All-Star An Article About Varsity Brands...

[MissCongeniality]

Well, nothing yet... Nothing is supposed to take movement until 2017 school year (academic calendar year) but there's all sorts of odd restrictions: limiting practice hours and days, no summer practice whatsoever, limiting travel, outside instruction from unapproved entities (iE private gyms)...the list goes on... Many under the "umbrella of safety" and some just to, well I don't quite know why. The way the "rules"are structured right now, it would essencialy blow out the competitive component of cheer for CA. :/

Many of those restrictions are in place for other sports...even football (I have 2 boys...BTDT) They've just found loopholes as cheer will do.

 

[CheerItFullOut]

Many of those restrictions are in place for other sports...even football (I have 2 boys...BTDT) They've just found loopholes as cheer will do.

Interesting, and thanks for the info

 

[AScheer]

Many of those restrictions are in place for other sports...even football (I have 2 boys...BTDT) They've just found loopholes as cheer will do.

Exactly... like the school in our town. Football has progressive rules on when they can start practice and how. This date you can workout, this day you can use a ball, this day pads, etc. Our schools may or may not just cover the balls up in a towel and claim they can't see a ball so there isn't one...

 

[Official OWECheer]

Well, nothing yet... Nothing is supposed to take movement until 2017 school year (academic calendar year) but there's all sorts of odd restrictions: limiting practice hours and days, no summer practice whatsoever, limiting travel, outside instruction from unapproved entities (iE private gyms)...the list goes on... Many under the "umbrella of safety" and some just to, well I don't quite know why. The way the "rules"are structured right now, it would essencialy blow out the competitive component of cheer for CA. :/

That's awful, when you consider how many states have ruled cheer a sport but still allow summer practices, use of all-star gyms for practice (great for when the school decides to deny you access to all on-campus practice space), out-of-state competition and attendance of camps and clinics.

 

[amy1k]

I randomly saw this yesterday on my state's athletics website. I had no idea individual districts can choose to classify cheer as they choose. I'm, personally, not sure which classification I'd prefer, but it's unlikely my daughter would be able to participate if it was a "sport" because of her preference towards allstar. My son plays baseball and his select team has to take the high school season off from practice, games...but baseball has adapted well to that structure. I'm not sure cheer would.

http://www.wiaa.com/ConDocs/Con273/status of cheer and-or dance-drill programs.pdf

 

[King]

Well, nothing yet... Nothing is supposed to take movement until 2017 school year (academic calendar year) but there's all sorts of odd restrictions: limiting practice hours and days, no summer practice whatsoever, limiting travel, outside instruction from unapproved entities (iE private gyms)...the list goes on... Many under the "umbrella of safety" and some just to, well I don't quite know why. The way the "rules"are structured right now, it would essencialy blow out the competitive component of cheer for CA. :/

As it relates to other sports they limit the amount of practice to make sure the sport stays an activity (any sport, football, basketball, what not) instead of a 'job' for the kids. Cheer does not fit the mold of other sports exactly. It is a very perishable skill and needs constant practice for a high level. We have also raised our expectations that high schools perform at a level similar to allstar.

 

[cheerisloving]

Exactly... like the school in our town. Football has progressive rules on when they can start practice and how. This date you can workout, this day you can use a ball, this day pads, etc. Our schools may or may not just cover the balls up in a towel and claim they can't see a ball so there isn't one...

My state had this for every sport that they called an official sport. In addition we have out of season practice days. It's fairly new, and is to give an advantage for middle schoolers coming in. Cheer wise we get 'green days' during the spring and, during these days anyone who wants to come can come and we are allowed to do everything. Middle schoolers can come in and start stunting and tumbling, those advance and with a chance of Varsity can start practicing with potential stunt groups. We can condition during the summer but our coach is normally not there and we have a period of when we aren't allowed to talk to her.
We have a set tryout date as well, and most schools start tryouts the first day they are allowed. There are also set dates for championship tournaments for all sports.

