All-Star 3 Major Changes To Address 3 Major Problems

[viralscorp]

if you think that when push comes to shove an EP is going to penalize a team whose music *may* be offensive and whose uniforms *may* be violating guidelines, you're fooling yourselves.

I think the pure subjectivity of these guidelines opens the door to more obvious favouritism. Now a judge can say - your skills were just as good, but I liked their music/uniforms/... better.

 

[MNCheerMom]

I think the pure subjectivity of these guidelines opens the door to more obvious favouritism. Now a judge can say - your skills were just as good, but I liked their music/uniforms/... better.

SHIMMY, SHIMMY, SHIMMY!!!

 

[MNCheerMom]

3. The image rules are a little trickier. At some level, I get the general idea (which I'm sure came from that slanted "survey" the USASF put out a while back) that the perception of cheer is that it's too showy and blingy. It's too close to the stereotype, too close to "Toddlers & Tiaras" and "Dance Moms". So yeah, I don't have objection to creating some kind of image guidelines and uniform rules. The problem is that the rules are too vague in some cases, too onerous in others - if you think that when push comes to shove an EP is going to penalize a team whose music *may* be offensive and whose uniforms *may* be violating guidelines, you're fooling yourselves.

The guidelines need to be completely overhauled to remove the subjectivity. If it says "no excessive use of glitter" (paraphrasing) - what constitutes excessive use of glitter? What is considered excessive to one judge may be acceptable to another. The same goes for the distracting hairstyles, the use of theatrics, etc. -- while I understand the intent of the image guidelines, it needs to have better parameters.

 

[minbat4ever]

So the changes made (good or bad) were to address 3 major problems.

1. Injuries are increasing in allstar cheerleading and cheerleading has issues getting insured. Hence new tumbling rules.

This is a complicated and multifactorial issue that should be addressed in a comprehensive way with input from knowledgable Healthcare professionals.

In my opinion, the fact that gyms are having to pay high costs for insurance or cannot get insurance should not be the driving factor for rule changes. The driving factor should be how to make the sport safer by specifcially analyzing all aspects of the routine and what potential injuries could occur as well as analyzing what specific injuries are actually occurring from those specific skills. After that is done, informed decisions can be made. This of course should be an ongoing process as further scientific research may support or refute those decisions. My opinion is that the whole injury issue is being completely oversimplified.

As an aside, I read 3 articles related to risk factors associated with ACL injuries and prevention programs on the plane yesterday from peer reviewed scientific journals from 2012. The bottom line is that we certainly do not have all the answers--we continue to make strides toward finding more answers all the time but we are not there. ACL injuries are multifactorial as well and we can not say with 100% certainty which risk factors will actually lead to an ACL tear. We can try to influence the risk factors that we are able to but certain genetic factors we obviously cannot (i.e the fact that females have a significantly higher risk of tearing their ACL). We can take that information and try to make the best informed decisions that we can to work on ACL prevention, same should be done for rules related to all aspects of the sport.

3. Image: Promote the positive aspects of sports participation that is supported in the literature to the general public.

 

[imrichhowboutu]

However a standing tuck taught by an unqualified instructor is "riskier" than a standing double being taught by a qualified instructor.

Yes, but how much time and effort would that unqualified instructor need to learn to teach it correctly. I would say a 1/4 of the time that it would take someone to learn to team a standing double.

And I would say that even if a standing double is taught by a qualified instructor, it is risky.

Kevin Baron's had a standing double for quite some time. He still throws it at the gym and its still scary if its not landed perfect.

 

[lakerfantlc]

I think that as a whole, cheerleading has grown so fast that of course injury numbers will grow as well. Dropping the bar will not only decrease the quality of cheer but the numbers as well.
I think getting some sort of cohesiveness on the scoring system will help legitimize which will increase numbers.
The image thing is silly....every sport has some sort of negative stereotype and you will never please everyone...but putting forth silly un-policeable rules will only make us look ignorant. Who is going to police walking around every comp telling kids to put a shirt on...it’s just mindless...IMO

 

[King]

COMPLETE sidenote: what's happened to the filter? Did a board modification turn them off or something?

I'm going to completely reiterate my award-winning idea until someone makes it a rule: stiffer penalties on sloppy execution and botched skills. While that strategy stops things already in motion, develop a better coach credentialing system to address skills ACROSS THE BOARD (not just level 5- injuries occur in every level!!), both tumbling AND stunting. Better industry..

The filter isn't working?

 

[yojaehs]

Yes, but how much time and effort would that unqualified instructor need to learn to teach it correctly. I would say a 1/4 of the time that it would take someone to learn to team a standing double.

And I would say that even if a standing double is taught by a qualified instructor, it is risky.

Kevin Baron's had a standing double for quite some time. He still throws it at the gym and its still scary if its not landed perfect.

Scary to you and dangerous to him are two different things. Kevin Baron (from his tumbling I am going to assume) he was taught correctly. One of the major things different from cheer and gymnastics is the correct ways to fall. To roll out, not lock and never put your hands down, or to make a fist when falling (reduces the ability of your arm to land locked). You can throw as many of these as you want at me and I can do this all day.
Now for the tuck, honestly it should be a GREAT deal of time but honestly the number of people that TRULY feel they are qualified is far greater. If someone is at the level where they are working standing doubles, chances are they won't listen to a fool. Someone wanting a standing tuck to make try outs next week for high school or lvl 4 mugh higher.

