All-Star Only Seniors Can Expose Midriff???

[gymcatmomx2]

That's not what CNN focused on at all and I'm sure that had more exposure than Ms. Shapiro's online article..

Also, professional athletes are paid for what they do
High school teams don't require money to be allowed to compete
We pay A LOT to be a part of our sport..comp fees AND entry fees to watch my child perform in a sport I already pay tons for..so I think I should have a little more say so in the grand scheme of things.

Unfortunately, I wish that were true. I pay close to $1000.00 for my daughter to participate in her high school cheer squad.. and they don't even compete!! While it's not as expensive as all-star cheer, it's certainly not free. To top it off, we get NO say in what the uniforms look like... and some of them are quite unflattering

 

[redsmom]

It's not about how much skin is shown, if you can defend it. Again, I don't care if a 10 year old wears a crop top, if you can find a reason why it's necessary to the sport, other than "because we like it," "it's more comfortable," (for 2 1/2 minutes??) or "that's how it's always been". Gymnasts arguably need to be in a leotard so judges can see their lines. But they have strict rules about how high the leg holes can be cut (not higher than the hipbone) and the style (no spaghetti strap leotards, no midriffs, no backless leos). We still see plenty of unique and fun leotards.

I'm not advocating for knee length poodle skirts, but the only cheerleaders that you could even argue need to have crop tops are coed flyers, and that's only really even necessary in senior and open divisions. But again, Team USA did just fine in full length tops so that's clearly not 100% necessary.

So what is the argument for needing full tops?

u·ni·form (y

n

-fôrm

)

n.
1. A distinctive outfit intended to identify those who wear it as members of a specific group.
2. One set of such an outfit.

 

[xtremeteal4life]

Unfortunately, I wish that were true. I pay close to $1000.00 for my daughter to participate in her high school cheer squad.. and they don't even compete!! While it's not as expensive as all-star cheer, it's certainly not free. To top it off, we get NO say in what the uniforms look like... and some of them are quite unflattering

You have to purchase the uniforms or are you talking about expenses like shoes, optional items such as team warm-ups, etc? I've never heard of a non competitive hs squad requiring the purchasing of unis..I mean do the football players have to pay 1000 dollars to participate on the football team?

We never had to pay for our uniforms

 

[Ashley]

So what is the argument for needing full tops?

u·ni·form(y

n

-fôrm

)

n.
1. A distinctive outfit intended to identify those who wear it as members of a specific group.
2. One set of such an outfit.

Oh jeez. We're going around in circles here. There's no point in continuing this discussion since I've already said that the reason why we should do full tops for the younger kids instead of half tops is because how people outside of the industry can interpret them (aka the CEA article). If you don't have a problem with no one outside the industry taking us seriously, then by all means, continue to put you 8 year in your old in a half top.

 

[redsmom]

Oh jeez. We're going around in circles here. There's no point in continuing this discussion since I've already said that the reason why we should do full tops for the younger kids instead of half tops is because how people outside of the industry can interpret them (aka the CEA article). If you don't have a problem with no one outside the industry taking us seriously, then by all means, continue to put you 8 year in your old in a half top.

Well my youngest is 16 and male, so doesn't apply to me specifically. I have seen well done crop tops on all ages and don't have a problem with them. I am just not sure why those liking crop tops have to justify the need for them "athletically" and those preferring full tops aren't asked the same question. We will have to agree to disagree on this topic, that's fine.

 

[gymcatmomx2]

You have to purchase the uniforms or are you talking about expenses like shoes, optional items such as team warm-ups, etc? I've never heard of a non competitive hs squad requiring the purchasing of unis..I mean do the football players have to pay 1000 dollars to participate on the football team?

We never had to pay for our uniforms

The fees are for cheer camp, practice clothes (a different outfit everyday and they practice 5 days a week), shoes, bows, hoodie, warm ups, etc. The fees don't even include the uniforms, those are rented. Our school only allows the girls on Varsity to purchase a uniform. And you are right, the football players don't have to pay to participate...which is a totally different discussion.

 

[Ashley]

Oh jeez. We're going around in circles here. There's no point in continuing this discussion since I've already said that the reason why we should do full tops for the younger kids instead of half tops is because how people outside of the industry can interpret them (aka the CEA article). If you don't have a problem with no one outside the industry taking us seriously, then by all means, continue to put you 8 year in your old in a half top.

It seems to me that those who are so fiercely defending the crop tops are those who have small children who wear them. It's as though if the USASF bans them, they'd have to consider that it meant that what they were letting their children wear was inappropriate (which, for the record, I don't think it is). I know your (general your, not a specific your) child isn't wear anything sexual or scandalous. Just think about how you would answer the question "why are all those little girls wearing half tops" when someone from outside of the sport asks you. Because whenever someone has asked me, I haven't had a better answer than "I dunno, that's just how it's always been." The only other sport that we can remotely compare the uniforms to is beach volleyball - but there's a reason that more people watch women's beach volleyball than men's, and I can tell you it's not because of the athleticism.

 

[cheermommaRN]

Unfortunately, I wish that were true. I pay close to $1000.00 for my daughter to participate in her high school cheer squad.. and they don't even compete!! While it's not as expensive as all-star cheer, it's certainly not free. To top it off, we get NO say in what the uniforms look like... and some of them are quite unflattering

My oldest daughter wanted to try high school cheer so we went to the meeting $1300 for the season! And that didn't include competition fees, shoes, or camp When I was in hs we all dug through the uni box and hoped to find on that sort of fit, we didn't compete, and it was pretty much free!

