It's starting to look suspicious...

oldschoolcheercoach · Member

It's starting to look suspicious...

justacheermom · Newbie

oldschoolcheercoach wrote:

I am reading that all these scores are being changed because of mistakes found. It seems the mistakes being found are only by the teams who were able to hang around for hours after the comp because the scoresheets were not ready. The mistakes are huge and it looks really bad for the ALIC. I think maybe all scoresheets need to reviewed, because a lot of teams that placed didn't deserve to.
I think next year the scoring system needs to revamped. Touchdowns on tumbling should count, following in tumbling should count and if you drop a stunt to the ground it should majorly count!! Falling in stunts didn't seem to matter.
The teams at this comp are their because they are strong teams so hold them to a higher standard. I think having a ALL level comp like this is great, but it needs to be treated more seriously. Some people say it's a joke because everyone got a bid. OK than make it harder to qualify. You have to win a major comp. and there has to be at least 3 teams in your division. This cuts out these teams who look for ways to not compete against stronger teams. Make it harder to get in not easier.
Make it about the best competing against the best and NOT about money!!!

thank you! well put! i agree 100%!

annon360 · Veteran Member

Can I get an "AMEN!"

Stiringthingsup · Newbie

In talking about the integrity of the IALC it is important to distinguosh a need to have the continuaity of worlds where you must compete in the division that you qualified in with the same athletes, in the same division, in the same level! The differnce is that the iALC is run by varsity which is an event producer and the worlds is run by the usasf who holds the qualifiers to a much higher standard.

In the large senior open 3 ask yourself why out of 10 teams a third did not get their bid or compete in this division all season yet they were allowed to compete by adding younger kids, higher level athletes, males and athletes from other gyms... Where are the ethics and the prestige in that?

The event producers allow the changes to be made in orde to apease the customer. There needs to be someone (a governing body) to make the decisions in order to uphold the integrity of the sport. Bottom line money should not be the deciding factor when decisions are being made. It should be what is right for the sport!!!

tracy · Veteran Member

Stiringthingsup wrote:

In talking about the integrity of the IALC it is important to distinguosh a need to have the continuaity of worlds where you must compete in the division that you qualified in with the same athletes, in the same division, in the same level! The differnce is that the iALC is run by varsity which is an event producer and the worlds is run by the usasf who holds the qualifiers to a much higher standard.

In the large senior open 3 ask yourself why out of 10 teams a third did not get their bid or compete in this division all season yet they were allowed to compete by adding younger kids, higher level athletes, males and athletes from other gyms... Where are the ethics and the prestige in that?

The event producers allow the changes to be made in orde to apease the customer. There needs to be someone (a governing body) to make the decisions in order to uphold the integrity of the sport. Bottom line money should not be the deciding factor when decisions are being made. It should be what is right for the sport!!!

I have to agree with what you are saying. Way too many teams were allowed to select a new unqualified division or just step in and register as a last minute participant. It concerns me because these teams have never not one time qualified for the event. You could really consider this competition an open regional event. Too many mistakes were done throughout this entire process from registration to awards, to the re-do performances, to the miscalculations, to the lack of trophies to the lack of sweatshirts. The courtesy gifts some of the cheerleaders received were recycled gifts from NCA, UCA previous competition. The sad thing is that many of the performers didn't even know about the courtesy gifts because the bags were just thrown on a table with no staff members. THe staff members had more fun hanging out instead of working.

Some one mentioned they paid $25.00 to get into this event so consider the cost. That cost didn't apply to everyone that attended. Some teams paid more and some teams traveled great distances to get to LA. The spectator fee was $15.00. This is quite a bit of money when you add things up.

This was a varsity event with the collabration of many. USA,UCA,NCA,CheerPower, Athletic, etc. We saw plenty of advertising at this competition but it still felt below the level of a great event. You would have thought that the knowledge in the Varsity circle could have made sure this event was fine tuned and polished. Disappointing would be an understatement.

