All-Star Etiquette At Cheer Comps

[crazzyeyesassypants]

Among my biggest complaints is athletes (and parents) who sit in the arenas and openly bash/trash talk other programs. Last year at UCA, there was a group of middle school girls behind us chanting, "FALL FALL FALL" during stunt sequences, comments about how flyers should 'give up and die already', among many other hateful comments. At one point, I videoed them from my lap and upon returning home, I sent that video to the email address associated with their program. Someone responded to me and said that 'the girls comments were taken out of context and they didn't mean it the way it sounded.'. Yeah, okay.

That's horrible! In the beginning of the season I was sitting next to a mom that was complaining about the team on stage, she had the nerve to say "why are they going so slow" "they can't even do cartwheels" Well I turned around and said to her really loud "That's our special athletes team, I think they are amazing" she just rolled her eyes at me! She got up 2 seconds later and bolted, I could tell her friends were mortified.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Official OWECheer]

Among my biggest complaints is athletes (and parents) who sit in the arenas and openly bash/trash talk other programs. Last year at UCA, there was a group of middle school girls behind us chanting, "FALL FALL FALL" during stunt sequences, comments about how flyers should 'give up and die already', among many other hateful comments. At one point, I videoed them from my lap and upon returning home, I sent that video to the email address associated with their program. Someone responded to me and said that 'the girls comments were taken out of context and they didn't mean it the way it sounded.'. Yeah, okay.

Taken out of context? LOL. Sure. That's just sad, those kids need to be held responsible.

 

[Official OWECheer]

That's horrible! In the beginning of the season I was sitting next to a mom that was complaining about the team on stage, she had the nerve to say "why are they going so slow" "they can't even do cartwheels" Well I turned around and said to her really loud "That's our special athletes team, I think they are amazing" she just rolled her eyes at me! She got up 2 seconds later and bolted, I could tell her friends were mortified.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Double post, but that is just disgusting!

 

[crazzyeyesassypants]

Double post, but that is just disgusting!

It was!! It took everything in me not to make a scene [emoji35]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Cheermom1969]

It was!! It took everything in me not to make a scene [emoji35]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh h*ll, you know me, I would have made the scene and gone out for a beer after. What a complete moron.

 

[Official OWECheer]

Oh h*ll, you know me, I would have made the scene and gone out for a beer after. What a complete moron.

I need to meet you someday, LMAO!

 

[randomactsofcheer]

It was!! It took everything in me not to make a scene [emoji35]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would have done the same thing as you. Except I would have started with "What the heck is wrong with you?" And ended it with, "How dare you talk about children like that?" I can't promise there wouldn't have been profanity mixed in there... You probably have more self control than I do.

Seriously, what the heck is wrong with people?

 

[Bellabooker]

I hate overhearing kids bash other teams! It's just bad manners...

 

[SL&AM]

That's horrible! In the beginning of the season I was sitting next to a mom that was complaining about the team on stage, she had the nerve to say "why are they going so slow" "they can't even do cartwheels" Well I turned around and said to her really loud "That's our special athletes team, I think they are amazing" she just rolled her eyes at me! She got up 2 seconds later and bolted, I could tell her friends were mortified.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I commend you or not making a scene. That would have killed me to listen to!

 

[WinstonsGirl]

Coaches rooms with food?? I'm going to the wrong competitions apparently.

 

[lauren_chamberlin]

The thing that makes me mad is as an athlete I hear everyone bashing other teams. Its not just the kids it's the parents and even the coaches. Last weekend I heard of a team's coach going up to the judges and whining for points back. "This team did this and we we did this so we should get these points and they had spotters here so they shouldn't have this" just annoying things that grown adults shouldn't be doing.

 

[mybabywantstotumble]

The thing that makes me mad is as an athlete I hear everyone bashing other teams. Its not just the kids it's the parents and even the coaches. Last weekend I heard of a team's coach going up to the judges and whining for points back. "This team did this and we we did this so we should get these points and they had spotters here so they shouldn't have this" just annoying things that grown adults shouldn't be doing.

I have no issue with a coach fighting score sheets if it's needed. There's a big difference in bashing a team or making sure your scored correctly.

 

[catlady]

Parents and athletes setting up camp sites in the hallways and blocking the aisles to the point you have to plan an extra 20 minutes to get from one arena to another because, you have left a three foot clearing for thousands of people to get through. While I understand it's a long day, there's not enough room for us all to bring our queen size blow ups, coolers and fold up recliners.

Trash. Come on, how hard is it to pick up your kids nacho's and soda off the floor and put it in the over flowing pile so, the rest of us don't have to wade and step through your laziness. Even when the trash cans aren't over flowing and there are plenty of bathroom workers, people leave their stuff around like it's someone else's job to pick up after them.

 

[BlueCat]

I feel the opposite of some posters here. If you see something that is blatant unsportsmanlike conduct, tell that person, tell one of their coaches, tell the gym owner, or email the gym owner. If you really don't feel comfortable with that, then tell one of your own coaches or gym owner and have them talk to them other program. If nothing happens - THEN maybe you can start talking about it in a public forum.

I view celebrating too early as at best about a "1" or "2" out of 10 on a poor sportsmanship scale. Calling someone out online when you won't say it to their face is more like a "6" or "7" to me. Even the thinly veiled "I would never call anyone out, but let's just say their gym sounds something like Malifornia Mall Stars" type of passive aggressive gossip is almost worse to me than just straight up putting someone on blast.

For some reason the happy-too-early issue and the smug posts that accompany it irk me far more than they should. Perhaps because I have seen teams go through awards ceremonies up close and personal thousands of times and seen the emotions that happen there, my perspective is different. Almost without exception, these are not athletes that are trying to rub it in another team's face or steal someone's spotlight. They are simply happy. I have also rarely seen athletes or even coaches care what anyone else is doing during awards - it is parents or fans in the stands analyzing the behavior of the teams in the fishbowl of the awards ceremony. (I am not talking about taunting or acting a fool - those are different animals entirely.)

None of this is about whether coaches should be teaching proper sportsmanship. I absolutely, firmly, 100% believe that it is a huge part of our job to help young athletes become classy, respectful adults. We spend a great deal of time trying to instill great sportsmanship in our athletes. It is about whether the "happy too early" thing is really poor sportsmanship or disrespectful to other teams. Regardless, we teach our athletes and parents as best we can not to react until their actual name is called, but that is primarily because we know that, fairly or not, our teams and athletes will be judged on that.

 

[mybabywantstotumble]

@BlueCat for President