All-Star Covid-19 / Varsity Response

[NJ Coach]

There is a lot of confusion right now. We were told this "we received clarification through Governor Murphy's Executive Orders and the DOH that gymnastics and cheerleading schools are permitted to continue operation in its capacity of 25% with no additional restrictions". @NJ Coach, have you all received this clarification too?

I no longer coach, but this article has been updated:

UPDATE: Indoor school sports ban applies to N.J. games, practices, even adult rec leagues - nj.com

It specifically states that sport-related classes will still be allowed (even mentions gymnastics), but will be limited to the 10 person indoor limit. It then goes on to say that team practice is not allowed.

 

[CLynn]

I no longer coach, but this article has been updated:

UPDATE: Indoor school sports ban applies to N.J. games, practices, even adult rec leagues - nj.com

It specifically states that sport-related classes will still be allowed (even mentions gymnastics), but will be limited to the 10 person indoor limit. It then goes on to say that team practice is not allowed.

Thanks for that, and sorry didn't realize you no longer coached! My take was the same as yours and maybe it will be clarified at the briefing tomorrow. The gyms near me all seem to be suggesting it does not apply to them.

 

[auscheerflyer]

CANADIAN AND OTHER NON-US FOLKS -

What does this look like right now for you? Are gyms open? Not open? Stunting or not? Masks? No masks? Curious.

I'm in Melbourne, Australia. We experienced one of the world's strictest lockdowns - from early March right up until November so 8 months, with only a 12 day period where we temporarily tried to open in June.

I was supposed to go to Worlds but obviously that was cancelled, and now it's also unclear if US travel will be allowed or advised for 2021.

From March until November we trained exclusively online - you weren't even allowed to stunt outside in a park etc, social distancing had to be maintained. We then had about a 2 week period where groups of 10 could train outside (no stunting) and then following that about 2 weeks inside with masks, no stunting.

We've now been covid free as a state for over 1 month - lockdown was hard, but for us it definitely worked. We were on the exact same path as Europe and I'm so grateful our sacrifices were able to get things under control. We are now back in gyms, up to 150 people but in groups of no more than 20 at a time (so really just 1 team at a time); coaches wear masks and masks required by athletes except during strenuous activity like a full out. Obviously people have lost strength etc but nowhere near the level I expected it to affect.

For 2021 event providers have already stated that virtual options will be available, as I think there is a chance big gatherings still won't be allowed for us next year.

 

[cheermomforever]

Ok so, I get that people need to vent and that we're all a community here, and I swear I'm not trying to come across as rude, but can people potentially do that through DMs or make a topic in a different forum? I look in this chat to see how Varsity is planning to move forward with COVID, what competitions are being cancelled, what's being moved virtual, etc. and having to go through pages of speculation, mask debates, and politics to find that information is annoying considering what was the point of this topic initially. And I get it, I haven't been shy about my own struggles with COVID in relation to how it impacted me personally as well as my team and my life as an athlete, which could also be seen as a tangent but I tried to frame it in terms of how it impacted cheer.

Again, I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just trying to stay in the loop so I know what my season might be looking like. There is a random thread channel on the forum, maybe move all other coronavirus related topics that aren't specific about cheerleading to there, going forward?

Anyway, on to my question that I was looking for an answer to - does anybody know if Varsity moves a competition to a different date (for example: American Grand in Vegas was moved to Jan 16 from it's original date in December), are they giving free refunds to gyms and athletes that have already paid, or are they expected to rework their schedules to still attend, even though it's on a new date? I was just curious if anybody had any inside information on all this.

Maybe start a forum just for competition info.....

 

[Cheermom1979]

This thread started as a option question about how we felt varsity was responding - but this was 9 months ago and the thread has evolved over time.

Maybe start a new post if you think that would be helpful.

Ok so, I get that people need to vent and that we're all a community here, and I swear I'm not trying to come across as rude, but can people potentially do that through DMs or make a topic in a different forum? I look in this chat to see how Varsity is planning to move forward with COVID, what competitions are being cancelled, what's being moved virtual, etc. and having to go through pages of speculation, mask debates, and politics to find that information is annoying considering what was the point of this topic initially. And I get it, I haven't been shy about my own struggles with COVID in relation to how it impacted me personally as well as my team and my life as an athlete, which could also be seen as a tangent but I tried to frame it in terms of how it impacted cheer.