Certainly hope there is a few good men and women out there that could find a way to improve the system that we are currently trapped in. It's gotta change. There was mention that there needs a governance board. This could be a solution. At least its a start.

annon360 · Veteran Member

Stiringthingsup wrote:

In talking about the integrity of the IALC it is important to distinguosh a need to have the continuaity of worlds where you must compete in the division that you qualified in with the same athletes, in the same division, in the same level! The differnce is that the iALC is run by varsity which is an event producer and the worlds is run by the usasf who holds the qualifiers to a much higher standard.

In the large senior open 3 ask yourself why out of 10 teams a third did not get their bid or compete in this division all season yet they were allowed to compete by adding younger kids, higher level athletes, males and athletes from other gyms... Where are the ethics and the prestige in that?

The event producers allow the changes to be made in orde to apease the customer. There needs to be someone (a governing body) to make the decisions in order to uphold the integrity of the sport. Bottom line money should not be the deciding factor when decisions are being made. It should be what is right for the sport!!!

At real world people have alternates and can be placed in. More and more this season I have seen kids crossing from different programs, and while it may seem odd it is not illegal so until it is we can't fault gyms for doing this. If these athletes can handle being on a level 3 team at their home gym but want to utilize their level 5 skills and both gyms agree, why not? What team are you questioning about qualifying? I think all those senior open 3 teams qualified in that division, I know a few of those teams switched between senior 3 and senior open throughout the year, but im almost positive all qualified. Maybe you are confused because IALC made b.s. large and small gym categories for small senior open 3 (when if you didn't split them apart they still had less teams than the lg senior open division which was not split). I hope somebody from IALC reads these boards, it might be useful feedback for next year.

Danny · Senior Member

Only one character needed to explain the whole thing. "$". And I type that in defense of Varsity. (ya let's not forget this is part of the Varsity Empire) Takes cash to put these things on and no one's in it to break even. Until that someone comes along...max teams will get bids. More and more each year in fact.

oldcheermom · Senior Member

Instead of hoping someone from IALC reads these comments, how about contacting them directly with your concerns? If they get enough of us sending emails with not only complaints, but ideas to improve the competition, they just might listen, and we will have a better competition next year!

RiptideAllStars · Veteran Member

oldcheermom wrote:

Instead of hoping someone from IALC reads these comments, how about contacting them directly with your concerns? If they get enough of us sending emails with not only complaints, but ideas to improve the competition, they just might listen, and we will have a better competition next year!

HA! I wouldn't go to this competition again next year if they paid ME $25 per participant!

cheerburger · Member

Is it really about gift bags? Hmmm. I thought the IALC competition really held it's own for it's first year. I think it was an honor to just be invited to compete with the best of the best. Remember, not all teams were invited to compete so if your team was there, then that's a win in itself!

AirborneOwner · GURU

cheerburger wrote:

Is it really about gift bags? Hmmm. I thought the IALC competition really held it's own for it's first year. I think it was an honor to just be invited to compete with the best of the best. Remember, not all teams were invited to compete so if your team was there, then that's a win in itself!

=)

flipkidjudge · Senior Member

Danny wrote:

Only one character needed to explain the whole thing. "$". And I type that in defense of Varsity. (ya let's not forget this is part of the Varsity Empire) Takes cash to put these things on and no one's in it to break even. Until that someone comes along...max teams will get bids. More and more each year in fact.

Exactly right! While I am definitely one not to defend Varsity, the fact remains is every competition company is in this thing to make money. People forget that venues, hotels, equipment and staff is not free and must be paid for. Many times these contracts stipulate they must be paid in advance of the date. Sure you could go with a lower cost, more flexible site and arrangements but then the parents would be complaining about the site not being nice enough, not big enough, shoddy equipment, untrained staff for a competition of such and such caliber.

As to the other issues mentioned I agree to give them time. This was a first year event and IMHO is only Varsity's attempt to cash in on something that they previously did not agree with, ie World's type championship in every level. So they are really new at this. E-mail them and let them know your concerns. Although I am sure someone from there is monitoring these sites and will give them the feedback also. biggrin

oldschoolcheercoach · Member

I love all the input on this matter. I think however we need to be honest here, there is little or no governing of any competitions or teams so I can't beleive IALC will ever be any different.
All year I see teams that have kids that are to old and kids who move around and way to many crossovers.
We neetd to star cleaning up all the local comps amd than the Championship comps first.

