All-Star Should They Be Going To World's?

[SarahS]

Easy solution: universal score sheet. Standardized/trained judging. Minimum score to receive at large bid.

It would give every single team a target to achieve in order to reach worlds. Maybe not an easily-attainable target, but a target nonetheless.

(To be clear, I say "easy" sort of tongue-in-cheek - the solution itself would be easy. Getting to a universal score sheet and training and standardizing judging apparently is not.)

 

[FamousMatty]

I'll say what I've said for my entire tenure on FB. Get rid of the at-large bid. Let any team that wants to compete at Worlds do so if they participate in a minimum number of paid bid giving competitions at their specified division.

You're never going to get anyone in charge to buy off on reducing the number of teams at Worlds. I'd be much happier just getting rid of the pretense of the at-large.

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I agree with this wholeheartedly! Worlds is given more prestige for something it is not. Winning means you're the best of everyone not necessarily just the best of the best. Open the event to all level 5 teams like any other national event (which isn't too much of a stretch considering teams placing below 20th place at NCA received bids). The prestige is in the few paid bids able to be earned by teams deserving of them. Now backwoods podunk allstars has lost the ability to boast they are "sending a team to worlds" as everyone can do the same. I bet you would begin to see many programs stop fielding teams that have no business in the division simply for the marketing ploy of sending a team. Most gyms build their competition schedule off two things, the scoresheets they believe they can be most successful on, and worlds bids. Most gyms (Power Gyms excluded) will not send their teams to travel somewhere they do not believe that a majority of their teams can be decently successful. Why should worlds be any different. By eliminating the so called nonexistent prestige of the event gym owners will begin to rethink having parents come out of pocket $25,000+ for a trip that in the end meant little to nothing. This is in no way a bash at those teams that may not be the caliber to be at worlds. Simply stating, take away the prestige of an at large bid and gyms will begin to push their athletes to become competitive in a division and worth spending 25 grand on as opposed to just settling for an invite.

 

[BowsnBling]

They won't stop giving out these large amount of bids until more gyms stand up to the fact that they should not go on at large bids if they are not skilled enough to be there.

It all comes down to the parents trusting the owners and the owners being strong enough to say ' hey we are not going this year' . Not enough programs do that.

 

[GreatWhite92]

I am more than a little shocked that a coach, parents or a gym in general doesn't understand "Just because you have received an at large bid doesn't mean you should attend Worlds". My daughters have been at a small gym and at a medium well respected gym that has sent a team to Worlds since the second year it was started. That small gym knows even if they received a bid they have no business attending. The medium gym that has sent a team to Worlds every year except the 1 st, that coach/owner has decided they will not attend this year with an at large bid. I understand this was not a popular decision but it was the right decision. The team this year is just not quite competitive enough to make a good showing.

What is so difficult to understand? How is it in your gyms best interest to send a crappy team to Worlds? I really think as a gym/owner it would be just as impressive to the average parent to say "We received an at large bid this year...we are all so proud".


This may sound like a dumb question but has an At-Large-Bid ever one Gold at World's? or Silver or Bronze for that matter? Just curious?

Yes there is a whole thread on it. Several stingray and cheer athletic teams have. I think cheetahs only had an at large last year and placed 3rd. I am almost positive that there have been golds given to at large bid teams but have mainly been in the international divisions.

 

[drewpate]

Well there are two sides to this conversation, are there too many bids first of all, then should these teams that can't compete go.
I won't touch the first because I am very conflicted on that one, and can see both sides of the fence.

As a coach at a gym that got their first worlds bid after being in level 5 for 3 seasons now, I can say definitively... that it depends. I think there is a difference between a gym that just doesn't have that great of tumbling (like mine) and one that lets their kids throw scary tumbling. However, even with us, if you looked at our NCA performance you just might think we were one of those gyms. (not scary tumbling just tumbling that didn't land for weird reasons and stunts that fell left and right) It was most of hte teams first time at NCA and they got sandwhiched day one somewhere right after SMOED and before GT PINK. I think top gun i5 performed while they were in line as well. Point is... they got freaked out and didn't do so hot. However, we did hit the next weekend two times and receive a bid. You can't always judge by one performance or one weekend, which is something to keep in mind.

