I Just thought you should know!

Date: Sun Nov 26 5:55 PM, 2006

I Just thought you should know!

Date: Sun Nov 26 6:15 PM, 2006

You say that these guys take pictures then post them on the internet. If you have concrete evidence of that, you might be able to trace the person(s) that way, have you tried? Just a suggestion.

There could be a reasonable explanation for every scenario you mentioned. I'll keep an eye out for suspicious behavior (which everyone should do anyway, common sense, right)? But what I won't do is make an assumption that anyone who is taking pictures but is not with a group has bad intentions. That, to me, is even more dangerous.

Date: Sun Nov 26 6:35 PM, 2006

We have two photographers on staff who take pictures of the kids the entire time with those giant lenses. We wear staff shirts or shirts that have our team logo on them. Parents of kids should have team clothing on. This would be your first clue.

OC Mom

Date: Sun Nov 26 6:41 PM, 2006

These guys do exist, they are a problem at gymnastics competitions as well. The only thing you can do is notify competition officials and let them take it from there. Police will usually not do anything, because the girls on stage are fully clothed (or as much as the average cheerleader is, anyway) and taking photos is not a crime. But it is usually against the competition rules and they will at least be ejected.

However, there are occassions when it may not be as it appears. There are a lot of sports photographers out there. Some are professional, some are amateur. I know a few myself, and one of them chooses cheer and gymnastics competitions because the movements are so fast that it's good practice. A lot of their shots will end up in photo contests because of the artistic movements or athleticism, or they may be a freelance photographer that sells their photos to magazines and other publications.

So while I agree, be watchful, keep in mind that every man in the audience taking photos is not necessarily some perv.

Date: Sun Nov 26 6:56 PM, 2006

People that are not supposed to be doing something do not like being noticed. Talk to people. Say hi. Do you take pictures as a hobby? How did you come to take pics of cheer? Predators like anonymity. Dads, uncles, grandpas, etc. love to talk about their kids!!! Even if it seems weird to you at the time, just making small conversation may save a life one day.

Date: Mon Nov 27 12:07 PM, 2006

Using this forum to share with eachother for the safety of our kids is great!!!

There's nothing wrong with being aware, & having MORE eyes OPEN, looking out for the welfare of our kids & the sport they love!!!!!!!!!!!
I know, I for one can get caught up in competition & not notice what's going on around me, most of us probably do!
As for not jumping to conclusions with all the photographers, yes, "curious" might be right, but, I think we should error on the side of caution and not excuse just anyone. Besides there are plenty of sports that have "fast" action shots that can be taken elsewhere, like maybe, motocross, and Nascar????
Even "yes" has seen the problem with gymnastics, so this is a legitimate PROBLEM!
And the comment by "agree" that's great that your photographers wear your team shirts, it shows they do infact belong with one of the organizations performing!!!
I hope you all fee maybe a "bit" more at ease, cause you'll have one more person looking out for your kids.

Date: Mon Nov 27 1:09 PM, 2006

It's not just cheer and gymnastic's what about figure skating and of course the little Miss and junior miss beauty pagents? It is very good to be aware of who's around. The number one issue though is your childs safety. Oh and its not just little girls they do this with little boys too. It's a good point all of you have made and everyone who comes on this message board and reads this will now be watching out for these predators. Unfortuantly this does exist in our society and we as parents have to watch our kids.

Date: Mon Nov 27 3:40 PM, 2006

I did a search to see Maximum Stars Cheer since we are competing against them this weekend and guess what I found??? Their own cheerleaders posted pretty ...no wait... VERY VERY suggestive photos on a site that also included porn. I am sure their coaches would be oh so proud.

OC Mom

Date: Mon Nov 27 4:38 PM, 2006

Guess what I found wrote:

I did a search to see Maximum Stars Cheer since we are competing against them this weekend and guess what I found??? Their own cheerleaders posted pretty ...no wait... VERY VERY suggestive photos on a site that also included porn. I am sure their coaches would be oh so proud.

