All-Star Usasf 2011-2013 Rule Proposals!

[WHOA tiger]

I'm against tosses being allowed in level 1. Look at middle schools and below, who arent allowed to do tosses at all, even the most elite middle schools that win nationals each year. Not saying I agree with that rule, but letting such young kids do baskets is a scary thing, especially when taught by unqualified coaches. To do a basket, you should be able to do an extension pop cradle. Level 1 is the beginning level, and if we start skipping over progressions, we will see a rise in injuries.

Think about what a basket toss really is. Throw the girl as high in the air as you can and catch her. Do you want beginner 5 year olds trying to do this?

 

[PghxCheer2]

So lets say a brand new gym opens. All the kids that are 14 and over that join have never cheered or tumbled before in their life. By competition season they have somewhat solid level 2 stunts. None of them have level 2 tumbling. Would you put them up against people who have solid level 2 stunts and level 2 tumbling? No. You would put them in level one where they can be competitive.

At Cheersport last year, arguably the BIGGEST competition for levels 1-4, there was 6 Senior Level 1 Teams. SIX! That's small and large combined, too! Any legitimate coach that has the qualifications to run a decent all-star gym can teach 10 girls to backhandspring in 6 months. No average first year gym (especially if it's being run by a coach like your describing) is gonna be THAT successful outside of locals, with a team of 15+girls, not one of who has ever cheered before. No matter what division you put them in. And, still, the probability of them having competition at a local level is almost nonexistent. I don't even really know why we're talking about it though since a) it's not even a rule up for discussion and b) realistically, the likelihood of them ever getting rid of it is slim.

 

[championswagga]

I think majority of the new rules are unnecissary, not all of them, but most. level 1 baskets..why add them technically progression wise baskets are on the write track...allowing libs and such for jr and sr teams..pointless, allowing mutiple backhndsprings to a tuck in lvl 3 but not 1 backhandspring to back? please tell me what the difference is? if they can do 3 to back im pretty sure they can learn easily to do 1 to back, and be put on level 4. as for sr open 5, why would we not allow bounding skills? senior open is a division for those gyms that have fulls and no doubles, to eliminate bounding skills is just from a gym who is mad bcause california or spirit has kids that have really good level 5 tumbling and there team didnt? Just doesnt make sense...these rule changes seem to be from gyms who have lvl 4 athletes on level 3/2 teams because cheer is not big in there area. but quick note since were upping the tumbling on all levels lets go ahead and add kick tripple baskets to level 5, running and standing tripple fulls for tumbling, basically lets make level 5 level 6 and then make a new level called level 7...and allow double backs and full in back outs...and for baskets we can do double back baskets!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[championswagga]

and forgot to mention...lets allow level 4 to do half skills for example layout halfs. but not arabians cause thats not in the order progression wise..so only senior teams from california, texas and new jersey are allowed to do arabians.

 

[*Becky*Stars*]

I really dont think that adding a open level 4 devision will make much difference to The amount of international level 6 teams. I know that here in the UK we dont have an age limit on each level, as there arnt that many cheerleaders in the country to make full teams if it was done that way. So a 25 year old could be on a level 4 team but choose not too and be on a level 6 team. Plus in international devisions i dont think tumbling is as important, partly due to the fact of money in the sport. Most cheer teams in the uk cant train on sprung floors all the time, due to not enough money and funding for cheerleading, therfore tumbling is hard to increase. Which means teams spend more time on increasing difficulty in stunts rather than tumbles. For example Bangkok, Tailand dont all have running fulls or whole teams standing tumbling but have amazing pyramids that gave Team USA a run for their money in 2009 at ICU.

I just think that if the idea of adding an open level 4 to decrease the amount of international teams entering level 6 because they dont have the tumbling skills, will not work, as our senior teams are all more or less open already.

 

[KTNSinspiredbyFIERCECATS]

I say GET RID OF SENIOR 1! if you're 14+ and want to cheer and you can't learn the level 1 skills in a couple months to be on a level 2 team then take a tumbling class! Get privates lessons! Or go cheer at your high school! Because All-stars is obviously not for you!

 

[Ashley]

I say GET RID OF SENIOR 1! if you're 14+ and want to cheer and you can't learn the level 1 skills in a couple months to be on a level 2 team then take a tumbling class! Get privates lessons! Or go cheer at your high school! Because All-stars is obviously not for you!

