All-Star Anyone Having Trouble Getting Released From Their Old Gym?

[specialtpass]

I understand the reason for this rule and at first glance I thought it would address many issues with athletes gym hopping etc. Upon further thought i now feel it's too one sided in the gyms favor. Clear guidelines of enforcement needs to be in place giving the athlete some right to exit and to also avoid abuse by gyms. Without these guidelines you may create a new set of issues yet to be defined and played out.
This rule was put into play this year without any warning. Athletes have found themselves not being released and shut out of Worlds. Some will argue that is a good thing but it makes me wonder. Will this rule affect the way the Worlds eligible athlete approaches next season? Has anyone else thought what if any the re percusions to this new rule will be? I can't help but think there will be a reaction to this by athletes and parents.

 

[newcheerdad]

I got curious about this, because I have friends and family members whose kids swim, so I did some googling on the USA Swimming rules.

Basically, there's a rule similar to the USASF that says that you have to get released from your previous club before you can swim with the new one. You have to wait 120 days from your last competition until you can compete for that new team. (although you can swim unattached at certain events)

The difference, it appears, is that the onus isn't on the athlete to get their current club to sign a waiver. The way I understand it, it's the new club that fills out the transfer request form. You don't have to get a signature from your old club.

Basically, the new club sends the form to the old club (I believe they send it to USA Swimming as well) that says that an athlete has requested a transfer. That old club has 60 days to show proof that the athlete owes them money, or else the transfer goes through. No other documentation that I can see is required, no other conditions on when to allow or not allow a transfer.

Other than "we're different", why couldn't a transfer rule like that work for cheer?

 

[oldcheermom]

My daughter and I were talking about this and both agree, you have those kids who want to leave, but will not be released. Knowing this, they stay with their current gym, attend practice, and do a good job. Then having no feelings of remorse and angry because they were not released, totally screw up at competition - dropping stunts, busting their tumbling, etc. They will probably think it's funny - they sure showed you!

 

[debbie]

I got curious about this, because I have friends and family members whose kids swim, so I did some googling on the USA Swimming rules.

Basically, there's a rule similar to the USASF that says that you have to get released from your previous club before you can swim with the new one. You have to wait 120 days from your last competition until you can compete for that new team. (although you can swim unattached at certain events)

The difference, it appears, is that the onus isn't on the athlete to get their current club to sign a waiver. The way I understand it, it's the new club that fills out the transfer request form. You don't have to get a signature from your old club.

Basically, the new club sends the form to the old club (I believe they send it to USA Swimming as well) that says that an athlete has requested a transfer. That old club has 60 days to show proof that the athlete owes them money, or else the transfer goes through. No other documentation that I can see is required, no other conditions on when to allow or not allow a transfer.

Other than "we're different", why couldn't a transfer rule like that work for cheer?

now this would be fair.

 

[texas2010]

I got curious about this, because I have friends and family members whose kids swim, so I did some googling on the USA Swimming rules.

Basically, there's a rule similar to the USASF that says that you have to get released from your previous club before you can swim with the new one. You have to wait 120 days from your last competition until you can compete for that new team. (although you can swim unattached at certain events)

The difference, it appears, is that the onus isn't on the athlete to get their current club to sign a waiver. The way I understand it, it's the new club that fills out the transfer request form. You don't have to get a signature from your old club.

Basically, the new club sends the form to the old club (I believe they send it to USA Swimming as well) that says that an athlete has requested a transfer. That old club has 60 days to show proof that the athlete owes them money, or else the transfer goes through. No other documentation that I can see is required, no other conditions on when to allow or not allow a transfer.

Other than "we're different", why couldn't a transfer rule like that work for cheer?

Because swimming is an individual sport for the most part. Leaving midseason doesn't affect 20-30 other athletes opportunity to succeed.

 

[shadow]

My daughter and I were talking about this and both agree, you have those kids who want to leave, but will not be released. Knowing this, they stay with their current gym, attend practice, and do a good job. Then having no feelings of remorse and angry because they were not released, totally screw up at competition - dropping stunts, busting their tumbling, etc. They will probably think it's funny - they sure showed you!

my thought too. Could be somewhat dangerous.

 

[newcheerdad]

Because swimming is an individual sport for the most part. Leaving midseason doesn't affect 20-30 other athletes opportunity to succeed.

Tell that to the kids who lost their awesome anchor in the 4x100 freestyle and killed their chances at the state meet. I'm not sure how different it is.

I'll make this final summary and just lurk on this thread for a while, since I think I've beaten this dead horse:

I completely understand the idea that kids should finish out a season with the team they started. I agree with that, and expect that from my own children. I imagine there are very few on this board that think that an athlete should be able to up and quit a team without recpercussions.