 

[randomactsofcheer]

Well, nothing yet... Nothing is supposed to take movement until 2017 school year (academic calendar year) but there's all sorts of odd restrictions: limiting practice hours and days, no summer practice whatsoever, limiting travel, outside instruction from unapproved entities (iE private gyms)...the list goes on... Many under the "umbrella of safety" and some just to, well I don't quite know why. The way the "rules"are structured right now, it would essencialy blow out the competitive component of cheer for CA. :/

It hasn't been signed by the Governor yet. There is still a chance the bill will not be passed, but I doubt it. Where did you find these restrictions? CIF will put restrictions on cheerleading that are similar to other sports. I am not sure what season competitive cheerleading is in (maybe winter or spring), but when I was in high school (in California), all sports were not allowed to start practicing until a specific day chosen by CIF. If I am remembering correctly, that day is usually about a month before the prior sports season has its final competition/game. So if cheer is a winter or spring sport, not having summer practice falls in line with the restrictions placed on other sports, as winter and spring sports cannot hold practices during the summer. I participated in a spring sport and, during the winter, our coach would tell us, "The weight room will be unlocked and unused on X day at X time. I am not telling you to go to the weight room on this day at this time. This is just information that I am passing along because I thought you might want to know that is is open on X day at X time. I will also be the supervising teacher on that day, so maybe I will see you there." I am honestly not very familiar with high school competitive cheer. But if HS cheer has a long season like all-stars, having to move practices and competitions into a CIF season will be a huge change for high school teams.

 

[Official OWECheer]

It hasn't been signed by the Governor yet. There is still a chance the bill will not be passed, but I doubt it. Where did you find these restrictions? CIF will put restrictions on cheerleading that are similar to other sports. I am not sure what season competitive cheerleading is in (maybe winter or spring), but when I was in high school (in California), all sports were not allowed to start practicing until a specific day chosen by CIF. If I am remembering correctly, that day is usually about a month before the prior sports season has its final competition/game. So if cheer is a winter or spring sport, not having summer practice falls in line with the restrictions placed on other sports, as winter and spring sports cannot hold practices during the summer. I participated in a spring sport and, during the winter, our coach would tell us, "The weight room will be unlocked and unused on X day at X time. I am not telling you to go to the weight room on this day at this time. This is just information that I am passing along because I thought you might want to know that is is open on X day at X time. I will also be the supervising teacher on that day, so maybe I will see you there." I am honestly not very familiar with high school competitive cheer. But if HS cheer has a long season like all-stars, having to move practices and competitions into a CIF season will be a huge change for high school teams.

Some HS teams have 11 month seasons. This could screw everything up for them.

 

[CheerItFullOut]

It hasn't been signed by the Governor yet. There is still a chance the bill will not be passed, but I doubt it. Where did you find these restrictions? CIF will put restrictions on cheerleading that are similar to other sports. I am not sure what season competitive cheerleading is in (maybe winter or spring), but when I was in high school (in California), all sports were not allowed to start practicing until a specific day chosen by CIF. If I am remembering correctly, that day is usually about a month before the prior sports season has its final competition/game. So if cheer is a winter or spring sport, not having summer practice falls in line with the restrictions placed on other sports, as winter and spring sports cannot hold practices during the summer. I participated in a spring sport and, during the winter, our coach would tell us, "The weight room will be unlocked and unused on X day at X time. I am not telling you to go to the weight room on this day at this time. This is just information that I am passing along because I thought you might want to know that is is open on X day at X time. I will also be the supervising teacher on that day, so maybe I will see you there." I am honestly not very familiar with high school competitive cheer. But if HS cheer has a long season like all-stars, having to move practices and competitions into a CIF season will be a huge change for high school teams.

My athletic director was going over what some of the proposed changes were... And we have 10 month season... We are expected to cheer for all sports from wrestling, WaterPolo, volleyball, football,to basketball (both men's and women's in each sport) and we compete (attending 5-7 competitions a year) a few months of practice for all we have on our plate just won't cut it and as for CIF choosing a specific day I haven't heard of what you have stated above... But perhaps things are different now? (I am A CIF component certified coach and have not read anything about that in athletics or spirit/dance practice/performance stipulations)

 

[gofriars610]

My athletic director was going over what some of the proposed changes were... And we have 10 month season... We are expected to cheer for all sports from wrestling, WaterPolo, volleyball, football,to basketball (both men's and women's in each sport) and we compete (attending 5-7 competitions a year) a few months of practice for all we have on our plate just won't cut it and as for CIF choosing a specific day I haven't heard of what you have stated above... But perhaps things are different now? (I am A CIF component certified coach and have not read anything about that in athletics or spirit/dance practice/performance stipulations)

couldn't you split it up as "seasons"? That's what schools in Maine do. A person could in theory cheer every week from the second week of August (preseason/football) through the end of February with the basketball state championship--they'd also receive two varsity letters as there's a tryout process for the winter team and the competition team.

So in your case, you'd probably receive three varsity letters as it's three seasons you're cheering for.

 

[CheerItFullOut]

couldn't you split it up as "seasons"? That's what schools in Maine do. A person could in theory cheer every week from the second week of August (preseason/football) through the end of February with the basketball state championship--they'd also receive two varsity letters as there's a tryout process for the winter team and the competition team.

