There was a thread about sandbagging / athlete registration about a year ago. Ill see if I can dig it up later.
I think something does need to be done, especially now with the Summit (for those who choose to attend anyway.)
Similar to the softball example above, tennis has a dynamic rating system as well. Once rated by the "computer" after a completed season, a player is locked in at a level rating. A player can always play up, but not down. If a player plays up and finds him/herself winning, you get bumped up. (Win too much at the higher level and the person can get his / her matches DQ'd.).
I realize cheer is different, as it is more likely in cheer for an athlete to stay a certain level for a while or even regress. But it also happens in tennis (appeals for injury, lengthy time off, etc.)
It would be awesome to see a system where in an example mentioned above, a team that as been together multiple years at say level 1 and blowing out competition, would be flagged for review.
This of course couldn't happen without historical data. It would be great if the USASF could start tracking athletes and how they compete to see how big of an issue it is.
And to the question of what the sport would look like in 10 years...I would hate to see the trend continue to the point where to be competitive at level 1, a team would really need to be level 3.
However, one thing I would like to see is more time spent in the gym working on the "little things." I know in our gym, the second an athlete gets a BWO, they start working on a BHS. I would love to see a BWO close to perfect (straight legs, pointed toes, proper hands, etc.) before working the next skill. I know the driving force in the past has been twofold, gyms wanting kids for higher level teams and parents wanting kids on higher level teams.
I guess my long winded point is that I do like the direction we are moving (perfection before progression) but doing so within the spirit of competition (i.e. no sandbagging). How to draw the line and enforce it is the big question. The mechanics of it can easily be tracked, just a matter of defining a set of rules that work for cheer.
The Fierce Board App! ||
iPhone ||
Android ||
Upgrade Your Account!