But where I differ with some on the board is that I don't think the USASF, or all-star gyms, should be requiring those values from our kids. Parents should. It should be parents that demand more from their kids. And it should be parents that behave better when their kids are confronted with difficult or challenging situations.

The reality, though, is that parents (by and large) pay the bills for all-star cheer. And yes, you're going to have parents who leave gyms for silly or foolish reasons. But if they want to take their child to another gym that they think will be better for their son or daughter, they have to have the right to do that. And the child shouldn't be overly punished for that decision by not being allowed to compete for an entire season.

Does it hurt the team they left behind? Sure, and it's disappointing to those kids and as a former youth sports coach I'm totally sympathetic to that. At the end of the day, though, do you really want that disgruntled family in your program? Or worse, bad mouthing the program right and left because you wouldn't allow their kid to transfer to another gym? There's an old rule about how one dissatisfied customer tells 8-16 people about their experience. Or with social media, they can tell a whole lot more people about it. Is that worth digging in your heels for?

Look, if the parent owes money to their previous gym, or took advantage of tuition assistance, they should have to reimburse that old gym before they can compete elsewhere. A mandatory waiting period is fine. But beyond that, I have a really hard time figuring out why anyone would want a system that lets gym owners lock kids out of participating in the sport, even if it's not for their team.

 

[shadow]

Tell that to the kids who lost their awesome anchor in the 4x100 freestyle and killed their chances at the state meet. I'm not sure how different it is.

I'll make this final summary and just lurk on this thread for a while, since I think I've beaten this dead horse:

I completely understand the idea that kids should finish out a season with the team they started. I agree with that, and expect that from my own children. I imagine there are very few on this board that think that an athlete should be able to up and quit a team without recpercussions.

But where I differ with some on the board is that I don't think the USASF, or all-star gyms, should be requiring those values from our kids. Parents should. It should be parents that demand more from their kids. And it should be parents that behave better when their kids are confronted with difficult or challenging situations.

The reality, though, is that parents (by and large) pay the bills for all-star cheer. And yes, you're going to have parents who leave gyms for silly or foolish reasons. But if they want to take their child to another gym that they think will be better for their son or daughter, they have to have the right to do that. And the child shouldn't be overly punished for that decision by not being allowed to compete for an entire season.

Does it hurt the team they left behind? Sure, and it's disappointing to those kids and as a former youth sports coach I'm totally sympathetic to that. At the end of the day, though, do you really want that disgruntled family in your program? Or worse, bad mouthing the program right and left because you wouldn't allow their kid to transfer to another gym? There's an old rule about how one dissatisfied customer tells 8-16 people about their experience. Or with social media, they can tell a whole lot more people about it. Is that worth digging in your heels for?

Look, if the parent owes money to their previous gym, or took advantage of tuition assistance, they should have to reimburse that old gym before they can compete elsewhere. A mandatory waiting period is fine. But beyond that, I have a really hard time figuring out why anyone would want a system that lets gym owners lock kids out of participating in the sport, even if it's not for their team.

So well said, my thoughts exactly.

 

[specialtpass]

I don't think you're beating it to death. You make some very good points and observations.

Tell that to the kids who lost their awesome anchor in the 4x100 freestyle and killed their chances at the state meet. I'm not sure how different it is.

I'll make this final summary and just lurk on this thread for a while, since I think I've beaten this dead horse:

I completely understand the idea that kids should finish out a season with the team they started. I agree with that, and expect that from my own children. I imagine there are very few on this board that think that an athlete should be able to up and quit a team without recpercussions.

But where I differ with some on the board is that I don't think the USASF, or all-star gyms, should be requiring those values from our kids. Parents should. It should be parents that demand more from their kids. And it should be parents that behave better when their kids are confronted with difficult or challenging situations.

The reality, though, is that parents (by and large) pay the bills for all-star cheer. And yes, you're going to have parents who leave gyms for silly or foolish reasons. But if they want to take their child to another gym that they think will be better for their son or daughter, they have to have the right to do that. And the child shouldn't be overly punished for that decision by not being allowed to compete for an entire season.

Does it hurt the team they left behind? Sure, and it's disappointing to those kids and as a former youth sports coach I'm totally sympathetic to that. At the end of the day, though, do you really want that disgruntled family in your program? Or worse, bad mouthing the program right and left because you wouldn't allow their kid to transfer to another gym? There's an old rule about how one dissatisfied customer tells 8-16 people about their experience. Or with social media, they can tell a whole lot more people about it. Is that worth digging in your heels for?

Look, if the parent owes money to their previous gym, or took advantage of tuition assistance, they should have to reimburse that old gym before they can compete elsewhere. A mandatory waiting period is fine. But beyond that, I have a really hard time figuring out why anyone would want a system that lets gym owners lock kids out of participating in the sport, even if it's not for their team.

