College What's The Difference Between Ncata And Stunt?

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@tripmom @4gemsmom @NoOneSpecial We will be newbies to A&T this season.... My daughter is coming from an Allstar background. I have been watching meets and trying to learn more!! Excited for this new experience. She signed with Hawaii Pacific.
 
I am sure your daughter is right... Does she like it? I hope mine likes the transition. Allstars is all she knows.

at first when it was just all practice she wasn't fond of it. It was a huge transition, esp with so much focus on technique. It didn't all click with her till her first meet.

I would say to most all star athletes - the first year is all about cleaning up technique. No crossed ankles in tumbling or double downs. Bases no movement in stunts and pyramid and so on.
 
Congratulation to @4gemsmom 's CP on her win against Oregon. That is HUGE! They are a tough team. :)
@tripmom @NoOneSpecial @Mo-Lissa Thank you so much! They were beyond excited and proud of themselves. I went to HPU to watch the meet when APU was there. It was so much fun, of course it's Hawaii so how could it not be. I love that instead of fists the HPU girls do the "hang loose" sign in their stunts. I still have a younger daughter that will be at Worlds the same weekend as A & T Nationals until 2016 when she graduates! Don't think I will ever to get to see my daughter compete at Nationals. Its very frustrating!
 
I'm definitely a fan of A&T, but I'm afraid that people will consider it to be gymnastics rather than comp cheer b/c of the scoring. If people start referring to A&T as gymnastics rather than cheer, we might never get credit for our hard work (sounds kind of paranoid, but that's how I feel).

Edit: "college cheer teams often are focused on achieving a look or a size that doesn’t fit student-athletes who wish to develop the strength necessary for a more demanding athletic sport." I got that off of the official NCATA site. I know that UK does that (for practical stunting reasons), but do other colleges do that (I know that some colleges will make the coach/es cut kids that don't fit the look that the school wants)? I hope that the spreading popularity of A&T will stop schools from treating us like disposable marketing tools. And have you guys ever been to a comp that scores the uniform? (For reasons other that safety violation.)
 
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I'm definitely a fan of A&T, but I'm afraid that people will consider it to be gymnastics rather than comp cheer b/c of the scoring. If people start referring to A&T as gymnastics rather than cheer, we might never get credit for our hard work (sounds kind of paranoid, but that's how I feel).

Edit: "college cheer teams often are focused on achieving a look or a size that doesn’t fit student-athletes who wish to develop the strength necessary for a more demanding athletic sport." I got that off of the official NCATA site. I know that UK does that (for practical stunting reasons), but do other colleges do that (I know that some colleges will make the coach/es cut kids that don't fit the look that the school wants)? I hope that the spreading popularity of A&T will stop schools from treating us like disposable marketing tools. And have you guys ever been to a comp that scores the uniform? (For reasons other that safety violation.)

I am also a huge fan of A&T! I coach competitive cheer and we also have A&T at our university. They are very different and I think will each be successful in their own right! Meaning I dont think one will take over/overpower the other. There is more than enough interest at the youth level in cheer and gymnastics to support collegiate opportunities in both cheer, gymnastics, and A&T. Now if only more schools would get on board and more athletes/families would do their research about all of the options at the college level - there are SO many if you just look hard enough! But thats another thread :)

With regard to college cheer programs focusing on achieving a certain "look" -

I think there will always be schools that have cheer programs where that is the focus. However I also think that is dying a slow death at a lot of schools too, especially those that aren't "big name" programs. I think it is some of the biggest/most visible programs that really have kept that focus on image and that's what makes people think all of college cheer is that way. (And that works for their program and its their decision, so I'm not knocking that - to each his own.)

As far as image and being scored on it - NCA does have a "collegiate image" category that you get scored on at nationals. They specifically reference no visible tattoos, "unnatural" hair color, large bows, glitter, etc. My personal opinion - I don't like tattoos, pink hair, etc. when my athletes are competing just because I find that distracting. I don't care about that type of stuff on a daily basis, but I don't like to see it on competition day. I know that's been discussed on here previously - how distracting are tattoos really? I don't know but I'm distracted by EVERYTHING so that stuff bugs me. For me, it's less about "image" than about uniformity and a focus on the routine. I'm sure some people think that's silly and that's ok too! Like I said, to each his own.

