All-Star Number Of Stunt Groups... Does It Matter?

[Sterling von Shimmer]

As I’m studying the top teams, I’m wondering: how much does the the number of stunt groups per team matter in each size division (ex: 2 vs. 3 in ex-small)?

I know technically it shouldn’t matter since the reason we have size divisions is to fairly group teams by numbers, but then again a viable strategy in cheer is to be in the upper end of your size division to max out girls in the air because that can add points (in HS anyway... don’t know about AS).

So does it really matter? I’m thinking specifically of CJA vs. Miss Silver in ex-small. One has three groups and then other has two, respectively. I’m wondering if it gives CJA a distinct edge.

 

[XtremeWpg]

Technically, no. Thats why they have ratios and the majority/most based on the number of athletes on the team. Visually, yes it matters.

Though for Worlds its a wreck because the rubrics all go out the window

 

[Sterling von Shimmer]

Yeah but then I thought: if the ratio is the great equalizer, then you could throw SSX against F5 and it shouldn’t matter. But clearly those two teams aren’t the same. Even within a size division, three stunt groups denotes more talented girls than two stunt groups, therefore the team with three groups is the stronger team (if “stronger” = “winning”). This gray area has always confused me.

 

[Belinda]

As far as difficulty and technique scores, if they do the exact same thing in the exact same way, they get the same score, no matter 1 group or 9. Though you have more opportunity to do visual and creative things with more people on the mat, not just in stunts, hence why x-small and large wouldn't be scored equally.

 

[Knowcheering]

It should absolutely be an advantage to have more stunts. It's more visually appealing and more of a risk than having people nugget in the back. We don't want this to turn into a partner stunt competition, and sometimes it feels that way in the Extra Small division, especially when teams have bare minimum stunts and what looks like half a pyramid. In terms of overall perception, 3 groups is absolutely stronger than 2 and should be rewarded accordingly. It's one thing if you don't have enough people for an additional group, but it's another when you're hiding a capable group in the back just because they can't handle whatever insane stunt difficulty is necessary these days. I'd rather the sport as a whole scale back on the stunting difficulty a tad if it meant we'd have more stunt groups, like how it used to be (especially since some of today's stunts tend to look rushed and I have to watch the stunt three times to realize what the heck they even attempted).

 

[Sterling von Shimmer]

It should absolutely be an advantage to have more stunts. It's more visually appealing and more of a risk than having people nugget in the back. We don't want this to turn into a partner stunt competition, and sometimes it feels that way in the Extra Small division, especially when teams only have one stunt or what looks like half a pyramid. In terms of overall perception, 3 groups is absolutely stronger than 2 and should be rewarded accordingly. It's one thing if you don't have enough people for an additional group, but it's another when you're hiding a capable group in the back just because they can't handle whatever insane stunt difficulty is necessary these days. I'd rather the sport as a whole scale back on the stunting difficulty a tad if it meant we'd have more stunt groups, like how it used to be (especially since some of today's stunts tend to look rushed and I have to watch the stunt three times to realize what the heck they even attempted).

This is what confuses me about AS: do they NOT take into consideration the number of girls on the team vs. stunts in the air? Doesn’t the score sheet say that “most” of the team has to be involved? Or does that not apply to stunts? Can you really just hide a bunch of girls in the back and expect a decent score? Because that wouldn’t even fly in HS.

For example: to have a shot at full points at USA, “most” of the team (76% or above) has to execute the skill/stunt. We have a team of 30, or a max of seven full stunt groups. We can go as low as six to still have a shot at full points since that’s 85% of possible stunt groups in the air (or 80% of girls participating in the stunts depending on how you look at it). Does AS not do this?