All-Star Get Our Sport Back: Flocheer And Varsity Video Policy

[SLM]

I do have flocheer, but it's like bonus footage for me because we have flosports so my husband can watch jiu jitsu. So I never thought about if I was just viewing Cheer how expensive that would be, because for us in this house we get way more than our monies worth out of the subscription. I do hate that there is no sound on replay though especially viewing game day or HS cheer, I want to actually hear the cheer portion.

 

[CLynn]

I do have FloCheer, but think I pay yearly and it is a little less that way. Hey, I spent $15.50 this weekend for a lemonade, pretzel and hotdog from a pop up booth in a non-state of the art arena. The hot dog alone was $5, which is the average price at Major Leage Baseball Stadiums and more expensive than 14 stadiums (including Yankee Stadium, source
MLB hot dog prices by team 2018 | Statistic I typically try to bring food but circumstances didn't allow it this time.

I do really hope something can be worked out to allow more access and sound on the channel because there is an epidemic of adults taping and not really seeing what they are taping "live". I sat behind too many fans this weekend all taping THE SAME THING while they sat next to each other. It was comical and I was thinking they could have one person taping, more hands clapping and just air drop the one video to the group.

 

[BlockHead]

Beyond rebate checks, parents demand Summit. Are these gyms willing to lose all the customers that believe this is the end all be all event? Jody from CA has said on these boards that they constantly hear from parents that they want bid events and want Summit, and complain when they attend other comps.

In California we have Jamz which allows some gyms to avoid Varsity all together, but we are extremely lucky to have an IEP that puts on great events and enough of them. That’s not the case for 95% of gyms.

My CP's gym owner has decided to only allow senior teams to accept Summit bids (only at large or paid bids). I love this! We did lose some kids because of her decision, but there are so many parents at our gym who are excited to not have to worry about the expense of Summit.

 

[DonnaM]

I think it makes sense to limit Summit to seniors/higher level teams just so there’s something to work towards/look forward to moving forward (I’d hate to tell a Youth 4 that they can’t go to Summit when there are so many competitions where they’re the only one in their division). I don’t see much reason for a Y1 or J1 of mostly kids new to the sport to go, when they have years before they age out to get to that level. And maybe requiring less expense for beginners would keep more people in the sport longer. There are a few D2 gyms in our area that don’t have non-prep teams below level 3, and that makes sense to me. You could still do US finals or one big travel comp (like UCA Intl, if you want Disney) as a grand finale to the season.

On the wildcard thing, not accepting wildcards means, around here, not doing the local comps that don’t require a hotel stay. I think I would rather see a season of mostly one day, Saturday only competitions that can be driven to that morning, with a plan of needing to be at Summit a day earlier than a bunch of 2 day, often Stay to Play that usually require three nights of hotel, minimum, and missing two days of school to accommodate travel due to distance.

 

[123jump4!]

Yes, I've said that before... Summit should be level 3 and up IMO and maybe only Jr & Sr. I know some kids might never reach level 3. But in what other sports do lower levels go to a big "best of the best" national comp?

My CP is on Y2 and of course she wants to go to the Summit. I want it for her, but for me I'd be happy to wait!

US finals would be fun. Is it less expensive than Summit?

 

[alpaca]

Yes, I've said that before... Summit should be level 3 and up IMO and maybe only Jr & Sr. I know some kids might never reach level 3. But in what other sports do lower levels go to a big "best of the best" national comp?

My CP is on Y2 and of course she wants to go to the Summit. I want it for her, but for me I'd be happy to wait!

US finals would be fun. Is it less expensive than Summit?

Heck yeah it's cheaper. Only VA Beach is STP , and that's a change new to this year. So unless you go to the VA Beach location, your housing cost is up to you. They are multi day events but you only compete one day. Last year we only needed 1 night hotel. Gold Bids give you free registration and even the most expensive 3rd place registration fee is about $117.

It is significantly cheaper than Summit or D2.

I have not been to Summit so I don't know if it's one super awesome fun comp, maybe it's worth the money? If you ask me, US Finals is just like many other comps, except with bigger divisions, a more expensive stage and lighting and a very long drawn out awards ceremony that feels very much like a very long Varsity commercial.

 

[BlockHead]

Yes, I've said that before... Summit should be level 3 and up IMO and maybe only Jr & Sr. I know some kids might never reach level 3. But in what other sports do lower levels go to a big "best of the best" national comp?

My CP is on Y2 and of course she wants to go to the Summit. I want it for her, but for me I'd be happy to wait!

US finals would be fun. Is it less expensive than Summit?