 

[newcheerdad]

I don't think you're beating it to death. You make some very good points and observations.

I'm just starting to repeat myself now, which is why I think it's better for other folks to chime in. I certainly want to understand the other pov.

 

[debbie]

Tell that to the kids who lost their awesome anchor in the 4x100 freestyle and killed their chances at the state meet. I'm not sure how different it is.

I'll make this final summary and just lurk on this thread for a while, since I think I've beaten this dead horse:

I completely understand the idea that kids should finish out a season with the team they started. I agree with that, and expect that from my own children. I imagine there are very few on this board that think that an athlete should be able to up and quit a team without recpercussions.

But where I differ with some on the board is that I don't think the USASF, or all-star gyms, should be requiring those values from our kids. Parents should. It should be parents that demand more from their kids. And it should be parents that behave better when their kids are confronted with difficult or challenging situations.

The reality, though, is that parents (by and large) pay the bills for all-star cheer. And yes, you're going to have parents who leave gyms for silly or foolish reasons. But if they want to take their child to another gym that they think will be better for their son or daughter, they have to have the right to do that. And the child shouldn't be overly punished for that decision by not being allowed to compete for an entire season.

Does it hurt the team they left behind? Sure, and it's disappointing to those kids and as a former youth sports coach I'm totally sympathetic to that. At the end of the day, though, do you really want that disgruntled family in your program? Or worse, bad mouthing the program right and left because you wouldn't allow their kid to transfer to another gym? There's an old rule about how one dissatisfied customer tells 8-16 people about their experience. Or with social media, they can tell a whole lot more people about it. Is that worth digging in your heels for?

Look, if the parent owes money to their previous gym, or took advantage of tuition assistance, they should have to reimburse that old gym before they can compete elsewhere. A mandatory waiting period is fine. But beyond that, I have a really hard time figuring out why anyone would want a system that lets gym owners lock kids out of participating in the sport, even if it's not for their team.

Very, very well said!

 

[ctgatormom]

My daughter and I were talking about this and both agree, you have those kids who want to leave, but will not be released. Knowing this, they stay with their current gym, attend practice, and do a good job. Then having no feelings of remorse and angry because they were not released, totally screw up at competition - dropping stunts, busting their tumbling, etc. They will probably think it's funny - they sure showed you!

Im sure it wouldnt take most coaches too long to see this behavior and that kid would be a "nugget" in the routine....lol!

 

[quitthedrama]

I don't have any specific examples because my cp's program is awesome. And for most people this isn't an issue. But the problem is that there's nothing in the current structure that gives an athlete any recourse if one of these hypothetical bad situations DID occur. That's my big concern.

I agree - I feel there needs to be exceptions to the rule, such as: moving a distance where the ability to attend practice regularly becomes difficult/impossible); unethical behavior of gym owner/coach; monies paid to the program for services not rendered (example - I have heard of a gym who published the comp schedule at the beginning of the year and then cancelled the first 4 competitions and did not compete until most gyms seasons were halfway over). Situations such as this should be allowed an appeal process through USASF.

 

[sun77]

My daughter and I were talking about this and both agree, you have those kids who want to leave, but will not be released. Knowing this, they stay with their current gym, attend practice, and do a good job. Then having no feelings of remorse and angry because they were not released, totally screw up at competition - dropping stunts, busting their tumbling, etc. They will probably think it's funny - they sure showed you!

My CP is leaving at the end of the season. That decision was made 2 months ago. There are days where I have to tell her to suck it up and finish the season but she would never dream of sabotaging the team even though she wants nothing more than to be in the new gym. Yeah, I guess there may be some like that, but I guess it comes down to a parenting issue again. If I don't trust her to put her best effort in i'll sit her for the remainder of the season. I wouldn't take her somewhere else mid season just to make her happy.

 

[MomOf2ThatsMe]

I'm torn.. I have definately seen gyms on the "abandoned" side of the fence. We started at a very, very small program. The bigger gym in town got a bid to Worlds, and poof! The whole junior and senior program dissolved. Therefore, the whole gym dissolved because they couldn't maintain overhead with just a mini and youth team. It sucked, but we ended up at the bigger gym in the end anyway. And we are quite happy there. Then last year (our first year at the bigger gym) it became known in Feb. I think that a well-known gym was opening a location in our town and once again, it was a pretty big deal with athletes leaving mid-season, teams falling apart, etc. It was not fair to the kids who were staying at our current gym, that is definately for sure. However, I know that there were some kids whose parent wouldn't let them leave mid-season based on principle, and guess what happened? There was a lot of drama started, flyers being "accidentally" dropped in comps, stuff like that. Really spiteful stuff. Do you really want kids in your gym who don't want to be there?