So in your case, you'd probably receive three varsity letters as it's three seasons you're cheering for.

That's not a bad idea... I've seen that done with some schools before... And it can give more kids an opportunity to participate in the program and grow with it. In reality though... I'd like to keep California Cheer the way it is... for as much as I'd love cheer to be recognized for the athleticism of its athletes and yes... Be deemed a "sport"...universally. I feel with that comes too much red tape for the sake of red tape... And no real regulation on true safety standards. That's just my opinion... And maybe I'm not completely informed, misinformed or plain just too much into the guts of what we do to want anyone (who knows nothing about it) to mess with it) Right now (from what I've seen, heard and read... It's just a lot of new hoop jumping to get to the same destination with a sparkly new title. I suppose for me, I don't care about getting the "respect of being called a sport"... In my mind, Those that respect the sport know what it is without anyone having to validate it for them."

 

[gofriars610]

That's not a bad idea... I've seen that done with some schools before... And it can give more kids an opportunity to participate in the program and grow with it. In reality though... I'd like to keep California Cheer the way it is... for as much as I'd love cheer to be recognized for the athleticism of its athletes and yes... Be deemed a "sport"...universally. I feel with that comes too much red tape for the sake of red tape... And no real regulation on true safety standards. That's just my opinion... And maybe I'm not completely informed, misinformed or plain just too much into the guts of what we do to want anyone (who knows nothing about it) to mess with it) Right now (from what I've seen, heard and read... It's just a lot of new hoop jumping to get to the same destination with a sparkly new title. I suppose for me, I don't care about getting the "respect of being called a sport"... In my mind, Those that respect the sport know what it is without anyone having to validate it for them."

I think 10 months is WAY too long for a sports season, especially in high school. Breaking cheer in to two or three seasons would probably strengthen your program as well as give athletes chances to pursue other things. In high school, I cheered during the fall season and played ice hockey during the winter season, for instance. Other girls played soccer or field hockey during the fall season and cheered during winter. Breaking it up could also give more athletes a chance to go out for the cheer team as they wouldn't be committing to a (massive!) 10-month season. Who knows, one of your newbies who only wanted to do winter season could be a fantastic cheerleader and eventually decide to cheer year-round and drop her other sports.

It's not so much as a respect thing as much as a safety-and-regulations thing. People are going to respect good teams and disrespect bad teams. At my high school, the football team scored fewer points than the soccer team one year. Nobody really respected/cared about football, but they certainly respected soccer. "Sport" status had nothing to do about it.

In Maine, cheerleaders are treated like any other sport even though there are no competitions during the fall season. They have regulations about who can coach and under which conditions practices can be held--and there are none of the scary stories about girls practicing on stages or in hallways with no mats. This is a positive thing.

 

[randomactsofcheer]

My athletic director was going over what some of the proposed changes were... And we have 10 month season... We are expected to cheer for all sports from wrestling, WaterPolo, volleyball, football,to basketball (both men's and women's in each sport) and we compete (attending 5-7 competitions a year) a few months of practice for all we have on our plate just won't cut it and as for CIF choosing a specific day I haven't heard of what you have stated above... But perhaps things are different now? (I am A CIF component certified coach and have not read anything about that in athletics or spirit/dance practice/performance stipulations)

I agree with @gofriars610. 10-11 months is WAY too long of a season for a high school sport. From what I have read, the bill is specific to competition cheer. So, in theory (of course we will have to wait and see what regulations CIF creates), your team could sideline cheer during the fall and winter seasons (as a performance group activity) and then compete in the spring as a sports team. As @gofriars610 said, having a longer off-season or dividing the year up into two or three seasons could be beneficial for your team. Going back to CIF practice regulations, I believe your district/section or division determines when each sport can begin practicing for the season. Beyond giving athletes the freedom to pursue other sports or interests (or homework), this helps to even the playing field amongst schools. A team that practices 10 months out of the year will have an advantage over a team that only starts practicing 6 weeks before the start o the competition season. Some schools don't have the funding, staff, or space to accommodate a 10 month season. Therefore, each team having an equal amount of practice time will, in theory, ensure equitable opportunity for preparation when it comes to competitions.


Here are the CIF bylaws that include practice regulations:
http://static.psbin.com/p/h/utd2yrm1xzn3su/500_Series.pdf

Some sections and sports have more stringent regulations.