Again, I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just trying to stay in the loop so I know what my season might be looking like. There is a random thread channel on the forum, maybe move all other coronavirus related topics that aren't specific about cheerleading to there, going forward?

Anyway, on to my question that I was looking for an answer to - does anybody know if Varsity moves a competition to a different date (for example: American Grand in Vegas was moved to Jan 16 from it's original date in December), are they giving free refunds to gyms and athletes that have already paid, or are they expected to rework their schedules to still attend, even though it's on a new date? I was just curious if anybody had any inside information on all this.

 

[Cheermom1979]

same!

Thanks for that, and sorry didn't realize you no longer coached! My take was the same as yours and maybe it will be clarified at the briefing tomorrow. The gyms near me all seem to be suggesting it does not apply to them.

 

[Thinkpositivethoughts]

Honestly I’m so over wearing facemasks, and well 2020 in general. But I do think that if a state has mandated face masks, gym owners, coaches, parents, etc should encourage wearing the face mask or a face shield, not encouraging “I don’t have to wear a mask if I don’t want to, because the rules don’t apply to me” mentality, or the “I don’t care about masks or the virus, because I won’t catch it. I get and am fully aware that we are currently living in a “me, me, me”, I’m entitled, and privileged time(not just one generation either), I am seeing it from multiple age groups and generations.

 

[UCFKnights07]

i mean technically florida is lax as anything when it comes to all this, they definitely dont plan on doing another shutdown like some states have possible done or plan to do, so having comps in florida next year really doesnt seem too far out of reach at this point. I mean i dont agree with it, but if florida stays lax on what is deemed ok or not, i could easily see varsity taking advantage of that and going ahead with in person comps to see how much programs would be interested in participating at least in the state of florida.
again i wouldnt agree with, because i think its poor taste to try and milk as much money from people in such bad times, but with both UCA and Worlds being held in this state, i could see them push for in person comps if the state allows it and if gyms show interest (which i could easily see happening).

 

[quitthedrama]

...staying at home does NOTHING. It elongates the curve..It mathematically CREATES substantial spikes when we DO open in any marked capacity... we are creating MORE problems by trying to solve another.
There was no behavior science studied in mitigation. Had we not been so restrictive we wouldn’t have SO much want for defiance - had we been balanced in our approach with this and allowed for monitored activity in moderation we wouldn’t have sharp spikes we would have natural and gradual ups and downs. The more we encourage individuals to stay in CONTROLLED groups... in controlled settings (like school, sports and work) the better off we are. There we can monitor, trace, track and mitigate...

THIS. I live in a lock down state. We have curfew at 10:00pm (because covid only comes out at night:confused:). Indoor dining is at a minimum and most companies are still having employees work remotely. Very few schools are in person, very few school/youth sports have been offered. Boston is a ghost town. Yet MA numbers are skyrocketing for positive cases (fortunately death counts remain very low and almost all isolated to elderly/severely health compromised. Not that we want to lose anyone but the demographic is well known and should be the targeted area to fund/assist.
Meanwhile, my daughter goes to college in SC (in the capital city) which is pretty much open although there are some restrictions. She works in a bar which is packed most nights. People are going to work and about their daily lives. Cheerleading competitions are happening. Case data is the same or actually better than the closed state of MA. The University has an aggressive testing program and although they have had over 3,000 cases with faculty and students since Aug 1 (and made national headlines because of it), nearly all of those happened prior to October, and they did not have one single hospitalization and now cases are very low and there are no concerns with overwhelming medical facilities. Who in their right mind can look at both states and say that closures are helping "control" the virus?

 

[quietmom]

THIS. I live in a lock down state. We have curfew at 10:00pm (because covid only comes out at night:confused:). Indoor dining is at a minimum and most companies are still having employees work remotely. Very few schools are in person, very few school/youth sports have been offered. Boston is a ghost town. Yet MA numbers are skyrocketing for positive cases (fortunately death counts remain very low and almost all isolated to elderly/severely health compromised. Not that we want to lose anyone but the demographic is well known and should be the targeted area to fund/assist.
Meanwhile, my daughter goes to college in SC (in the capital city) which is pretty much open although there are some restrictions. She works in a bar which is packed most nights. People are going to work and about their daily lives. Cheerleading competitions are happening. Case data is the same or actually better than the closed state of MA. The University has an aggressive testing program and although they have had over 3,000 cases with faculty and students since Aug 1 (and made national headlines because of it), nearly all of those happened prior to October, and they did not have one single hospitalization and now cases are very low and there are no concerns with overwhelming medical facilities. Who in their right mind can look at both states and say that closures are helping "control" the virus?

