What are the top 3 topics in cheerleading?

[Deleted member 15]

Judging. Judging. Judging.

Please expand on your response.

 

[KRECCheer]

PM'ed.

 

[Deleted member 15]

PM'ed.

Post it here. People from the USASF and event producers read this board so letting them know something needs to be addressed may lead to it being fixed.

 

[KRECCheer]

Just seems to be a lack of attention these days. I will go with a partner stunt competition instead of teams:
If we bring three partner stunt groups to a competition and they all do the same basket toss (say, a straight ride) you can only score so high in difficulty so they should all be the same, not blank .2, blank.4, blank.3. Execution scores are where our scores would vary, correct?

Also, we had a team in the international open 5 division. We only had this team because we were a first year team without the numbers to have an open team and a senior team. On our score sheets, we consistantly saw "your team would do well in a lower division. Need more fulls." A: there are no level 3 international open divisions, or 4.2's, etc. B:If I had more fulls, don't you think I would put them in?!! I am under the impression that judges still dont understand this level and why it was started in the first place.

It is the comments like these and the lack of attention to small things that really irritate me as a coach. I know that they are only so many quality judges to go around, but if usasf, jam brands, whoever is going to certify people to judge, they should take the time to make sure they all know the age divisions, scoring ranges, etc.

 

[Deleted member 15]

Thank you KRECCheer.

 

[Mclovin]

Or when the judges make a comment like "you need more doubles to max out your score" when you entered the sr. open 5 division . . . ugh

 

[chyeeaaa69]

I think the Olympic thing is big in my mind , of course not one of the biggest but it does somewhat effect our sport's credibility .
if it is not considered a sport by Olympic standard how are we going to move forward in others believing it is a sport ( which I know , frustrates us all )

 

[GAcheerpeach]

I think the Olympic thing is big in my mind , of course not one of the biggest but it does somewhat effect our sport's credibility .
if it is not considered a sport by Olympic standard how are we going to move forward in others believing it is a sport ( which I know , frustrates us all )

Before we can make cheerleading an official olympic sport we need to have strict rules that govern each level and each competitor to make the sport legit in the eyes of the outside world. If a girl is 10 and 60 pounds is on a youth team, a junior team and a senior team how can you even think that the olympics will even consider you as a sport? Our sport is laughed at by outsiders because of ridiculous things like I stated above.

 

[cheerstar]

1. Definitely judging. We need to have a universal score sheet for EVERY competition. I don't care if it's owned by different companies. The score sheets should all be the same no matter what. It just creates confusion for outsiders and those who are just getting involved in the sport.

2. Crossovers. Should we allow them? Should only a certain number of crossover athletes per gym be allowed? Should they only be allowed to crossover to another team of the same level? (ex. Junior 5 to Senior 5, not Junior 5 to Senior 3). Should we limit the amount of crossover athletes depending on the size of the gym?

3. Cheating. How do we control this? How do we prove that someone who is over the set age limit is competing illegally? Do we use I.D. cards? Make athletes provide more proof of age than a birth certificate? And if we do have proof of cheating, what should be the consequences? Should we punish the athlete? The gym? What if the gym claims they had no idea the athlete wasn't within the age limit?

I think these are some of the most talked about topics in cheerleading.

 

[cheeeeer93]

Universal Scoresheet.
Teams shouldn't have to adjust their routine to fit the style of each competition in order to win.

 

[hAhLe_yEaH]

Cheerleading should be made an Olympic sport for each division and send the people who win at worlds for their division.

 

[ohkcheery]

Ok, the biggest issue RIGHT this second? Definitely NOT about getting into the Olympics. There's tons of things that would have to fall into place for that to happen, and personally as much as I love cheerleading, I'd rather see football make it before cheer. If you're judging something as a "sport" based on its Olympic teams, there are quite a few things that won't be considered sports that universally are..
Anyway, on to my own list:
1. Consistent judging. Something illegal here, something that merits a warning there, and something that no one knows about or sees? This causes WAY more drama than anything else and could be fixed with an actual visible result quite soon.
2. Unified Scoresheet. This could go along with #1, but I'm going to give it it's own.
3. Crossovers. Too many kids cheering on teams that they shouldn't be on in the first place.

 

[xocheerobsessed<3]

I agree with most of the people that have posted. A universal scoresheet is the biggest issue in my opinion. My team has to change our goals and even our routines for each competition since some things are counted illegal at different competitions, and some things are counted more that others (execution, ect.).

 

[ztaprincess]

Universal Scoresheets: it could take a while to get it down for all levels but if we were to start with level 5/6 worlds teams it would be good. say if you are going to a competition that is offering a bid and your team is going for it. i think that in order to qualify for that bid then that team should be scored on the WORLDS scoresheet. now with that i think that the world scoresheet should come out before the season starts so all competitions giving bids can use them. if you are a worlds team then be judged by the worlds standards.

Judging: i think everyone that has mentioned it has covered what i would say.

Age Limits: i agree with whoever said youth age kids should be able to be on a team with senior aged kids. instead of ages overlapping there should be a clear cutoff. also the super senior thing. i can see that people don't like college kids on senior teams, but i say heck let them do it if it is what they want to. it keeps teams filled and competitors on the mat. also pushing out the super seniors and making more international teams is frustrating with the only 3 go to finals at worlds. these international teams will want more of a chance to go to finals. if we start pushing people from senior age teams we will have to fix the international team dilema at worlds.

 

[cheer8]

I think all these are great ideas but
1. All saying crossovers are bad. Gyms under 100 allstar members need these crossovers, so I disagree with those that state this comment
2. Olympics one day- I would love to see this but... loop holes and rules have to be 100% legit before this will ever happen!

Thanks