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Lisa Welsh
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By Lisa D. Welshg
www.CHEERMaD.com
Future Olympians?
A little more than a year ago I wrote “Emerging Sport in Aisle 7″ (Aug. 22, 2011) about my our 12-year odyssey in Allstars in which we found our selves defending cheerleading’s presence as a sport.
The earliest CHEERMaD readers may recall that Becky was an outstanding softball player who walked away from the popular sport for the lesser-known activity of Allstar cheerleading.
And nearly every day since (or so it seems) we’ve had to explain to someone what competitive cheerleading was all about.
Amused that she said it as if this was news when I’ve known all these years, and redeemed because she knew enough about it to call it “competitive cheerleading.”
I finished the article with:
Allstar cheer and gymnastics have always had a close relationship: Seen here with Becky is her boss and mentor Jason Graham, who is a former Massachusetts state gymnastics champion. Whenc he got too tall (6 feet) for the Olympics' track he had been on at the age of 14, he became a tumbling coach at one of the first Allstar gyms in the state.
As of last night, we’re getting VERY close when it was announced by the governing body of gymnastics: the Federation Interanational De Gymnastique in LAUSANNE (SUI) that an agreement finalizing the terms and conditions under which the FIG supports the principle for the admission of the International Cheer Union (ICU) into SportAccord has now been signed by all of the three parties involved: SportAccord, the ICU and the FIG.
The final signature was added at FIG headquarters on August 29, in the presence of ICU President Jeff Webb and ICU General Secretary Karl Olson, along with their FIG counterparts Prof. Bruno Grandi and André F. Gueisbuhler.
Commenting on the agreement, SportAccord’s President, Hein Verbruggen hailed what he described as “a positive outcome, and one which all of the parties are happy with.” He went on to state that, “The ICU’s membership application will be on the agenda of the next SportAccord General Assembly and there is no doubt that the presence of the ICU within SportAccord would strengthen and increase the scope of its offering to both the public and the media.”
STUNTING: Not just for beach fun anymore!
Speaking on behalf of the ICU, Jeff Webb added: “Our Union is very proud to have taken this positive step forward and we would like to thank our partners and co-signatories of this agreement. SportAccord membership would open up new horizons for the ICU in terms of its development and its profile on the international stage. It is also important for our 103 national federations members, as well as over three million cheer athletes worldwide.”
FIG President, Prof. Bruno Grandi also welcomed the agreement, noting that it “sets out clearly and in a way that satisfies all of the parties involved, those specific activities for which the FIG and the ICU will each assume direct responsibility.”
By Lisa D. Welshg
www.CHEERMaD.com
Future Olympians?
A little more than a year ago I wrote “Emerging Sport in Aisle 7″ (Aug. 22, 2011) about my our 12-year odyssey in Allstars in which we found our selves defending cheerleading’s presence as a sport.
The earliest CHEERMaD readers may recall that Becky was an outstanding softball player who walked away from the popular sport for the lesser-known activity of Allstar cheerleading.
And nearly every day since (or so it seems) we’ve had to explain to someone what competitive cheerleading was all about.
“She’s a cheerleader, but doesn’t cheer for another team.”
“The cheerleading is the sport, not a support system for another sport.”
“She doesn’t cheer at any games.”
“It doesn’t have one season, it’s year round.”
“It’s a lot like dancing and gymnastics all rolled up into one.”
“No, they don’t have any cheers.”
In “Emerging Sport in Aisle 7″ I wrote about a grocery store conversation I had with one of Becky’s former teammate’s moms: I felt both amused and redeemed when she said “You know that competitive cheerleading Becky used to do, it’s really catching on.”“The cheerleading is the sport, not a support system for another sport.”
“She doesn’t cheer at any games.”
“It doesn’t have one season, it’s year round.”
“It’s a lot like dancing and gymnastics all rolled up into one.”
“No, they don’t have any cheers.”
Amused that she said it as if this was news when I’ve known all these years, and redeemed because she knew enough about it to call it “competitive cheerleading.”
I finished the article with:
“As more and more people discover what we CHEERMaDs have always known, we watch cheerleading grow in popularity as more and more athletes discover the excitement, the thrill, the on-the-edge-of-chaos-but-always-controlled, adrenaline rush that is Allstars.
But we’re not quite there yet.
But we’re not quite there yet.
Allstar cheer and gymnastics have always had a close relationship: Seen here with Becky is her boss and mentor Jason Graham, who is a former Massachusetts state gymnastics champion. Whenc he got too tall (6 feet) for the Olympics' track he had been on at the age of 14, he became a tumbling coach at one of the first Allstar gyms in the state.
As of last night, we’re getting VERY close when it was announced by the governing body of gymnastics: the Federation Interanational De Gymnastique in LAUSANNE (SUI) that an agreement finalizing the terms and conditions under which the FIG supports the principle for the admission of the International Cheer Union (ICU) into SportAccord has now been signed by all of the three parties involved: SportAccord, the ICU and the FIG.
The final signature was added at FIG headquarters on August 29, in the presence of ICU President Jeff Webb and ICU General Secretary Karl Olson, along with their FIG counterparts Prof. Bruno Grandi and André F. Gueisbuhler.
Commenting on the agreement, SportAccord’s President, Hein Verbruggen hailed what he described as “a positive outcome, and one which all of the parties are happy with.” He went on to state that, “The ICU’s membership application will be on the agenda of the next SportAccord General Assembly and there is no doubt that the presence of the ICU within SportAccord would strengthen and increase the scope of its offering to both the public and the media.”
STUNTING: Not just for beach fun anymore!
Speaking on behalf of the ICU, Jeff Webb added: “Our Union is very proud to have taken this positive step forward and we would like to thank our partners and co-signatories of this agreement. SportAccord membership would open up new horizons for the ICU in terms of its development and its profile on the international stage. It is also important for our 103 national federations members, as well as over three million cheer athletes worldwide.”
FIG President, Prof. Bruno Grandi also welcomed the agreement, noting that it “sets out clearly and in a way that satisfies all of the parties involved, those specific activities for which the FIG and the ICU will each assume direct responsibility.”
(Portions of this story were contributed by the
Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique).
