All-Star Special Needs Team Questions

[King]

How exactly are they judged? Is it skill level? Memory? Number of assisstents?

In my head the only real way they could get judged fairly across all the number of special needs that compete is memory of routine and how much assistance they get in memorizing that routine (but not in skills thrown).

 

[ACEDAD]

Special needs teams use level 3 rules, but can't throw baskets.

At Cheersport (but I don't think it's been adopted by other EP's yet), there is a point reduction based on the ratio of helpers to athletes.

Your summary of how they are judged is generally how we've intended over the years.

There are some special needs teams that complete their entire routine without assistance and they should get additional credit for that.

Obviously, the judges have to take additional things into account but I believe they have done a reasonable job at every event I've been able to see.

 

[King]

Special needs teams use level 3 rules, but can't throw baskets.

At Cheersport (but I don't think it's been adopted by other EP's yet), there is a point reduction based on the ratio of helpers to athletes.

Your summary of how they are judged is generally how we've intended over the years.

There are some special needs teams that complete their entire routine without assistance and they should get additional credit for that.

Obviously, the judges have to take additional things into account but I believe they have done a reasonable job at every event I've been able to see.

So difficulty of skills are not taken into account?

 

[ACEDAD]

I didn't mean to imply that. Definitely they are. If a team only does level 1 skills they will obviously not score as well as a team that does level 3.

The level 3 "assignment" was not received well in every camp. Some of the teams (like Showcats, Eye of the Storm, etc) can do much more difficult skills.

And, personally, I wasn't happy about the elimination of baskets.

 

[quietmom]

I think thou for some athletes, the level limits more about safety and the health of some of the athletes out there. And while a typical teenager can easily recover from a broken bone and bounce back, recovery for special needs athletes is not so simple. While I do disagree with taking out baskets, I am glad to see it limited to level 3 and below just so these athletes are kept safe. In this division, there are athletes with trachs, feeding tubes, shunts, seizures, and a variety of health issues. An injury for athletes like them would immediately send them to the ICU.

There are some amazing special needs teams out there with adult athletes who have been doing this for a long time. And there are some teams out there where they are happy if no one throws up on stage, has a toileting accident, or runs away because the lights are too bright or they decide things are too loud that day (I am not being mean here. My kids fall into the later category and I am very proud of them). I wish it were possible to have separate divisions for teams like my kids' team and teams like Eye of the Storm and Showcats when it comes to EPs like Cheersport. It is like having a worlds team compete against a mini team.

While I do not care what place my kids' team gets and feel for them it is all about the experience, it does make me sad to know there are some coaches out there who make special needs athletes try out for these teams because they want to win competitions in this division. That just defeats the whole point of special needs cheer and leads to exclusion. While the competitions are fun for the athletes and all, it is more about the exercise, learning social skills, working on motor skills, and the overall experience of just being part of a team. In this division for most EPs, everyone gets a jacket and a medal and is praised for doing a good job as it should be.

At the end of the day thou, I am pretty sure that the majority of the athletes, their parents, and the coaches do not care what place their special needs teams get in competitions. There is way more to it than that. It is more about the smiles on the athlete's faces, the relationships between athletes and their helpers, and helping these athletes improve their quality of life through team building and physical exercise.

Sorry for rambling. What I meant to say is that most special needs teams don't really care how they are scored or what place they get because there is way more to the whole thing

 

[Cheeranswers]

this may sound extremely naive but i never even thought they did get scored. every competition ive seen that had special needs teams there were no ranking, more like an "everyone is a winner" type thing, which i liked because they all got announced and felt special!

 

[quietmom]

this may sound extremely naive but i never even thought they did get scored. every competition ive seen that had special needs teams there were no ranking, more like an "everyone is a winner" type thing, which i liked because they all got announced and felt special!

Everyone gets a jacket and medal but they do rank and score. All EPs go out of their way to make them all feel honored. This is a good thing. Special Olympics has ranks and scores while honoring all athletes. Judging, scoring, and ranking these teams is a very good thing and shows they have enough respect for our kids and their coaches to tell them what they are doing right and what they need to work on.

 

[kaylamauro]

Everyone gets a jacket and medal but they do rank and score. All EPs go out of their way to make them all feel honored. This is a good thing. Special Olympics has ranks and scores while honoring all athletes. Judging, scoring, and ranking these teams is a very good thing and shows they have enough respect for our kids and their coaches to tell them what they are doing right and what they need to work on.

Actually at NCA only the first place team gets jackets.

At cheersport I think everyone no matter placement gets a jacket

 

[quietmom]

Actually at NCA only the first place team gets jackets.

At cheersport I think everyone no matter placement gets a jacket

At cheersport they all do.

 

[kaylamauro]

At cheersport they all do.

I wish they did here at NCA too.
There's only 5 teams.
Everyone is so amazing in this division!!

 

[Valvalmom]

I wish there were teams like this when my sister was little. Equally enjoyable as watching the excitement on the athletes faces is watching the pride on the faces of the assistants!

Personally, I love watching awards ceremonies where these teams all tie with a perfect score.

 

[quietmom]

Honestly, most of the special needs athletes and their families do not care if they get jackets or 1st place. We are just happy to be included and able to participate.

 

[quietmom]

I wish they did here at NCA too.
There's only 5 teams.
Everyone is so amazing in this division!!

There were over 20 at Cheersport. They were all amazing to watch. And at awards, they were all dancing and having a good time. They all had good sportsmanship too. I really appreciate how Cheersport treats all of the special needs athletes. They give them an experience they will never forget.

 

[quietmom]

Equally enjoyable as watching the excitement on the athletes faces is watching the pride on the faces of the assistants!

I love the helpers for my kids' team. I have even found myself rooting for them at other competitions. At Cheersport, my kids really loved cheering on their helpers and telling them they did a good job.

 

[kaylamauro]

I love the helpers for my kids' team. I have even found myself rooting for them at other competitions. At Cheersport, my kids really loved cheering on their helpers and telling them they did a good job.

Ya we love meeting the other teams in our division!! It's such an amazing experience for them all.