I understand your point. I am just tired and confused. Can you clarify one thing for me please. Are you saying the state of SC doesn't have a single hospitalization or your daughter's university? Sadly, it does look like cases are rising in all states because of the colder weather and people traveling for holidays. I can't wait for this to be over and for a safe and effective vaccine to be widely available.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

On a cheerleading-related note:

Is Varsity still releasing scores with the results for virtual comps? (Like they do for major events like NCA at least?)

It would be interesting to compare in person event scores to virtual ones and look at trends.

Ex: Looking at virtual comp scores and seeing if they skew toward the high end? Lower?

 

[Nothanks]

On a cheerleading-related note:

Is Varsity still releasing scores with the results for virtual comps? (Like they do for major events like NCA at least?)

It would be interesting to compare in person event scores to virtual ones and look at trends.

Ex: Looking at virtual comp scores and seeing if they skew toward the high end? Lower?

I've been able to view scores and results on varsity TV.

 

[Cheermom1979]

There is a leaderboard in the varsity website. Not sure if it is virtual / live or combo..

 

[quitthedrama]

I understand your point. I am just tired and confused. Can you clarify one thing for me please. Are you saying the state of SC doesn't have a single hospitalization or your daughter's university? Sadly, it does look like cases are rising in all states because of the colder weather and people traveling for holidays. I can't wait for this to be over and for a safe and effective vaccine to be widely available.

The numbers that I quoted (3,000+ cases and no hospitalizations) were strictly related to the University.

 

[CookieMomster]

I’m in Canada (Ontario) and we’re in the red zone and one step away from lockdown in my region. Other areas are in different zones ranging from green to Lockdown. Our gyms are open in red but we have to wear masks at all times in the gym. Kids even practice in them. No mask no entrance into the building.

Up until 2 weeks ago we were having full team practices and had divided our multiple floors into rooms by hanging heavy plastic divider sheets to make the rooms. We had up to 3 full teams practicing at any given time because we had 3 rooms, plus tumbling privates and skills classes, and now we’re down to 10 athletes in the entire gym, plus coaches and staff! We were one of the only provinces in Canada that wasn’t allowed to stunt (we had 1 week in October but then it was revoked). So we focus on jumps, tumbling, and dance/motions. It feels more like synchronized gymnastics.

Prior to entering Red my daughter’s team had their entire routine ready to go minus the stunting. In the routine where there’s stunting the athletes are standing clean and don’t move. It’s surreal to watch.

All of our comps are virtual this year and we have to film our routine in our cohorts of 10 (if we go back to orange we’ll be able to practice as a full team again). They’ve created special virtual comp rules to allow this. Zero contact is permitted and that includes zero spotting for tumbling.

Kids enter in one set of doors and exit on the other side of the gym. The viewing areas are closed and nobody is allowed in the building without filling out a health declaration, temperature check, and hand sanitizer. We have to be able to trace every person in the gym at all times. If we want to pick something up from our pro shop we have online shopping and curbside pickup. In Red only athletes are allowed in if it’s their lesson or practice day. If it’s not their day they can’t enter, can’t even use the bathroom if it’s not their practice/tumbling lesson day.

In Red, Teams have been split into cohorts of 10 and are only allowed to practice 1hr/week. So a team would have up to 3hrs assigned to them and a team of 25 would be split into 3 cohorts of 10/10/5 and each have 1hr to practice. Only 1 cohort of 10 can practice at any given time in the gym.

For lockdown regions the gyms are closed and there’s no in-person training. Everything is virtual. I suspect we’ll be back in a modified lockdown by Christmas or the new year. It’s definitely a development season and we’re focusing on the tumbling and small details. Which is ironic because Cheer Canada just adapted the Int’l age grid and scoresheet this season for all teams (prior to this season only our Worlds and Int’l teams used that scoresheet and our other teams followed a modified scoresheet and age grid similar to USASF). The Int’l scoresheet has less of a focus on tumbling and more on stunting. Whelp...not this season! lol