All-Star 2011 Worlds Packet - "gym Hopping Athletes" - Please Read

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Rudags

Two Time Defending Champion, Board Comedian
Dec 14, 2009
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There has been much confusion, discussion and speculation about this. I contacted my state USASF representative to find out what EXACTLY is being done and she put a call in to Tegan Croninger (Formally Reeves) at the USASF who, come to find out, is handling these cases. I was told she is already working on a few cases involving gym hopping athletes. I will best describe what I was told in this phoen call....

REMEMBER: This is ONLY for level 5 Worlds teams (at least this year)

IF YOU ARE AN ATHLETE: If you are registered to Gym A and leave to go to Gym B AFTER you have had your FIRST COMPETITION with Gym A - You NEED TO GET RELEASED. This makes you an illegal athlete to COMPETE AT WORLDS (not to be confused about competing at events, however, using an illegal athlete could forfeight your bid or placement at the event, if later caught). If you are an illegal athlete, you need to contact Tegan at the USASF (I looked on the site and couldnt find her email address, but I am sure ACEDAD or someone has it and can post it below) to get a RELEASE FORM.

IF YOU ARE A COACH OR OWNER OF GYM A: If you had an athlete leave your level 5 worlds bound team after your first competition and they are competing at Gym B on their level 5 worlds bound team - Contact Tegan at the USASF to let her know that Gym B has an "illegal" athlete. You will need proof of this: Video, Registration forms, Rosters from competitions, etc. Jam brands has an electronic data base (as do other companies) that will allow proof of who was rostered at a competition - so that can help make the "proof" easy to get a hold of.

IF YOU ARE A COACH OR OWNER OF GYM B: If you have had any athletes join your level 5 team later in the season - Please research to make sure they are not "illegal" and perhaps call the old gym and work something out. Also - Make sure the athlete knows about this rule and is in good standings with their old gym financially. I dont see gyms not releasing athletes unless there is a financial issue, etc. Be Smart about checking your athletes you may have gained midseason.

CONSEQUENCES: Competing with an illegal athlete could forfeight your title and placement at an event - and could even make you lose your bid (if you used the illegal athlete to help attain that bid). I didnt get into further discussion - but it sounds like using an illegal athlete at worlds could forfeight your placement there as well!

COACHES AND OWNERS: BE PROACTIVE IN CHECKING INTO YOUR ATHLETES!!!

ATHLETES READING THIS: If your coaches dont read the Fierceboard, or know about this - Please direct them to the link - ESPECIALLY if you have had any athletes join midseason that may have came from another program - Even if they just moved to your city!!!!

I hope this helps clear up the situation with how the situations are being handled and who to contact!!! Good luck to everyone - And I hope there are no coaches refusing athelets to be released out of spite. In my opinion, the only reason an athlete shouldnt be released is due to unpaid finances or quitting in an immature way (Again, just my opinion).
 
I'm curious how it works for an athlete that moves to a team after a Worlds bid has been accepted.

For Example: Susie moves from L.A. to Miami (her parents like the sun) and she becomes a member of TG. TG received a bid earlier in the season, is she eligible for Worlds with TG?
 
Susie would if had to been on their alternates, right?
 
I'm curious how it works for an athlete that moves to a team after a Worlds bid has been accepted.

For Example: Susie moves from L.A. to Miami (her parents like the sun) and she becomes a member of TG. TG received a bid earlier in the season, is she eligible for Worlds with TG?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe someone in this situation would already be ineligible to compete with the team. You get up to 10 substitutions on the team- up to 7 must have competed as a member of that gym at the competition where the team was awarded the bid, and up to 3 did NOT have to compete at that event and do not have to be members of the gym- but don't they have to be listed as alternates at the time the bid was awarded?

In regards to this situation- does this only apply to kids who have left one level 5 team for another level 5 team? What if an athlete left a level 3 team (maybe it was the highest level in their gym) to go compete with a level 5 team and get a bid?
 
I believe there is no explicit wording saying that is not allowed. There is more implicit wording saying you can NOT do that.

