All-Star Worlds Age Change???

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A J5 outscored 25 level 5 teams including 17 of the Worlds teams at CDE Mid Atlantic in Richmond last weekend. My point is again if they change Worlds age to 14, the Worlds division will become a joke and J5 will dominate. The most skilled and motivated athletes will spend up to 5 years or so on J5 and average 2 on Worlds. My solution would be to require skill sets on a Worlds team for every athlete. If your highest score during the year was an 89 you should not be going to Worlds. These opinions are mine and do not represent any establishment.

If this would be the case hopefully it would lead to fewer gyms fielding inappropriate "worlds" teams. J5 is great division and the kids are extremely talented and I think that they should score similarly to senior level 5 teams if they've executed as good a routine. I also don't believe increasing J5s would be a bad thing. It's a way for the talented kids to get level 5 experience and mature before going to a senior level and to worlds. Additionally, I miss the days of strong J5s (it's been coming back). I definitely agree with the last point though.

However, I doubt this will happen because too few gyms have enough level 5 juniors to form a team instead/in addition to a senior 5. Your idea of worlds teams becoming a joke isn't really fair, there more than enough talented athletes over 14 to make competitive teams.

Personally, I reached a senior and worlds team when I was 14 and there is nothing that makes me look back and wish I had made the team sooner. In reality, theres even some things that, even at 14, I shouldn't have heard. I I had all 4 years of highschool on a senior team and then more worlds experience on an open team while in University.
 
A J5 outscored 25 level 5 teams including 17 of the Worlds teams at CDE Mid Atlantic in Richmond last weekend. My point is again if they change Worlds age to 14, the Worlds division will become a joke and J5 will dominate. The most skilled and motivated athletes will spend up to 5 years or so on J5 and average 2 on Worlds. My solution would be to require skill sets on a Worlds team for every athlete. If your highest score during the year was an 89 you should not be going to Worlds. These opinions are mine and do not represent any establishment.

That's exactly what will happen. A Jr. team can optimize stunt groups physically and will be able to perform elite stunts that a Sr. team won't be able to unless they hit the size lotto every year.

ETA: I absolutely understand, however, how parents could get financial burn out having a child on a World's team for 5+ years.
 
That's exactly what will happen. A Jr. team can optimize stunt groups physically and will bill able to perform elite stunts that a Sr. team won't be able to unless they hit the size lotto every year.
Yes. That’s my thought too. Essentially unless a current non worlds 12 year over the next 2 years develops strong level 5 flying and/or tumbling that they didn’t have this season (more than likely a 12-14 year old isn’t flying on j5 so developing those skills might be difficult) or gym gets new flyers next season, the flyers on current worlds teams are “locked” in as flyers for the next 2 seasons (assuming the 2 year increase over 2 years occurs). It certainly ties the gym’s hands with how much flexibility they have to create worlds teams.
 
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Wanted to add our gym offers multiple flyer and coed stunt classes at a reasonable price for team members. It's a great way for athletes to learn or keep up flying skills, even if they're not currently flying.
 
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A J5 outscored 25 level 5 teams including 17 of the Worlds teams at CDE Mid Atlantic in Richmond last weekend. My point is again if they change Worlds age to 14, the Worlds division will become a joke and J5 will dominate. The most skilled and motivated athletes will spend up to 5 years or so on J5 and average 2 on Worlds. My solution would be to require skill sets on a Worlds team for every athlete. If your highest score during the year was an 89 you should not be going to Worlds. These opinions are mine and do not represent any establishment.
I don't understand your bitterness but it's borderline ridiculous. You're literally complaining when it was ONE J5 team that outscored several worlds teams. Does the gym that fielded that J5 team also have a worlds team? How many Worlds crossovers does that J5 team have? Who knows, who cares - my point is there are great teams at every level in every division and those teams shouldn't be the basis for creating rules and they certainly don't affect teams that don't compete against them. As others have said - regardless of what changes are made there will still be phenomenal Worlds teams and teams that got there because there weren't even enough teams to give all the AL bids out. The latter teams fund Worlds and there have been many a success story of gyms who were there for the experience at one point and made finals a year or two or three thereafter.
 
I don't understand your bitterness but it's borderline ridiculous. You're literally complaining when it was ONE J5 team that outscored several worlds teams. Does the gym that fielded that J5 team also have a worlds team? How many Worlds crossovers does that J5 team have? Who knows, who cares - my point is there are great teams at every level in every division and those teams shouldn't be the basis for creating rules and they certainly don't affect teams that don't compete against them. As others have said - regardless of what changes are made there will still be phenomenal Worlds teams and teams that got there because there weren't even enough teams to give all the AL bids out. The latter teams fund Worlds and there have been many a success story of gyms who were there for the experience at one point and made finals a year or two or three thereafter.

I think he may be in that "I have a longterm Y5/J5 kid and I'm annoyed" camp? I know he posted about his kid being on Twisters Y5 the one time they had one?
 
I really expected peeps from D2 gyms to be upset because age restrictions make it harder from true small gyms to field teams. But, it seems to be more parents of flyers who were hoping their kids could fly on a Worlds team next season.