As far as teams that competied not in the catagory they qualified in ,I talked with some of the gyms and thay only wanted to send 1 team so they combined their different levels together I dont really agree with it but sometimes money issue play a big part in that decision.
However, IALC made up it's own little things also, small gym large gym but only in certain catagorys not in all.
Lets start by setting ONE set of rules that everyone has to follow. Then lets work on a scoring system everyone uses. Then lets clean up the age breakdowns way to confussing and everyone interpets it differently, make it clear cut, make teams submit a certified roster(with birth certifcates) and make the teams check in with an I.D. issued by the governing cheer board.
It can be fixed but it will take cooperation from everyone. Maybe a huge coaches conference where all this can be discussed and a plan can be put into place.
Welll good luck to everyone next season amd to all the teams getting ready to attend level 5 worlds have fun,be safe fly high- GOOD LUCK!!

coachtamara · Member

Small gym vs large gym has been a long time coming, and is very popular in large competitions on the east and south. At Jamfest Super Nationals there are divisions that are even split into small, medium, and large gym, depending on the number of teams in the division.
Let's be honest, is it really fair to have a gym with one team going against a gym with 12 teams? No. That's the name of the game, but small gyms do not have the luxury of picking and choosing the kids they want on what teams. With small gyms, they take what they can get and make the best out of the talent they have. This does not mean they cannot be good, but when a youth team comes from a small gym it is pretty unlikely they will be able to stack that team with kids that are all the maximum age and probably all tumble.
I love it, I'm not going to lie. Not at every competition, but at some of the larger ones there would be no way a smaller gym would have a fighting chance against some of the powerhouse gyms. Is it always fair? I guess not. Technically that creates two winners for that division, but for the sake of kids that are working hard and doing their best? Let them have it... There was still competition in the division, it's not like there were two teams going against themselves.

oldschoolcheercoach · Member

I am in favor of small gym. large gym but i don't think 100 kids is small.
Some gyms have tons of kids, do lots os cross overs and then claim to only have 99 kids in thier program.
A small gym should be 5-25 or 30, then maybe an intermediate 30-75 everyone else being large ( as a suggestion). Again it all comes down to regulating, one set of rules that everyone follows. Make Organizations register.

d&g cheers · Member

Is it me or is it funny that Atlanta results are up as soon as they were done and L.A. is not even up!

MissCongeniality · Veteran Member

I think the new rules for 09-10 say "small" is 75 or less and only one location. I could be wrong but I think that is what I read.

cheeeer · Veteran Member

d&g cheers wrote:

Is it me or is it funny that Atlanta results are up as soon as they were done and L.A. is not even up!

Probably because they have to go over every single score because so many people can't believe the results. They probably want to take a break from all the complaints. Nothing funny about that disbelief

AirborneOwner · GURU

cheeeer wrote:

d&g cheers wrote:

Is it me or is it funny that Atlanta results are up as soon as they were done and L.A. is not even up!

Probably because they have to go over every single score because so many people can't believe the results. They probably want to take a break from all the complaints. Nothing funny about that

Out of respect for all of the teams affected by placement changes the directors wanted to contact all gym owners and directors prior to posting results as some things have changed. They are working down the list and they will be posting results soon.

cheeeer · Veteran Member

AirborneOwner wrote:

cheeeer wrote:

d&g cheers wrote:

Is it me or is it funny that Atlanta results are up as soon as they were done and L.A. is not even up!

Probably because they have to go over every single score because so many people can't believe the results. They probably want to take a break from all the complaints. Nothing funny about that

Out of respect for all of the teams affected by placement changes the directors wanted to contact all gym owners and directors prior to posting results as some things have changed. They are working down the list and they will be posting results soon.

AAWWE!!! I liked the placements!!! Well, good luck to all!