All-Star Us Finals Virginia Beach

[Lazydaisytoo]

All week on US finals site a popup stating that Providence was maxed out at 225 teams came up immediately.

That's awful, then. Very poor planning to give out useless bids

 

[addicted2cheer]

I can't even take this comp seriously.. the whole format, (competing one day) the ease of bids, etc... It's a cool way to finish up your season if you are local to it but not worth the travel if you are not. Especially now with the Summit being an established comp. I know it's hard to get the bids to the Summit and the travel costs are much higher for many but I feel like this comp will go by the wayside in the next few years with the Summit gaining in size.

 

[busycrazycheermom]

I can't even take this comp seriously.. the whole format, (competing one day) the ease of bids, etc... It's a cool way to finish up your season if you are local to it but not worth the travel if you are not. Especially now with the Summit being an established comp. I know it's hard to get the bids to the Summit and the travel costs are much higher for many but I feel like this comp will go by the wayside in the next few years with the Summit gaining in size.

I hope it sticks around, this was our first year and it was a fun way to end the season for us - the VA Beach location is fun for the kids this time of year, the number of options as far as location makes it travelable from a lot of areas, and honestly - I like the one-day format at this point. By the beginning of May I am kinda ready to be DONE with the hair curling and the makeup and the early start times and the hours in between my M1 CP and my Y2 CP start times and yada yada yada... it's nice to end it with a one-and-done comp.

We got bids very early in the season and younger CP got a paid bid back in March so we didn't encounter any of the last-minute bid drama. That totally sucks and they need to know exactly how many teams they can accept registrations from and not offer bids beyond that number... seems like a no brainer though so I wonder what the breakdown was there.

M1 CP took first, Y2 CP finished dead last and they both had a great time. Other than the OMG THIS AWARD CEREMONY IS STARTING FORTY MINUTES LATE moments, we found it to be well run, loved the fact that the comp rooms and the awards room were super spacious so you never felt like a sardine. I'll give the whole shebang a thumbs up overall!

 

[xomckenzieee]

I liked U.S. Finals when it was still Final Destination. The good ole days.

Congrats to your Mini 1 CP!!!! @busycrazycheermom What program are you guys with if you don't mind me asking?

 

[juscheerthatisall]

My sister's team won a paid bid this past weekend at a Eastern Cheer and Dance competition. Now, they potentially wouldn't have gone anyway considering it was less than a week away, but the gym owner decided to call and discuss options with them just in case. She was told registration closed on that past Friday (they got the bid on Sunday) because there were too many teams signed up already. When asked why they were still awarding bids, she wasn't really given a straight answer. They told her they were still allowed to give out bids if they wanted, even if the teams couldn't actually attend.

Not really sure if this falls back on the US Finals or Eastern Cheer and Dance, but it's really sad the ball was dropped on this. My sister's team was pretty surprised by their bid and very thankful, but it was clear by their celebration the other team who got paid came to this competition gunning for that bid for next weekend. If registration was closed, it's disappointing to continue handing out bids to get these girl's hopes up. They were both youth teams too I believe, and don't really understand how if they earned the bid why they aren't allowed to go.

There are a lot of flaws in the box awarding process for this event first off they award bids to 1st to 5th place at almost every competition which means some teams get 7 or 8 bids throughout the season. It would be impossible for them to regulate number of bids since they are not awarding one bid per team. Also because of the tiered pricing teams who have bids are constantly competing for higher bids. I believe that the later competitions are giving out paid bids with the assumption that those teams are already registered and will do a bid upgrade. Not that they will be a new registration. The other side is that technically there were 3 comps this weekend so if a particular location was sold out you still had the option to use your bid elsewhere, I doubt that anyone is flying to LA to compete but there are places your bid can be used.

 

[FamousMatty]

My argument in favor of U.S. Finals may be a bit biased because I can walk to the venue from my gym lol, but we love U.S. Finals. It is a huge event to have right in our backyward. I know a lot of teams travel here because it is usually perfect weather at the beach around this time. Low 70s and Sunny. I do agree their bid award process could be regulated a bit, but I would have to disagree with the idea of this event dying out because of the summit. Jam brand gyms will continue to come most definitely. If I am looking at it right, the Summit stayed relatively the same in size this year maybe a few more teams than last year, while U.S. Finals grew to over 750 teams this season in Virginia Beach alone. We have always loved this competiton. We have gone every year since it started when it was back in Baltimore. I am in no way discrediting the Summit because I think it is a great event as well with a lot of prestige to it. The size of divisions though will continue to be a draw for many. Competing to take first in a division of 17 as opposed to three will always have a pretty nice ring to it.

 

[quitthedrama]

My argument in favor of U.S. Finals may be a bit biased because I can walk to the venue from my gym lol, but we love U.S. Finals. It is a huge event to have right in our backyward. I know a lot of teams travel here because it is usually perfect weather at the beach around this time. Low 70s and Sunny. I do agree their bid award process could be regulated a bit, but I would have to disagree with the idea of this event dying out because of the summit. Jam brand gyms will continue to come most definitely. If I am looking at it right, the Summit stayed relatively the same in size this year maybe a few more teams than last year, while U.S. Finals grew to over 750 teams this season in Virginia Beach alone. We have always loved this competiton. We have gone every year since it started when it was back in Baltimore. I am in no way discrediting the Summit because I think it is a great event as well with a lot of prestige to it. The size of divisions though will continue to be a draw for many. Competing to take first in a division of 17 as opposed to three will always have a pretty nice ring to it.