That's really mean. It's a lot harder to learn to tumble once you're already in high school. Believe me - I cheered in high school in the days where you were a pretty decent team if you had 6 backhandsprings. I cheered from the time I was 10 in Pop Warner, before All-Stars were really big and we definitely weren't learning tumbling during any of that. By the time you're 14 or 15 it's extremely hard to learn to tumble. All-Stars should be inclusive, not exclusive.

 

[Bremix]

I agree with the post above me and it is a lot harder to tumble when you are older. With that being said, I think youth 5 needs to stay the way it is. Youth kids learn a lot of skills faster than senior age kids do, so why put restrictions on that division?

 

[Evergreen]

What does everyone think about the possible time limit change? I think level 1 should definitely be less than 2:30. As a choreographer I find it difficult to make the routine that long considering they don't have a basket section and usually tumbling sections are smaller. (Maybe 2:15 would be better)

As a judge, I'd like to see Level 1 be 1:30. the full 2:30 is just WAY too long for the limited skills they have. Also, at the Tiny level, they can't even remember the whole thing! Please don't flame me and tell me I'm a disgrace to the sport for this, but there are only so many "not-really-a-cartwheel-cartwheels" and wobbly thigh stands a girl can take in one day! Also, limiting the time on L1 would shorten the length of a competition (because they would get a shorter practice time too) and would help keep things on schedule!

 

[blunchin]

i think we should keep senior 1. God forbid a 15 year old girl who had self-esteem issues finally decides she wants to enroll in a sport and picks cheerleading. just because a lot of people don't feel like watching senior 1 because they feel it's boring doesn't mean it's not beneficial to the sport or more importantly, the actual athletes. i'd much rather watch a decent senior one team than these programs that put out these suicidal level 3-4 routines where kids looks like they're going to kill themselves. on another note, there are very few large senior teams in the country and only 3 teams in the entire division won major nationals and worlds. should we be eliminating that division as well?

 

[Mclovin]

I honestly have to say I disagree with making level 1 and 2 so much shorter. The younger the kids and the lower the level the longer it takes for them to get from formation to formation. That's something that needs to be taken into consideration, too. A Tiny or Mini Level 1 team is not going to be able to move from jumps to stunts in a half an eight count like older or more advanced cheerleaders would. So while they may not be throwing all the same skills, they still take just as long to make a routine look clean and presentable. JMO though.

 

[fabulousity]

i think we should keep senior 1. God forbid a 15 year old girl who had self-esteem issues finally decides she wants to enroll in a sport and picks cheerleading. just because a lot of people don't feel like watching senior 1 because they feel it's boring doesn't mean it's not beneficial to the sport or more importantly, the actual athletes. i'd much rather watch a decent senior one team than these programs that put out these suicidal level 3-4 routines where kids looks like they're going to kill themselves. on another note, there are very few large senior teams in the country and only 3 teams in the entire division won major nationals and worlds. should we be eliminating that division as well?

+1

"there are only so many not-really-a-cartwheel-cartwheels" shows lack of creativity and instruction on the coaches' part, not the athletes. level one is for developing fundamentals at any age, so what are we trying to say by eliminating it? there need to be more senior 1 teams instead of bootleg 2s and 3s... meaning coaches need to start pushing form & technique, teach sound back walkovers before even progressing to the next skill. i've seen better motions, dance, and jumps on a level one team than a lot of these teams trying to pass off as level 5s, yet people are suggesting to eliminate it because it's "boring"? kind of contradictory to legitimizing this as a sport...

 

[NJ Coach]

The problem I have with making lower level routines shorter is you're hurting the true level teams. A true level 2 team, that meets all the percentage requirements (majority tumbling, stunting ect) needs the 2.30 to fit everything in, just like a true level 5.

I can understand lowering level 1 routines. They don't have toss sections so can probably fit everything into a 2.20 routine. Levels 2 and up have to hit all the same sections of the score sheet.

 

[ufomom]

I say GET RID OF SENIOR 1! if you're 14+ and want to cheer and you can't learn the level 1 skills in a couple months to be on a level 2 team then take a tumbling class! Get privates lessons! Or go cheer at your high school! Because All-stars is obviously not for you!

Refer back to the post about gym owners and coaches needing to make a living by having athletes in their program. It does not make business sense to chunk people out of their gyms because they are slow at achieving skills.

 

[NJ Coach]

i've seen better motions, dance, and jumps on a level one team than a lot of these teams trying to pass off as level 5s, yet people are suggesting to eliminate it because it's "boring"? kind of contradictory to legitimizing this as a sport...

100% agreed. I've seen some of the most amazing level 1 teams. This season NJSE yth 1 is probably the best I've seen so far.