I will also say that for parents/athletes looking at schools - you can usually sniff out the ones that are about image, size, weight, etc. VERY quickly. If you're not into that, look somewhere else - there are plenty of options. Unfortunately with cheer being so unregulated, you have to do some extra research, but you'll find a good fit if you look hard enough. I think that's one reason people gravitate toward A&T - they make it clear they're not about image, and that's awesome! However, there are plenty of cheer programs that aren't either, so if you love cheer but don't want to be used as a "marketing tool" there ARE options - you might just have to dig a little more :)

Sorry for the long post but this a topic I find so interesting, so thought I would throw my two cents in!
 
I'm definitely a fan of A&T, but I'm afraid that people will consider it to be gymnastics rather than comp cheer b/c of the scoring. If people start referring to A&T as gymnastics rather than cheer, we might never get credit for our hard work (sounds kind of paranoid, but that's how I feel).

Edit: "college cheer teams often are focused on achieving a look or a size that doesn’t fit student-athletes who wish to develop the strength necessary for a more demanding athletic sport." I got that off of the official NCATA site. I know that UK does that (for practical stunting reasons), but do other colleges do that (I know that some colleges will make the coach/es cut kids that don't fit the look that the school wants)? I hope that the spreading popularity of A&T will stop schools from treating us like disposable marketing tools. And have you guys ever been to a comp that scores the uniform? (For reasons other that safety violation.)

I think fans of sideline cheerleading and competitive cheerleading will remain loyal indefinitely . A and T is building it's own fan base and meets are drawing over 1,000 plus fans for head to head match ups. A and T does not lead any cheers and is not on the sideline. The current collegiate national (s) for sideline cheerleaders when they compete has a crowd leading component (which is scored) in its format and might still have a 10 point image score (?). A collegiate field hockey, rugby or basketball team score is not based on their appearance. In reality all college athletes whether club or varsity status are marketing tools when they are wearing their University logo. I guess the word "disposable" is the problem. There are many testimonials from sideline cheer programs that receive excellent benefits for participating. A and T athletes (as all varsity status teams) MUST receive specific benefits (to be Title IX compliant) and also adhere to specific rules pertaining to collegiate athletics. . The NCAA does not insure the competing nor practice sessions for competition for collegiate cheerleading. A and T is insured.
 
I am also a huge fan of A&T! I coach competitive cheer and we also have A&T at our university. They are very different and I think will each be successful in their own right! Meaning I dont think one will take over/overpower the other. There is more than enough interest at the youth level in cheer and gymnastics to support collegiate opportunities in both cheer, gymnastics, and A&T. Now if only more schools would get on board and more athletes/families would do their research about all of the options at the college level - there are SO many if you just look hard enough! But thats another thread :)

With regard to college cheer programs focusing on achieving a certain "look" -

I think there will always be schools that have cheer programs where that is the focus. However I also think that is dying a slow death at a lot of schools too, especially those that aren't "big name" programs. I think it is some of the biggest/most visible programs that really have kept that focus on image and that's what makes people think all of college cheer is that way. (And that works for their program and its their decision, so I'm not knocking that - to each his own.)

As far as image and being scored on it - NCA does have a "collegiate image" category that you get scored on at nationals. They specifically reference no visible tattoos, "unnatural" hair color, large bows, glitter, etc. My personal opinion - I don't like tattoos, pink hair, etc. when my athletes are competing just because I find that distracting. I don't care about that type of stuff on a daily basis, but I don't like to see it on competition day. I know that's been discussed on here previously - how distracting are tattoos really? I don't know but I'm distracted by EVERYTHING so that stuff bugs me. For me, it's less about "image" than about uniformity and a focus on the routine. I'm sure some people think that's silly and that's ok too! Like I said, to each his own.

I will also say that for parents/athletes looking at schools - you can usually sniff out the ones that are about image, size, weight, etc. VERY quickly. If you're not into that, look somewhere else - there are plenty of options. Unfortunately with cheer being so unregulated, you have to do some extra research, but you'll find a good fit if you look hard enough. I think that's one reason people gravitate toward A&T - they make it clear they're not about image, and that's awesome! However, there are plenty of cheer programs that aren't either, so if you love cheer but don't want to be used as a "marketing tool" there ARE options - you might just have to dig a little more :)

Sorry for the long post but this a topic I find so interesting, so thought I would throw my two cents in!
That's good. Plus, the things mentioned in the appearance category actually make sense.
 
Also I've noticed how much better the skill level is in A&T because of the extra resources. The flyer on Baylor's A&T team (Kiara Nowlin is one of them!) can all front squat more than their entire bodyweight, and it's common to see girls with the ability to base and fly TOSS TO HANDS, PRESS EXTENSION; UNASSISTED. Like they're all Mattie Rogers or something.
 
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