 

[CheerItFullOut]

I think 10 months is WAY too long for a sports season, especially in high school. Breaking cheer in to two or three seasons would probably strengthen your program as well as give athletes chances to pursue other things. In high school, I cheered during the fall season and played ice hockey during the winter season, for instance. Other girls played soccer or field hockey during the fall season and cheered during winter. Breaking it up could also give more athletes a chance to go out for the cheer team as they wouldn't be committing to a (massive!) 10-month season. Who knows, one of your newbies who only wanted to do winter season could be a fantastic cheerleader and eventually decide to cheer year-round and drop her other sports.

It's not so much as a respect thing as much as a safety-and-regulations thing. People are going to respect good teams and disrespect bad teams. At my high school, the football team scored fewer points than the soccer team one year. Nobody really respected/cared about football, but they certainly respected soccer. "Sport" status had nothing to do about it.

In Maine, cheerleaders are treated like any other sport even though there are no competitions during the fall season. They have regulations about who can coach and under which conditions practices can be held--and there are none of the scary stories about girls practicing on stages or in hallways with no mats. This is a positive thing.

I agree with @gofriars610. 10-11 months is WAY too long of a season for a high school sport. From what I have read, the bill is specific to competition cheer. So, in theory (of course we will have to wait and see what regulations CIF creates), your team could sideline cheer during the fall and winter seasons (as a performance group activity) and then compete in the spring as a sports team. As @gofriars610 said, having a longer off-season or dividing the year up into two or three seasons could be beneficial for your team. Going back to CIF practice regulations, I believe your district/section or division determines when each sport can begin practicing for the season. Beyond giving athletes the freedom to pursue other sports or interests (or homework), this helps to even the playing field amongst schools. A team that practices 10 months out of the year will have an advantage over a team that only starts practicing 6 weeks before the start o the competition season. Some schools don't have the funding, staff, or space to accommodate a 10 month season. Therefore, each team having an equal amount of practice time will, in theory, ensure equitable opportunity for preparation when it comes to competitions.


Here are the CIF bylaws that include practice regulations:
http://static.psbin.com/p/h/utd2yrm1xzn3su/500_Series.pdf

Some sections and sports have more stringent regulations.

Totally get what you're saying...but this law is not a national law... It's a California law... Therefore we wouldn't have equal opportunity against all the other states that are not regulated... Unless they chose to adopt the law as well. And while I say 10 month season... The full 10 months is optional and only for those who choose to compete. My sideline JV/Varsity is able to participate in spring sports if they choose while my competition signs on for additional practice time and extended season. What I meant is: as a whole... Our program runs from summer through nationals in March... As we try to provide representation for all athletics at their games. (Which run year round) Im not at all against the idea of breaking things up into seasons. What Im saying is outside of regulating practice times and coach credentials (something our district already implements) ... And yes our practice times are regulated... Technically into seasons w/ a 6 week break to separate fall and spring and limited activity per squad commitment... HOW are they creating a safer invironment by calling it a sport? To me, if a coach is holding practice in a school hallway ,common sense would imply that coach is not qualified and NFHS ruling already states the regulations on surfaces and appropriate practice space, attire and stunt material. Also, I'm not sure if you coach or are aware of the stress holding an academic schedule, an extensive practice schedule and cheering a game puts on a cheerleader. New material is often ALWAYS learned to be performed for various occasions, it isn't like soccer where a skill and game system is practiced and then matched with limited variables. Cheer just has too many variables. It's not a "single skill "Sport".... It requires: dance, stunt, cheer, acrobatics, gymnastics.... And it often has "rookies" that need to be taught basics from the ground up EVERY year. These are skills that can't be learned in a month or two. Hate to say it, but learning to toss up a 100lb girl without dropping her... Or throwing a backhand spring And doing it in a manner that it technically sound and safe, just takes time. By decreasing the amount of learned application you essencialy alienate anyone with limited to no experience from growing with and joining a more moderately experienced squad. This is why I run practice all summer. For sideline my goal is to get as much accomplished in off season so as to not interfere with academics and regular student life on season. Literally for my sideline squads it's... Learn it all in the summer to dust it off and polish it for the school year. I don't want my kids stressing over a rally routine the week of homecoming when they have a huge test that Thursday... So everything is pre planned in summer and plugged in for season. Outside of learning a cute new sideline or pyramid... I try to create as little stress for my kids during calendar school year. You make some really great points...please don't get me wrong... I completely see your perspective. I am all for the safety of cheer. 100% it's the foundation of my program and while many squads don't follow rules/regulations and while I clearly see the intent of the bill and feel it is meant as a "good thing"... I just want to make sure that it is ACTUALLY doing some good if I'm supporting it. I suppose I'm just not clear. You've all made great cases though!