her dream to be "someday I'll be a Great White", it's "someday I'll be on the Canadian National Team". Someone has decided to try to force AS cheer into a mold it doesn't belong in and it's ridiculous.

 

[WinstonsGirl]

This is the first step in watering down the cheer industry in preparation for Olympic status. In order to be considered a viable Olympic sport you have to show that you would have enough competitors to make it worth doing. Right now there are few countries that could field a competitive truly Olympic level team (USA, Canada, UK, Japan, Thailand, Germany (?), AUS). That is not going to cut it. They need to make it open enough that multiple countries could enter and maybe not win but could at least feel like they weren't wasting the money instead of funneling it into their gymnastics and diving programs. /QUOTE]

Absolutely agree with this and I’ve said it on a Cheer in the Olympics post here before. The IOC was looking at taking hockey out of the Olympics since there were not enough countries represented and it was too dominated by a small number of teams (woo Canada!!). Hockey is a much more established and ‘accepted’ sport than cheer and while we may be on the IOC program, I believe we are still a long way from actually being in the Olympics.

I don’t agree with the changes, but I am interested to hear the rational behind it. I also think that if this is truest about the Olympics, it will create a large divide between AS and ‘IOC Cheer’ and I see AS eventually losing out as the Olympics has more prestige behind it. All the kick doubles in the world won’t make up for an Olympic medal

 

[SL&AM]

This is the first step in watering down the cheer industry in preparation for Olympic status. In order to be considered a viable Olympic sport you have to show that you would have enough competitors to make it worth doing. Right now there are few countries that could field a competitive truly Olympic level team (USA, Canada, UK, Japan, Thailand, Germany (?), AUS). That is not going to cut it. They need to make it open enough that multiple countries could enter and maybe not win but could at least feel like they weren't wasting the money instead of funneling it into their gymnastics and diving programs. You can't compare cheer to basketball or gymnastics, those are both long established sports, that when established were not at the skill level they are now. They are trying to start cheer at the circa 1932 gymnastics level. Do I agree with it? HECK NO. I would rather there be a clear division between "acro" and all star cheer.
This is just the beginning. Call it putting on my tin foil hat but when it comes to this whole Olympics thing, Varsity isn't driving the bus anymore, the IOC is. While other sports have club teams, they don't operate under a completely different set of rules from their Olympic counterparts. They will continue to make changes until you have 10 levels and you can't do a tuck until level 4, can't compete a certain level until you reach a defined age...it's coming.

I completely agree with everything you wrote. When I saw the petition come across my social media account today the first thing I thought wasn't "Wow they're watering down international teams," it was "They're trying to make it a more level playing field." Is it right? Depends on perspective, but if their goal is the Olympics this makes absolute sense for that end goal.

 

[Mndl]

It's possible that All Star cheer and IOC cheer could coexist the way JO gymnastics in the US does with elite gymnastics. Think how small the US national team is compared to how many club and NCAA gymnasts there are. There could be room for both in cheer too, if the people in charge are willing to actually think through the decisions they make..

 

[cheermomforever]

I completely agree with everything you wrote. When I saw the petition come across my social media account today the first thing I thought wasn't "Wow they're watering down international teams," it was "They're trying to make it a more level playing field." Is it right? Depends on perspective, but if their goal is the Olympics this makes absolute sense for that end goal.

But any major rule change should be done in June, not a few weeks away from first World bid comps.