- Mar 19, 2012
- 269
- 458
So over the past weekend, I worked and competed at both an all-star and high school/middle school state cheer competition. Seeing some of the tumbling from the school division honestly scared me... some of the passes were so low and under rotated, I thought they were literally going to break their necks. Along with the tumbling, some of the stunt falls hit hard in both warmups and performance. It got me thinking about the floor rules we have in place. Generally, high school (or any school) does not compete on a spring floor, vs the Allstars who do. I personally have grown up in both high school and allstar cheer, and all star competitions generally have better (and safer) tumbling and stunting technique. Now in college, our team practices on a spring, and we only really perform on a spring if we can help it.
I think the number one thing that I would change for all competitive cheerleading, regardless of club or school, is to compete on spring. Cheerleaders perform around the same tumbling passes as a gymnast, and gymnasts use spring, always. If something were to happen and an athlete bailed, the spring floor is more forgiving than a dead mat. I also think that the same rule applies to stunting... as bad as it sounds, a stunt drop will be less painful on spring (usually!) and the flyer can kind of "bounce" back up. I just have seen so many horrible injuries that could have been lessened if a spring floor was used.
Another thing is the 7, 8, or 9 pannel situation. As a former allstar, I always used 9. Always. In college, at a D1 school, usually it is 8 (UCA nationals...). Our team is more all-star, and we are fortunate enough to use 9. Some school competitions I have seen 7 or 9. I think there needs to be a universal panel mat rule implemented. Tumbling passes are so hard to fit on 7 or 8 if an athlete is used to 9, and vice versa. The non-uniformatity of size can also be dangerous if an athlete flies off of a stage or tumbles into another athlete because of spacing issues. Not to mention the complicated formation switches!!
Just wanted to know what you all thought of this... or if anyone else thought the same thing.
I think the number one thing that I would change for all competitive cheerleading, regardless of club or school, is to compete on spring. Cheerleaders perform around the same tumbling passes as a gymnast, and gymnasts use spring, always. If something were to happen and an athlete bailed, the spring floor is more forgiving than a dead mat. I also think that the same rule applies to stunting... as bad as it sounds, a stunt drop will be less painful on spring (usually!) and the flyer can kind of "bounce" back up. I just have seen so many horrible injuries that could have been lessened if a spring floor was used.
Another thing is the 7, 8, or 9 pannel situation. As a former allstar, I always used 9. Always. In college, at a D1 school, usually it is 8 (UCA nationals...). Our team is more all-star, and we are fortunate enough to use 9. Some school competitions I have seen 7 or 9. I think there needs to be a universal panel mat rule implemented. Tumbling passes are so hard to fit on 7 or 8 if an athlete is used to 9, and vice versa. The non-uniformatity of size can also be dangerous if an athlete flies off of a stage or tumbles into another athlete because of spacing issues. Not to mention the complicated formation switches!!
Just wanted to know what you all thought of this... or if anyone else thought the same thing.