I do not like summit, but this scenario would break my daughter's heart and possibly cause her to want to leave the sport. She is on a level 1 and an level 2 team. She is 14 and has been in all star cheer since she was 7. Tumbling is not her strong suit and I do not see her getting past level 2.
I think it would be ok to eliminate the youth from Summit. But I do not see how a level 3 can be considered better than a level 2. It is just a different level, not a better level.

 

[DonnaM]

I was thinking all seniors, but 3 and up for younger kids that have more time. Should have been more clear.

 

[BlueCat]

I have not been to Summit so I don't know if it's one super awesome fun comp, maybe it's worth the money? If you ask me, US Finals is just like many other comps, except with bigger divisions, a more expensive stage and lighting and a very long drawn out awards ceremony that feels very much like a very long Varsity commercial.

2018 Summit was, by a pretty wide margin, the worst competition experience of our season - de-throning Worlds, which had owned that title for well over 10 years. Worlds was much improved and D1 Summit was miserable.

 

[123jump4!]

2018 Summit was, by a pretty wide margin, the worst competition experience of our season - de-throning Worlds, which had owned that title for well over 10 years. Worlds was much improved and D1 Summit was miserable.

What was so bad about it? I think I remember hearing/reading about overcrowding etc.

 

[Natalia5]

I do not like summit, but this scenario would break my daughter's heart and possibly cause her to want to leave the sport. She is on a level 1 and an level 2 team. She is 14 and has been in all star cheer since she was 7. Tumbling is not her strong suit and I do not see her getting past level 2.
I think it would be ok to eliminate the youth from Summit. But I do not see how a level 3 can be considered better than a level 2. It is just a different level, not a better level.

I must say that I would not mind the Summit dropping the Youth division OR maybe different days? IDK But I just want to chime in to say that the part in bold is another valid argument for a Worlds Non Tumbling division. Cheer Senior aged kids or older kids who started cheer at 11 or 12 who may never progress to Senior Level 5 tumbling. I think the Non Tumbling division provides a great option for those older kids (14/14+) who have not aged out and have only peaked to maybe Level 2 or 3 tumbling. NT will allow them a shot at competing at WORLDS and having teams or ANY team that is WORLDS eligible at your gym is always a plus. My CP even thinks this division will grow and Senior 1 will be extinct and Senior 4.2 will start to take a hit too. And I quote: "Why go to the Summit when you can possibly go to Worlds?"

 

[catlady]

My CP's gym owner has decided to only allow senior teams to accept Summit bids (only at large or paid bids). I love this! We did lose some kids because of her decision, but there are so many parents at our gym who are excited to not have to worry about the expense of Summit.

I think I would rather see a season of mostly one day, Saturday only competitions that can be driven to that morning, with a plan of needing to be at Summit a day earlier than a bunch of 2 day, often Stay to Play that usually require three nights of hotel, minimum, and missing two days of school to accommodate travel due to distance.

These are the types of decisions that actually make a difference in parent expenses. Things such as rebates, partnerships or anything else that is used to offset an EP's expenses would end up costing the customer somewhere else if taken away. I'm not against the Summit, Cheersport, NCA, UCA, WSF, Jamfest, and all the other "Nationals" (our family had fun at every single one of them), but it's "National" overkill. I, personally, would have been a bigger fan of attending more one day events, any 2 day events within a few hours, and having one big year end "National," but cue the debate on what the most prestigious "National" banner is or should be. I don't think there's a need to decide who should and shouldn't attend the Summit and World's, that's probably decided more on population needed to get ESPN more than anything else. To me, it's more a matter of how many long distance travel "National" comps do you really have to attend before getting to the year end event you and your gym thinks is the most important "National."

 

[Power1979]

Summit was designed to be the competition of the elitist. Only the best of the best... I crunched the numbers over the last few seasons and the overwelming percentage are going to lower levels.. the scoring matrix is where the "fix" needs to occur. Summit was imo nothing special. Small stages... Kids and parents funneled in and out like livestock. It was not what I expected and not what my little girl had dreamed about for years. :( Varsity highers personally requested all of my data... I sent it to them to analyze further.

 

[twincheermom]

and a very long drawn out awards ceremony that feels very much like a very long Varsity commercial.

When my girls won Summit a few years ago, there were 11 teams in their division and from announcing 11th to when they were announced as winners was less than 2 minutes long. It was honestly the most efficient awards ceremony I have EVER been to.

 

[alpaca]

When my girls won Summit a few years ago, there were 11 teams in their division and from announcing 11th to when they were announced as winners was less than 2 minutes long. It was honestly the most efficient awards ceremony I have EVER been to.

Wow! I would love that. US Finals made you sit though pre-made video's on the screens.