Anyway, we are going to worlds, but that was a goal set in place by the athletes and parents at the beginning of the year. We knew we didn't have great tumbling so we worked our butt off to get it up a respectable amount, we got choreography from one of the top in the industry ( @Drkilluzionz i think you know Jose pretty well , and i believe you might have met our head coach Erik when he came and visited last year from arkansas) and the kids have just killed stunting, and will be performing a top tier stunt at worlds. (not the best, but definitely eye catching if it hits). Making day 2 would have the kids celebrating like they just won, but the goal is to just hit a clean routine in front of the globe. If the parents are willing to pay for the experience, (or to do the fundraising work) and the coaches are willing to do it safely then yes, the experience is worth it and the team should be there. Its not for us to judge except for perhaps safety. Even if they would be 'better off' being restricted 5. (another thing to consider is that if there is no restricted 5 teams other than your own in the area, and you have a couple of kids who can throw standing fulls and doubles, why not go level 5 and actually get some competition) Plus if you have hitch kick double baskets and flipping/twisting braced inversions, those are level 5 skills and not restricted 5 skills which might help tip the scale.

 

[CoachJessNHS]

It's sad that after all these rule changes are happening, the bid issue probably won't change. It really is about money and not about how truly "worlds ready" a team actually is.

 

[SuzyB]

I am shocked at some of the All Girl I5 teams I've seen who got bids. I feel like if you have girls throwing TUCKS you shouldn't be going to Worlds. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't all girl 5 pass prelims on Friday? At least with the small senior 5 and small coed senior 5, most of us won't see the teams that shouldn't be there in those divisions.

 

[xtremeteal4life]

YASSSS!!!!!

this lady is amazing!

OMG what an insane amount of shoulder and core strength!! Going parallel like that (and HOLDING it) is tough!!

 

[acheer]

It's sad IMO that you can go to worlds just for the 'experience'. I think that says eons about how easy (and not right!) it is to get a bid.

I'd much rather go to watch than for the experience of competing level 5. I don't understand why others would want to go out and compete for the experiences when you're probably not even going to make finals

 

[Mamarazzi]

I'd much rather go to watch than for the experience of competing level 5. I don't understand why others would want to go out and compete for the experiences when you're probably not even going to make finals

Let's face it, only a few teams, of all the teams going, are going to taste the sweetness of victory. And it's not the small gyms. It's the mega-programs that win every single time (I reserve the right to exclude Brandon and some other gyms from this statement.) So how do you get the parents and athletes, who have never been to Worlds, to want to work harder and get better, in order to be competitive? You show them what's possible.
If parents are willing to pay the money to not make it past Day 1, fine. Let them. Maybe some athletes will leave inspired. In that case, it is for the experience, and they should go. What concerns me isn't what skills they compete with this year. It's what they attempt next year, in order to try to be more competitve, after they've seen the rest of the cheer world at Worlds.

 

[Mamarazzi]

Furthermore, to add to my statement above, I'm in a serious minority. I'm taking my cp to watch this year for preparation, support of others and inspiration. I don't know of any other parent in our gym that's doing that. It would be nearly impossible to get 20-36 sets of parents to send their child to FL to NOT compete. It's a lot of money to spend, trust. And I'm sure there are a lot of parents who don't think I should take her until she's "earned" it - similar to those people who think an At Large bid isn't a "real" bid, and the teams who go to Worlds on At Large don't have a right to be there. Unfortunately for that argument, I know my child, and if I drop her into a foreign situation with massive amounts of pressure, being completely unfamiliar with it, she's liable to choke. So when she makes a level 5 team, and gets to compete at Worlds, at least she can say "Ok. I've seen this before. I can concentrate on my job now." She'll be nothing but more prepared when she has earned the right to compete on that floor.

 

[Jessicalynn]

my only concern is if they never limit the bids then worlds will have to be a week long event to finally get to all the teams.... at least thats the direction it sounds like its going

 

[MissBee]

I haven't read the whole thread, so if someone has already posted this same thing-I agree with you!

I feel that there needs to be two changes made to Worlds in regards to bids being given:
1. Only full paid bids. No more at large. You have to be good enough to earn the full paid.
2. There needs to be a minimum qualifying score to get that full paid bid, and it needs to be the same at every comp (again, this would require a universal score sheet).

The above two regulations ensure that the skill level will be the highest, and that teams who aren't quite there won't be unnecessarily spending the money on a trip to worlds.

Worlds needs to be more exclusive.

 

[as1rico]

Everybody is awfully concerned with other people do with their money

 

[yojaehs]

Drkilluzionz from reading I am probably in the minority. My team has competed Sr. Restricted most of the season, we got an at-large at UCA and will be attending Worlds. We told our parents over the summer our plan. We stuck to our plan and prepared our parents and kids in the SUMMER and gave them the option (one of the ONLY times we gave our parents a "choice" lol). I don't disagree with ONLY offering full paids, however with the current system, at-large bids are given for a reason and as long as they are I see no reason why a team should be faulted because they choose to attend. Different teams choose to go for different reasons. As BlueCat has said before, he has had teams go on at-large bids and come home with a GLOBE. There will be teams that everyone looks at and says, "Why are they here?" There might be any one of a million reasons but if they choose to go then I wish all teams the best of luck.