I agree. I am not a fan of US Finals (attended VA Beach a few times several years ago), but it is a legitimate competition. VA Beach I am guessing is in the top 5 for attendance of all of the competitions held throughout the year. Even the one in Providence, although not as big, still has more teams than most comps in New England. And I love that they don't split divisions.

 

[MamaMya04]

Wish we were going jus to see these teams. We competed against them at Battle of Capital 1 year ago and I was so impressed with the teams, the girls, and the sportsmanship of the families - they were right across the hall from us. Best of luck Ellenwood!

Thanks so much!! 3 of our 5 teams that went walked away Champions in their division so we're really proud of all the kids and their hard work. It was a awesome way to end the season.

 

[cheermuse]

I will say the layout of this years competition was better with them combining 2 halls for awards and giving teams meeting rooms & having vendors upstairs helped with the congestion on the 1st floor. US Finals has outgrown the V.B.C.C. venue.

Unfortunately, there is not another location in the area larger than VBCC to accommodate the size of this comp. Im sure the city of Virginia Beach loves the $$$$ US Finals generates for local businesses.

 

[MamaMya04]

I hope it sticks around, this was our first year and it was a fun way to end the season for us - the VA Beach location is fun for the kids this time of year, the number of options as far as location makes it travelable from a lot of areas, and honestly - I like the one-day format at this point. By the beginning of May I am kinda ready to be DONE with the hair curling and the makeup and the early start times and the hours in between my M1 CP and my Y2 CP start times and yada yada yada... it's nice to end it with a one-and-done comp.

We got bids very early in the season and younger CP got a paid bid back in March so we didn't encounter any of the last-minute bid drama. That totally sucks and they need to know exactly how many teams they can accept registrations from and not offer bids beyond that number... seems like a no brainer though so I wonder what the breakdown was there.

M1 CP took first, Y2 CP finished dead last and they both had a great time. Other than the OMG THIS AWARD CEREMONY IS STARTING FORTY MINUTES LATE moments, we found it to be well run, loved the fact that the comp rooms and the awards room were super spacious so you never felt like a sardine. I'll give the whole shebang a thumbs up overall!

The awards starting late was unacceptable!!! I headed back to Atlanta after awards and between starting well over 30 minutes late and the CP having to get her US finals bag, I got on the road an hour and a half later than I anticipated. I was not a happy camper.

 

[TwistedLady]

I have to say them being out of jackets was a major buzzkill .... Especially being THE last comp of the year and the last comp period for some.


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[Lazydaisytoo]

I have to say them being out of jackets was a major buzzkill .... Especially being THE last comp of the year and the last comp period for some.


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And no medals for 1,2,3rd place? That was really lame. To look forward to this all year, bust your butts, hit your routine, and then walk away with nothing special for yourself? Yes, the gym has the banner and trophy, and everyone got the participants medal, but still...

 

[busycrazycheermom]

I liked U.S. Finals when it was still Final Destination. The good ole days.

Congrats to your Mini 1 CP!!!! @busycrazycheermom What program are you guys with if you don't mind me asking?

 

[busycrazycheermom]

My argument in favor of U.S. Finals may be a bit biased because I can walk to the venue from my gym lol, but we love U.S. Finals. It is a huge event to have right in our backyward. I know a lot of teams travel here because it is usually perfect weather at the beach around this time. Low 70s and Sunny. I do agree their bid award process could be regulated a bit, but I would have to disagree with the idea of this event dying out because of the summit. Jam brand gyms will continue to come most definitely. If I am looking at it right, the Summit stayed relatively the same in size this year maybe a few more teams than last year, while U.S. Finals grew to over 750 teams this season in Virginia Beach alone. We have always loved this competiton. We have gone every year since it started when it was back in Baltimore. I am in no way discrediting the Summit because I think it is a great event as well with a lot of prestige to it. The size of divisions though will continue to be a draw for many. Competing to take first in a division of 17 as opposed to three will always have a pretty nice ring to it.

Unrelated but @FamousMatty you guys have the Y2 Socialites at your location, right? There was a young lady from that team who was onstage next to our Y2's and I guess her teammates were not singing along enough to "Let It Go" for her liking (LOL!), so she just jumped right up and came over to our girls and they all had so much fun singing and dancing and basically being as melodramatic as possible with the song together. It was adorable and a fun show of sportsmanship between the two teams while they were waiting to hear the results. I love seeing that and seeing your post reminded me of how cute it was

 

[Mamarazzi]

It was way better this year than in the he past few years. I have to say, this was by far the best US Finals I've been to.
Way less congested, weather was perfect for between-competing beach trip and team lunch, and the kid's placements didn't hurt!