 

[yojaehs]

@imrichhowbout you I have read much have what you have posted over the years and I really do respect much of what you have said. I know I've replied to several of your posts regarding these new tumbling rules. I just can't wrap my head around it. I can't agree that less skills with bad coaches fixes anything. I will agree with you that it can't be fixed overnight. I'm doing all I can, heck I met with 3 gym owners this weekend and discussed drills and progressions and I will continue to do so!

 

[MomOf2ThatsMe]

1. I'm not sold on the idea that insurance is the issue here - when MMA events have little problems getting liability insurance, it seems sketchy to me that cheer events or gyms are suddenly having problems doing so.

I am going to have to point something out regarding this.

A. MMA fighters in the larger events (UFC/Strikeforce, etc) are considered professionals. All participants on that level are also legal adults. I do not know if the underground events are sanctioned or insured by anybody.

B. MMA today compared to what it was when it first came out is completely different. MMA was based off of Vale Tudo, and there were no weight classes, you just went at it. There have been multiple techniques/maneuvers that have been outlawed over the years such as small joint manipulation and direct strikes from elbows, and weight classes have been added.

C. MMA fighters have to undergo pre and post fight MRI's and complete physical exams prior to fighting. There are also multiple physicians on site at each fight. There is no chance that Bobby from Lazy's MMA gym is goint to enter that ring, as you have to be invited to participate in that level of fighting and work your way up to fighting the best in the division. If a fighter has a concussion, they need to sit out for a length of time- I believe it is at least a couple months of NO TRAINING, let alone fighting.

The results have been that no athlete has sustained a serious, life altering injury in the UFC.

 

[imrichhowboutu]

@imrichhowbout you I have read much have what you have posted over the years and I really do respect much of what you have said. I know I've replied to several of your posts regarding these new tumbling rules. I just can't wrap my head around it. I can't agree that less skills with bad coaches fixes anything. I will agree with you that it can't be fixed overnight. I'm doing all I can, heck I met with 3 gym owners this weekend and discussed drills and progressions and I will continue to do so!

I'm glad you constantly respond. I think its great to have a discussion with someone who has a defense better than "it's not fair".

 

[yojaehs]

I'm glad you constantly respond. I think its great to have a discussion with someone who has a defense better than "it's not fair".

Ok, just wanted to make sure I wasn't coming off rude bc I know I've responded a lot. I truly respect your opinions. I feel you have the experience to speak on all of these subjects and I feel you do your research. I guess I'm just crossing fingers and toes praying tomorrow has a response from the USASF is a bit more more thought out lol.

 

[Num1Stunta]

1. Better credentialing for coaches, gyms and ATHLETE CREDENTIALING. Can't there be some kind of way of tracking an athlete's progress through certain skills, and deciding when they are ready to move up to a new skill? I mean, I had this at my first gym. There was an actual checklist for each skill, and if the kid didn't show the skill well enough, they couldn't move on to the next skill. Why can't the USASF publish something similar and include it in coaches training?

2. It's been said, but EP's are a major problem. $100 an athlete is absolutely ludicrous, especially when half the time there is barely any competition, and some EP's run sh*tty operations.

3. I don't buy it. How many people attend cheerleading events that don't already have an affiliation with the sport? Almost none. So, why does it matter if a kid is walking around with their belly showing at a cheer event? The negative media attention is a problem, I'll agree, but I also think it's drastically improved in recent years- Jersey Cheer, CNN special, Cheer Nation, The Cheering Life, and the documentary on Bangkok, to name a few.

 

[yojaehs]

I am going to have to point something out regarding this.

A. MMA fighters in the larger events (UFC/Strikeforce, etc) are considered professionals. All participants on that level are also legal adults. I do not know if the underground events are sanctioned or insured by anybody.

B. MMA today compared to what it was when it first came out is completely different. MMA was based off of Vale Tudo, and there were no weight classes, you just went at it. There have been multiple techniques/maneuvers that have been outlawed over the years such as small joint manipulation and direct strikes from elbows, and weight classes have been added.

C. MMA fighters have to undergo pre and post fight MRI's and complete physical exams prior to fighting. There are also multiple physicians on site at each fight. There is no chance that Bobby from Lazy's MMA gym is goint to enter that ring, as you have to be invited to participate in that level of fighting and work your way up to fighting the best in the division. If a fighter has a concussion, they need to sit out for a length of time- I believe it is at least a couple months of NO TRAINING, let alone fighting.

The results have been that no athlete has sustained a serious, life altering injury in the UFC.

I can't speak for every state but I briefly worked for a smaller MMA event here in Florida and man let me tell you the STATE commission does NOT PLAY!!! All the details would take forever for me to point out so let me just say that water bottles are assigned to each fighter as they walk onto event property and aren't allowed to TOUCH anything that isn't given to them by a commissioner representative. The background checks are no joke, pre and post fight physicals are extensive and well documented. We had a fighter that broke his nose (yeah I know shocker) and I was assigned to him for a week and then follow ups for the next six months. I'm not sure if that's all required I just know that standards are set by state commissions and required before they can even think getting their event insured.

 

[CCuRHOT]

I will agree that injuries caused in cheerleading is due to lack of knowledge from coaches. However, I also believe it's the nature of our sport to throw less than perfect skills in a routine. A rush to get majority +1. This happens because event producers reward teams for these skills (incomplete doubles, bent legged fulls, pike overs). I keep seeing us compared to gymnastics. Gymnasts don't throw unperfected skills because they're not rewarded for them. Coaches in gymnastics push perfection before perfection because the sport demands it.