Kinda a: A = B, B = C, so A = C situation.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe someone in this situation would already be ineligible to compete with the team. You get up to 10 substitutions on the team- up to 7 must have competed as a member of that gym at the competition where the team was awarded the bid, and up to 3 did NOT have to compete at that event and do not have to be members of the gym- but don't they have to be listed as alternates at the time the bid was awarded?

In regards to this situation- does this only apply to kids who have left one level 5 team for another level 5 team? What if an athlete left a level 3 team (maybe it was the highest level in their gym) to go compete with a level 5 team and get a bid?


I think there is a way for you to do file some kind of petition to the usasf to get permission for an athlete that was not on the alternate list, but I'm not sure.
 
I think there is a way for you to do file some kind of petition to the usasf to get permission for an athlete that was not on the alternate list, but I'm not sure.

its not the alternate list thing. its the fact that they were a member of another gym when the bid was recieved. the unlisted alternates i think have to be members of your gym. you cannot be a member of another gym if you live halfway across the country.. right?
 
its not the alternate list thing. its the fact that they were a member of another gym when the bid was recieved. the unlisted alternates i think have to be members of your gym. you cannot be a member of another gym if you live halfway across the country.. right?

I looked into it more rather than just trying to remember what I know of the rules. This is what the registration packet says:

"Of the 10 possible substitutes, one to three of those 10 may be alternates. Alternates are registered members of the same team’s gym where the bid was received. Alternates do not have to be rostered or in attendance at the Worlds bid qualifying event where the bid was received. Any athlete that has competed with another team from another gym (Primary Gym) or has been registered with the USASF as an athlete member from another gym (Primary Gym) , during the same 2010 – 2011 competition season, will have to have a USASF Gym Release Waiver"

This is vague in the sense that it doesn't really clarify whether or not the alternates have to be registered members of the gym at the time that the bid was received. So, Top Gun got their bid in December, right? Can Susie move from LA to Miami in February, become a "registered member" of Top Gun, and be eligible to be one of their three alternates as long as her original gym releases her? Or would she have had to be a member of Top Gun at the time they received their bid?
 
I looked into it more rather than just trying to remember what I know of the rules. This is what the registration packet says:

"Of the 10 possible substitutes, one to three of those 10 may be alternates. Alternates are registered members of the same team’s gym where the bid was received. Alternates do not have to be rostered or in attendance at the Worlds bid qualifying event where the bid was received. Any athlete that has competed with another team from another gym (Primary Gym) or has been registered with the USASF as an athlete member from another gym (Primary Gym) , during the same 2010 – 2011 competition season, will have to have a USASF Gym Release Waiver"

This is vague in the sense that it doesn't really clarify whether or not the alternates have to be registered members of the gym at the time that the bid was received. So, Top Gun got their bid in December, right? Can Susie move from LA to Miami in February, become a "registered member" of Top Gun, and be eligible to be one of their three alternates as long as her original gym releases her? Or would she have had to be a member of Top Gun at the time they received their bid?

My understanding is that 3 of those 10 can be people who didn't compete for your gym the day you got your bid - either they were already an alternate on the team (and I don't think most events ask for alternate names so there's no way of knowing if they were or not) or they can be from outside of the gym. But the other 7 have to be from other teams at your gym. So I think the first scenario would work for Susie. She could join after TG got their bid.
 
I have a question, if someone is not happy at a gym, leaves goes on to high school but decides they want to do something somewhere else they have to get a waiver. I mean some times people leave and the gym doesn't like that, don't you feel that gives a gym a lot of power to screw a kid?
 
I have a question, if someone is not happy at a gym, leaves goes on to high school but decides they want to do something somewhere else they have to get a waiver. I mean some times people leave and the gym doesn't like that, don't you feel that gives a gym a lot of power to screw a kid?

The opposite side of that coin is, doesn't NOT requiring a waiver give the child/parent an awful lot of power to screw the gym and the innocent athletes at that gym???? Just sayin...
 
So r these only on worlds teams? say that one girl on team A is on a random Open Cheer 6 team, but then Gym B offers to Suzie to be on a Worlds team at their gym since team A isn't a worlds team, does she need a waiver?
 
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