Clarification on bids

CHEERMOM4LIFE · Member

Clarification on bids

Worlds Watcher · GURU

I'll try to answer your questions, but others please chime in where I miss some facts.

The competition Company giving out the bids determines how the bids will be awarded. Some companies award bids to the top scoring teams from all Worlds divisions, others award bids to the 1st place teams in each division, even if their scores are lower than 2nd or 3rd place teams in other divisions. And there are other varieties to how companies give out bids.

A team can only accept one bid, so if they have a Paid bid then they are no longer eligible to get another bid. If a team has an At Large or partial paid bid they are still eligible to receive a paid bid. If this happens the at large bid they originally had can be "passed down" to another team. The passing down of bids is not required. It is up to the descretion of the competition company if they pass the bid down and what team would get the bid.

I hope this answers your initial questions. Believe me, the bid race gets confusing as the season goes on. But it is a fun ride and when your child is involved....well...obsession is the word I would use.

You can go to USASF web site and get more details: http://www.usasf.net/

CHEERMOM4LIFE · Member

If I understand this correctly, the host, those putting on the competition can decide who gets the declined bid.

IN MY OPINION ONLY, it would seem fair, since it is WORLD'S, to me the highest honor to be invited.... that if you are passed down a bid from a declining team... you should be held to a standard. Like an "at minimum score" earned. Say it was top score of 100, you could rec'v it only if your team was scored at maybe 95 or above. Know what I mean? Some kind of criteria or measure to be held up to.....

I just got confused reading back to a thread in the USA attendees where Desert Storm bids from AZ Power Elite, then down to AZ Heat... I will read on, I am sure the more I read, the more it will make sense to me..

Thanks for your input...

Worlds Watcher · GURU

Oh Cheermom4life...you have just entered into one of the biggest debate topics of Worlds. And don't ever expect things to "make sense". You can get a good understanding of what is going on but does it make sense? Well...not always.

This year there are so many bids being given that some believe it will delute the presitige of Worlds and just turn into another Nationals competition. And because USASF has not set any required qualification criteria to awarding bids it then becomes questionable about each teams true merit for obtaining a bid.

It is a very complicated situation and some believe it all comes down to money and business.

CHEERMOM4LIFE · Member

Dilute the prestige of worlds... what a great way to say that!!!

Well the money and business would make A LOT of sense to me... yep anywhere from 20-40 more people from that team, including coaches.... then add the spending opportunities from those athletes families who decide to attend as well. Great for their economy and very good business sense I suppose, but again, like you said... the prestige of worlds no longer on a pedestal and the ultimate goal. Before you know it they will draw it out over a couple of weekends to accomodate to add youth worlds!!! It's not that far fetched.

It is so funny, when people you know that are not involved with the sport of cheerleading, they hear you are going to nationals.... and they are like, "WOW, Nationals!!!" I feel kind of weird, because it's not like other sports nationals. When it comes down to the few best teams like from a brackett..... Then we have to explain all of the different companies that host their own nationals and from different regions blah, blah, blah....you know what I mean, you've beent there I'm sure!!! Sorry, going off topic, but know what I mean???

AbbyByTheBay · Senior Member

We all definitely know what you mean. And yes it's an honor to be invited to Worlds, but that gets complicated when you tell people that you get to go because so and so declined their invitation which was passed down to someone else who also declined. It can make someone's head spin. I do hope that changes someday and the teams competing at Worlds are truly the best of the best. Sometimes I think it's easier to list the level 5 teams that did not get bids, at least here in Northern California. I mean, it's a shorter list, isn't it? Anyway, you ask a lot of good questions CheerMom4Life!

AirborneOwner · GURU

I applaud everyone that have gotten their bids by earning them and not getting them passed down. I do wish that less bids were available. I think it would take it back to what it was at the begining. I wonder when Worlds was created if it was created in the spirit of the sport or only to be a money maker. I hope it was for the sport. Because now it is about the money. Sad. Yet a great experience for the kids involved.

OC Mom · GURU

What took me by surprise was the fact that there were mainly 1 or 2 teams in each category. The largest category had 4 I believe. To me, that's just ridiculous. How can one say that they truly earned something when they didn't go against ANYONE? (yea, no one in their category) And even though Motions did beautifully, they didn't compete but against one other team. I am so glad they won because I have personal ties there, and I think they would have won even if there were 45 teams, but still. There were two teams. 2. To me, that's NOT a national competition. Bids aside. How on earth is THAT a National competition?

I have one more comment.... and this subject has been touched on before.... and truthfully, I've only thought of one solution....

The cheering of the winning team when second place is called. I CANNOT see how a group of kids can sit so still when they just found out they won. To me, that's just mean. BUT on the same hand, the team that just found out that they placed second, already feels the sting.....

SO WHY CAN'T THEY JUST DO THIS....

4th place...... Cheer Team C!!! (and cheer team C leaves the stage with their trophy)

3rd place...... Cheer Team A!!!!!! (and they leave too)

AND NOW, YOUR NATIONAL CHAMPIONS ARE........

CHEER TEAM B!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They do this with Miss America. The two ladies stand up there, holding hands, and the winning girl gets to celebrate, cry, wave, etc....... she gets to enjoy her glory....

It seems like such a SIMPLE answer to me. But hey, it's not like I know..... it's just my opinion.

LadyW · Senior Member

Let me add to the confusion even more. On Sunday for dance, they announced that if you had a parital paid bid ($3,000) that was a lower amount that what was being offered at USA ($4000), you could accept the USA bid, and then notify the original company that you are declining.

Talk about playing with numbers....