How do you feel at nationals about having 1 team in a division and them winning by default? should the companies combine that team with the same level/divsion so that their is actually competition?
Even though I know my daughter hated the occasions when they received first for competing against no one, I don't think that a team should be penalized (a little harsher of a word than I want to use, but I can't think of another right now :) ) by not giving them the first place because there isn't anyone in their division.
I do like the idea of combining divisions if there isn't anyone elsein a division, but I imagine competitions have a hard time making that decision because the gyms that are now at a disadvantage don't necessarily like being shoved in a division they aren't in.
I agree Tamara. Also a gym does not know who else is in a division when they sign up for a comp. Sometimes it just happens.
I was just going to say that. For example cheerxplosion's level 4 moved to level 3 for athletic championships and now they have no competition so far, but they didn't know that when they decided to drop. I think they should combine other level 3 divisions if possible, like have the non open move to open, or maybe combine coed with non coed, or would that be unfair? I agree you can't penalize a team because of lack of competition. It's a shallow win for teams going against nobody, all they can do is perform their best and try to get a high score.
I agree that the gyms have no idea they will not be competing against other teams or not and they shouldn't get penalized. I do think that at a Naionals that its ok to give away the first place trophy but not cash prizes or jackets etc... if you are in your own division there should always be three or more for that.
good luck to CX i know those girls will be trying to get a good score and it will be about doing their personal best
It is my understanding that if they are in a division by thelself they must score a certain score to be eligible for nationals jackets etc. If they are good enough to win then it doesnt matter if there are 10 teams or 1
Good point, I hope all competitions are doing that (make the teams achieve a certain score to earn a jacket). It would be the fair thing to do and it would give those teams with no competition something to shoot for.
As the parent of a kid who has had NO COMPETITION all season, it sucks not to have competition.
As far as the jackets, etc...our kids pay the same entry fee that everyone else pays. Is it their fault no one else signs up in the division?
Trust me, they would rather have competition than a sure fire jacket, but the idea of a competition company not awarding the jacket and pocketing all the dollars is a little irksome. I so get that getting the 'jacket' is hollow, but do our comp fees get 'reduced' when we have no competition and a jacket is being 'touted' as a reason to come to the competition and we don't get one because of something we have absolutely no control over.
HOWEVER, that all said, anybody that would post a NATIONAL COMPETION 1st on the their website or brag about it when they had no competition, well, they look silly. (Unless they won HIGH POINT, then brag away!)
I'm on fierce's sr 5 team and speaking from personal experience... it sucked last year being the only large sr 5 team in southern cali (or at least I think we were). We never had anybody to compete against.. And our divisions were always combined... I remember we competed against cheerforce a couple of times and magic. And even though they weren't our normal competitiors, I much rather have competed against them then no one at all. Its a lot more fun competing against someone... and I think it makes you perform that much better. I'm so glad this season we're in the small division now so we don't always have to be the only 1 in a division.
This is a tough question. I think competing by yourself is not really competing unless you are trying to improve your score(which you should be doing). On the other hand, what if there is not another team out there to compete against, for example, special needs division. It would be great to have someone else to compete with. Yes, my girls love getting a trophy but I think it is a great lesson to also not win anything.
Good luck to all the teams with the remainder of the season!
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"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." -Walt Disney
It makes no sense at all to punish team members because the competition did not draw enough attendees to ensure every division has competition to go against. We all pay the same fees, as others have mentioned. Nobody likes having no competition, so I think it is up to the competition to come up with a way to equally reward those who are alone in a division. If you come up with a particular score they must meet to earn a trophy (and a jacket if appropriate) then you should require the winners of all divisions to have a particular score. Just because a team has one other team in their division doesn't mean they deserve the award more than someone who has no competition; it should be based on your score.
Wow, I have no idea on how to fix this situation but I will tell you this.... I can't STAND when there's no competition. Isn't that what it's SUPPOSED to be? What if they gave the team a choice of moving divisions or canceling and giving them their $ back? Hmmmm that wouldn't be good if they were traveling far..... gosh, I don't know how to fix that one. But it sure sucks.
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OC Mom, Mom of 5 great kids! A cheerleader/softball player, a RETIRED cheerleader, a football/baseball player, 1 Airman and future Police Officer and one college student!
We've had no competition all season. At this point, we (parents) feel like we have wasted a year of our lives and our money. Is it anybody's fault? Not really (unless you point it at me...there were other teams locally that we could have moved to, but we like our gym.) If you go with the 'learning a lesson' by not winning anything because you don't have any competition, it makes for a really really really long season. I am not sure that I can continue to support cheerleading if she continues on an 'exhibition' team. And I do love cheerleading.
What division is your daughter (or son) in? I can't imagine having no competition at all at every single comp unless you're only going to very low attended competitions nobody has heard of, but there really aren't that many. You should see competition at Nationals. If you're not seeing the gyms in your area attending these competitions then you're going to the wrong ones.
If the problem is the division you're in, it's a little trickier. It seems like over the years the higher level youth divisions have not been as popular because there just aren't that many gyms that can field a youth team above level 3, for example. Seems like the gym could make some adjustments so that you have competition; I agree you pay too much money to not compete, and without competing you are just performing.
I know that Swat out of vacaville junior coed team never has competition. Even winning nationals each year and jackets with out competing against any one. Maybe that division isnt popular for most gyms and they should eliminate junior coed or move them into a division with others. My daughter does not cheer for them any more but i do know that the parents and children get frustrated. We use to think it was a waste of time and money. When we were on that team(and im speaking from when we were on that team only) the owner was very open about attending competitions with no or hardly any competitiors. That may not still be true, but that is what happened when we were there. Over the past few years that gym constantly attends comps with out competitiors the majority of the time. We did get tired of it and joined another squad. Our new squad may niot always win, but we are now getting in the top 3 and people are concerned about us... I personally think gyms should want to compete against other teams. if they have true level squads and work hard then you should have no fear of competing aginst others
I agree that as a paying costumer I would prefer to see my girls do their best with their team, even if they are against a small/large team. Actually the companies can grade on % or ratio which should balance the # of cheerleaders and base on their difficulty. Our previous gym deliberately competed at smaller company comps to ensure a win and post them on their website- one of several reasons why they are our previous gym.
Maybe years ago gyms felt they could get away with just going to small no name competitions to ensure a win, but these days you would hope they're smart enough to know that they will lose members quickly if they continue this trend.
All of our teams from Mini 2 to Level 5 want to compete against somebody. Even if they are injred they would rather go up against somebody than nobody at all. But one thing you can not control is what other gyms will choose to attend a competition. Many competition companies will not release the schedule until the week of. If you are a program that gets it's money and registration in early many times you are often stuck until they post that schedule. I know in our area many gyms won't register for certain competitions but will constantly call the meet directors to see who else has registered to compete. Then they make their decision based off that. While I personally do not like that approach, it does happen.
(Unless they won HIGH POINT, then brag away!)
And I do love cheerleading. 
