What do you think needs to happen in All Star Cheerleading for people to take it seriously and for it to have a real shot at being in the Olympic Games.
1. Have the same scoring system at all competitons. It such a shame that teams have to sometimes change their rountines, just to fit the scoring system. What could be a possible solution for this problem ?
2. This is the MAJOR one for me. WORLDS. ( That's what I love most about All Star Cheerleading, the worlds comp. where the best of the best, "elite" of cheerleading can come and compete agasint each other. Like other's have said on this board some feel that Worlds have just become another " competetion" or a "Huge Nationals". I Totally Agree. Worlds IMO have gotten too big ! Another thing is the Worlds Location... Must it be in Flordia every year ?? Move worlds around. Like one year have it one west coast, next midwest, next south.. stuff like that. Hopefully one year Worlds can be held in a different country Possible solution to this problem ?
These are the TWO MAIN things in IMO that need to change. Feel free to had agree, disagree, or not care at all.
__________________
Michelle Kwan is the "Kween" Sasha Cohen "Ballerina on Ice" Yu Na Kim is the "Queen Yu Na" Mao Asada is the "Queen of the Triple Axel"
I agree with everything there! 1) Why have three different types of "Worlds" (2 are held in Florida, the other one was in Germany) Unless you compete in the international division, its just like Nationals.
2) ALL COMPETITIONS NEED THE SAME SCORING SYSTEM!
I feel the only reason its not taken seriously is because when people hear the word "Cheerleading" they think pom poms and high school football games. I think the name of our sport needs to be changed!
Agree, there are too many competitions that claim to produce teams who are the best in the world or the best in the nation. Especially at the national level. I remember listening to a mom talking about how her daughter won first place at Jamz Nationals in Vegas, and how great it was that her team was the best in the nation. I just smiled.
Also agree that all competitions need the same scoring system and rules. The argument there is that competitions want to be different so people can choose which ones they want to attend (these are businesses whose goal is to make a profit). I agree they can (and should) be different in how they are run, but that is where the difference should end. It only weakens the sport when gyms attend one competition over another because based on the scoring system & rules they feel they would have a better chance at winning.
I think the term competitive cheerleading indicates something more than pom poms and high school football games. I would always say my kids are in competitive cheerleading; some would ask what that was and it gave me a chance to explain the difference.
-- Edited by MyTake on Sunday 7th of February 2010 08:23:51 AM
i agree with MYTAKE. there are way too many nationals and regionals and championships etc. when i win a national championship, i want to be able to go against every team in that division from all over the US. but these days, there are national competitions everywhere. and it's not really a nationals anymore because not all the teams are there. because i find it lame to say "i'm a national champion. we went against 5 teams."
i think there should be 3 national competitions. one held in california, one held in Dallas and one held in florida. and then the scores are compared to eachother from each division to see who the real national champions are. and then all the other competitions are just regular competitions. because i find it lame to say "i'm a national champion. we went against 5 teams."
and then 1 worlds where the winners from the national competitions go against eachother. there wouldn't be all these competitions with bids and half bids and whatnot. but the top 3 from each national in each division would get bids to go to worlds and compete against the other national champions.
I TA with everything everyone is saying. But I think their should just be ONE National Championship. Let the teams who qualify go to Nationals. Then the Top squads who win or perform the best should get the bids to Worlds. I also don't understand why we have the U.S Finals. On the website it says it's a comp to crown "true champions". That's what Nationals and Worlds are for. There are just so many extra comps, that IMO are really needed. Every year you hear different teams say that "There the best in the Nation" and they've never competed agasint each other. I think Nationals should be held in one different location every year. Ex. One year Dallas, One Year Cali, One Year some where in the midwest, you know different places. No Flordia ! We go to Flordia enough as it is. Also teams shouldn't be able to move down levels. I've heard about teams competeing at one comp as a level 4, then at another as level 5. Cheerleading is the only sport I know of were you can do that. I also think that's one of the main reasons why people don't want cheerleading in the Olympics. The Olympics are for True ELITE athletes, not athletes who are ELITE PART OF THE TIME. I think they should do what you have to do in Figure Skating and Gymnastics, to get to the next level you have to pass a "test" in front of a panel of judges. Pick the cheerleaders who show promise for level 5 prepare a rountine for them, do level 5 jumps, tumbing, stunts, etc... and there you go there's your level 5 team. Once you get to that level stay at that level. There's no reason for you to move down unless you just want an easy win at a comp ( which doesn't show alot about the team). Another thing I feel needs to change is that whole 4.2 level thing. I don't understand it and I think it's pretty useless. I'm not trying to rag on cheerleading because I love cheerleading as much as the next cheerleader but these are all the things that's wrong with the sport and needs have attention drawn to it.
__________________
Michelle Kwan is the "Kween" Sasha Cohen "Ballerina on Ice" Yu Na Kim is the "Queen Yu Na" Mao Asada is the "Queen of the Triple Axel"
I See What Everyone Is Saying But If There Was Only One Nationals Competition Think About How Much More Expensive Cheerleading Would Be.. I Mean They Could Definitely Cut Down on The Number But Just One For The Whole Nation Is Gonna Cost A Lot And Idk About You Cheer Moms But It's Hard Enough To Keep Up Financially As It Is..
__________________
Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. -Vince Lombardi
I would at least like to see each cheer organization have only one national championship. I just don't understand how they have multiple national championships and then crown a national champion at each location. Otherwise, they are all just glorified regionals and everyone knows it.
Right now there are just way to many levels.. It's getting boring to watch 2 teams compete against each other. There should be a Mini, Youth, Junior, Senior, and All American level. When we put 4 or 5 other sub-levels in there the competition dwindles down to just 2-3 teams 4 at the most. How can we call that a competition? Let these kids compete. Go up against 10 to 15 other teams and then you can truly call yourself a . as far as the Olympics go, I'd rather see cheer then snowboarding. The cheerleaders at least do their hair and look presentable and most time adorable.
I like snowboarding, how about we get rid of curling?? Olympics should be more about athleticism than strategy.
There is so much subjectivity in the judging of figure skating, I think competitive cheerleading would be no different, so why not give it a try.
Agree about the levels. I dont mean to sound so negative regarding the business-end of competition companies, but lets face it, the more levels they offer the more attractive they are to gyms who dont fit into your basic beginning-intermediate-advance categories. They try to accomodate everyone, which in the opinion of many just waters down the sport.
Your right, snowboarding was a bad example. They could at least get rid of the punk skater look. It's hard to take them seriously. Curling definately has to go bye bye!
-- Edited by gymdad on Wednesday 17th of February 2010 08:32:43 PM
lol I was just telling my husband this very same thing. Isn't curling just shuffleboard on ice LOL
I agree with everything that is being said. I love Cheersport competitions, and for the most part they have about 10 competitors in most divisions. Win, lose, or draw it is always entertaining and if the kids at the higher level realize its so much competition they push theirselves more. Why take the easy way out? SOwhat if you have a million first place trophies if you didn't beat the best for it?
Travel to the competitions were you are going to compete against the teams you will meet at Worlds.
__________________
They ask why I do this. I simply reply: I love of my children & I love our SPORT !
All that stuff is great, but I think the easiest answer is, name change.
The general public thinks "cheerleading" is raw raw with pom poms. maybe just officially shorten it to "cheer", i don't know. just throwin it out there
__________________
It's such a fine line between stupid and clever. - Spinal Tap
Possible solution to this problem ? 