OC Mom

Call them and let them know or let me know the web site and I will. (no I am not a perv just wanting to see) If the coaches are made aware then they can let the parents of the pictured girls know. I have seen some pretty interesting photos on my space as well. I do not think some of these 14 and 15 year old girls have a clue as to the message they are sending. Intentional or not the parents need to know what their daughters are doing.

Date: Mon Nov 27 5:55 PM, 2006

some of the pics are so cute and normal cheer shots....but then quite a few are amazingly suggestive or rude. I would NOT want to see my daughter in these...and if I were a Highschool I certainly wouldn't want these pictures on of our students.
the web site I found is
http://high-school.cheerleader.com/max.cheer.ca.html
but I can't find a contact person yet....
maybe you'll have better luck...

Date: Mon Nov 27 6:25 PM, 2006

Gym Name: Maximum Cheer All Stars

Address:
700 S. Richfield Road
Placentia, CA 92708
US

Info Email: cheeronetwister@adelphia.net
Phone: 714-814-5552
Website: www.maxcheer.com

This stuff should not be happening. The gym owner should be aware.

Date: Mon Nov 27 6:46 PM, 2006

We have seen these pictures before...this is NOT our team.

Thank you for your concerns.

You are correct in saying that if this was Maximum Cheer All Stars being misrepresented, we would NOT be happy.

Thanks again!

Cheers,

MCA Coaching Staff

Date: Mon Nov 27 10:00 PM, 2006

OC Mom, it's very disappointing that you would name a specific gym (who you happen to be going against at a competition) claiming their girls have posted inappropriate pictures. Mentioning their name was tacky and only drew attention to the very pictures you don't want others to see. You could have easily made your point without the details. Better yet, you could have called the gym or had someone else call them to verify the girls involved are really on their teams. Tell me this, if girls from your gym were doing something inappropriate, wouldn't you rather someone give your gym a heads-up to let them investigate and fix the problem (if the problem really is with your gym)? I'm sure you would rather have that than someone posting your gym's name (before knowing all the facts); I'm sure you would want your gym to have a chance to defend themselves first. Right?

Date: Tue Nov 28 4:15 AM, 2006

Thank you!!!

Date: Tue Nov 28 7:02 AM, 2006

Hey, without OC Mom's posting I whould have gone on never knowing you had a team. OC Mom is always very positive on this board, I am sure it was not done in a mean spirit. She is not the one who posted the www. page to this board. Give her break.

Another Mom from another team.

Date: Tue Nov 28 7:18 AM, 2006

She was the one who brought their name into this, and not in a good way. The fact that they (OC) are competing against them this weekend makes it even more inappropriate. I agree, she is usually a very positive person. But she made a mistake here. Also, it had nothing at all to do with the original post, nothing! The original post was about strangers taking pictures of your kids. Now if she went onto their website and found pictures of OC cheerleaders, that would be on topic.

Date: Tue Nov 28 7:29 AM, 2006

I don't think she brought it up in a negative way - I think it was more of a "concerned parent" move. No one had any way to know those girls weren't from the program the page said they were. Lay off.

Date: Tue Nov 28 8:00 AM, 2006

So who is the team from the pictures? That is totally disgusting!! I would completely lose it if that was my kid.

Date: Tue Nov 28 8:20 AM, 2006

"I am sure their coaches would be oh so proud" Glad that's not negative.

Let's get back on topic. If you want to sit around and do a search on all the cheerleading gyms you can think of to see who has posted pictures you find disgusting, just know that has nothing at all to do with this topic. What does that have to do with protecting our kids from strangers who take pictures of them practicing and working out at competitions?

Date: Tue Nov 28 8:31 AM, 2006

Who are you group of concerned parents helping to protect us from? Teenagers who make bad mistakes and bad judgement calls when posting pictures on their websites? I agree, we're getting off topic here. Way off.