I am glad the information comes out tomorrow. This is too much time to speculate over the unknown.
 
I was thinking about something @MissCongeniality said, too:

The 10s and 11s are the ones in the gym the most, and they have generally not discovered "life outside the gym."

Once kids hit 13/14, they start seeing not-cheer kids going to the mall or wherever. They start to notice their non-cheer friends not missing every single school dance. They discover other things like school cheer, or a big thing with my HS athletes is midweek youth group/ministry things like Young Life/FCA/etc. They just want to have lives.

I wonder if some of the opposition comes from parents of kids who know that if their kid has to wait until 14, they are probably going to lose interest? Ex: They are on a J5, maybe not the most well-rounded kid on the team, not necessarily loving it, etc.
 
I am glad the information comes out tomorrow. This is too much time to speculate over the unknown.
Lol, true...
The 10s and 11s are the ones in the gym the most, and they have generally not discovered "life outside the gym."

Once kids hit 13/14, they start seeing not-cheer kids going to the mall or wherever. They start to notice their non-cheer friends not missing every single school dance. They discover other things like school cheer, or a big thing with my HS athletes is midweek youth group/ministry things like Young Life/FCA/etc. They just want to have lives.
Yup, participation in all star drops off pretty dramatically around
15...
Junior 5 teams becoming stronger and more popular is a wonderful thing. I would love to see that division grow.

Agree! And if it does I could see J5 back at Worlds...
 
My first thought was non-tumbling divisions, but I really really hope that's not the case. I haven't heard anything about it, it just came to mind when I read that.

This would actually make me really happy.
 
If you're an elite athlete, which, lets be honest, level 5 is the elite of cheerleading, waiting a few more years to go to the elite event (worlds) shouldn't be a problem for you. The stories I've heard from the Olympics this week of kids who technically qualified for Sochi but were too young to go based on IOC rules... those kids didn't just say screw it, because I can't go at 13 I'm never snowboarding again. They kept going and now qualified for the that level.

There are kids who at 13 can throw skills in a half pipe that we don't see this week because of their age, and I'll bet that not being able to go to the Olympics won't cause them to quit. They're still going to be happy with their X Games medals etc.

Every sport has age and skill limitations or requirements. And as much as those who don't fit into those regulations may not like it, it's part of the deal. And if you have an athlete who doesn't want to stick with a sport because they can't go to worlds until they're 14, 15 or 21, then maybe this won't be the sport for them forever. Tons of athletes across all disciplines reach a certain level and walk away for a variety of reasons. Physical or financial burn out, injury, wanting to be a teenager, these aren't unique to cheerleading, they're universal for athletes.

The reality is, we'll get whatever age grid and rules we get, and we'll all live with it, and adapt. That's what's always happened. The USASF is in a no win situation because regardless of what they do, someone somewhere will be miserable about how it impacts *them* without seeing the overall implications for the sport.

I'm excited to see what they come up with tomorrow. Granted I'm also Canadian, and what the USASF does may not impact my gym and teams the same way
 
If you're an elite athlete, which, lets be honest, level 5 is the elite of cheerleading, waiting a few more years to go to the elite event (worlds) shouldn't be a problem for you. The stories I've heard from the Olympics this week of kids who technically qualified for Sochi but were too young to go based on IOC rules... those kids didn't just say screw it, because I can't go at 13 I'm never snowboarding again. They kept going and now qualified for the that level.

There are kids who at 13 can throw skills in a half pipe that we don't see this week because of their age, and I'll bet that not being able to go to the Olympics won't cause them to quit. They're still going to be happy with their X Games medals etc.

Every sport has age and skill limitations or requirements. And as much as those who don't fit into those regulations may not like it, it's part of the deal. And if you have an athlete who doesn't want to stick with a sport because they can't go to worlds until they're 14, 15 or 21, then maybe this won't be the sport for them forever. Tons of athletes across all disciplines reach a certain level and walk away for a variety of reasons. Physical or financial burn out, injury, wanting to be a teenager, these aren't unique to cheerleading, they're universal for athletes.

The reality is, we'll get whatever age grid and rules we get, and we'll all live with it, and adapt. That's what's always happened. The USASF is in a no win situation because regardless of what they do, someone somewhere will be miserable about how it impacts *them* without seeing the overall implications for the sport.

I'm excited to see what they come up with tomorrow. Granted I'm also Canadian, and what the USASF does may not impact my gym and teams the same way
:shimmy: so much yes to all of this.
 
I know for a few of my friends’ children it isn’t about doing worlds 8 times. It’s about getting to experience worlds and then potentially quitting all stars by high school so they can concentrate on other sports that they also excel at (and might actually get a scholarship), focus on academics and/or high school cheer.
but like someone said early, worlds shouldnt be an open invitation. If kids want to quit cheer and focus on school then yes by all means you do what you have to do, but allstar cheer shouldnt change the rules just so 12/13 year old suzy can experience worlds before high school. Look at other sports, a lot of those teens/young adults who have success at an early age, arent demanding the rules be changed for them. They manage both school/life/work/whatever whether they hit their peak at 15 or 18 or 21.
 
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