 

[Ashley]

My oldest daughter wanted to try high school cheer so we went to the meeting $1300 for the season! And that didn't include competition fees, shoes, or camp When I was in hs we all dug through the uni box and hoped to find on that sort of fit, we didn't compete, and it was pretty much free!

That's crazy! When I was in high school they implemented an athletics fee after my sophomore year. It was about $125/season, cheer was two season. We paid for camp, which was like $250, clothes for camp, probably warmup suits and sneakers, but not uniforms and I don't think the cost was anywhere near $1300!

 

[xtremeteal4life]

It seems to me that those who are so fiercely defending the crop tops are those who have small children who wear them. It's as though if the USASF bans them, they'd have to consider that it meant that what they were letting their children wear was inappropriate (which, for the record, I don't think it is). I know your (general your, not a specific your) child isn't wear anything sexual or scandalous. Just think about how you would answer the question "why are all those little girls wearing half tops" when someone from outside of the sport asks you. Because whenever someone has asked me, I haven't had a better answer than "I dunno, that's just how it's always been." The only other sport that we can remotely compare the uniforms to is beach volleyball - but there's a reason that more people watch women's beach volleyball than men's, and I can tell you it's not because of the athleticism.

That's one of the most preposterous things I've heard yet. I do not allow the thoughts and actions of a few (or even a bunch) dictate what I feel is appropriate or inappropriate for my child, moral or immoral. I realize you said you don't think it is, but to insinuate to presume to know how I feel about a particular situation being inappropriate is ridiculous. Should I presume that just bc you don't think they should be allowed and are one of the most vocal in this thread about it, that you are a prude? Or that you seem to show too much concern over little children's clothing and that could seem rather...creepy? Of course not.
And I think that was rather rude of you to call out women volleyball players simply bc of their "uniforms" Their male counterparts like Phil Dalhausser have the utmost respect for them as competitors

 

[Ashley]

That's one of the most preposterous things I've heard yet. I do not allow the thoughts and actions of a few (or even a bunch) dictate what I feel is appropriate or inappropriate for my child, moral or immoral. I realize you said you don't think it is, but to insinuate to presume to know how I feel about a particular situation being inappropriate is ridiculous. Should I presume that just bc you don't think they should be allowed and are one of the most vocal in this thread about it, that you are a prude? Or that you seem to show too much concern over little children's clothing and that could seem rather...creepy? Of course not.
And I think that was rather rude of you to call out women volleyball players simply bc of their "uniforms" Their male counterparts like Phil Dalhausser have the utmost respect for them as competitors

You're right, I can't presume to know what you think, I apologize.

I'm not, however, sure what was so rude about what I said about women's volleyball. I didn't imply that they weren't a sport, but look at the ratings for the Olympics and you'll see that women's volleyball has way more viewers than men's. And their uniforms were, until recently, required to either be a bikini or a full length wet suit (for the more conservative countries). The correlation is not a coincidence. Your should feel the same anger over someone pointing out their uniforms as you do for someone pointing out ours.

 

[xtremeteal4life]

You're right, I can't presume to know what you think, I apologize.

I'm not, however, sure what was so rude about what I said about women's volleyball. I didn't imply that they weren't a sport, but look at the ratings for the Olympics and you'll see that women's volleyball has way more viewers than men's. And their uniforms were, until recently, required to either be a bikini or a full length wet suit (for the more conservative countries).

I feel like the implication that it is watched more than men's bc of their uniform is rude...jmo
Those girls are no joke and I'd hate to read somewhere that another female wrote something like that about me if I had worked so hard and gained the respect of my peers for my athleticism in the sport. That's what I meant

 

[xtremeteal4life]

and thank you.. it's all good

 

[Ashley]

I feel like the implication that it is watched more than men's bc of their uniform is rude...jmo
Those girls are no joke and I'd hate to read somewhere that another female wrote something like that about me if I had worked so hard and gained the respect of my peers for my athleticism in the sport. That's what I meant

Fair enough, but I still think it's true. No other female sport is watched more than it's male counterpart except maybe gymnastics. And while I 150% agree with you that those women are hard core and athletes in a completely legitimate sport, I still think that the reason their numbers are higher is because they play in bikinis. The Olympic committee only just allowed, last week, women to wear shorts and sleeved shirts, in 2012! I just feel like that's a scrutiny that we can avoid in our sport, especially since most of our participants are young girls, not grown women.

But anyway, agree to disagree.

 

[cspoon]

This all just confuses me. Since when is the torso such a horrible thing to be seen in public. 8 year olds wear two piece bathing suits to the pool, beach, lakes, rivers...which are all very public places. There is no NEED to wear a two piece swim suit, but they do and no one that I know of has a problem with it. So why should it be frowned upon for an 8 year old to wear a cropped cheer top?

I understand what some of you are saying about wanting to legitimize cheerleading as a sport, but honestly, if making every team look more or less exactly alike is what it takes to do this, then I could care less if outsiders think of cheer as a sport or not. I love seeing different uniforms, makeup, hair, dance styles, etc..Maybe we shouldn't be so concerned about others thinking of cheer as a sport. I know that many dancers argue the point as to wether dance is a sport or not, but I don't see them limiting dancers costumes to try to prove it. Cheerleaders and dancers are athletes....does it really matter if others don't think it's a sport?