All-Star Gym Owners Refusing To Sign Release... Appeal Process?..

[wcdad]

I think the concept of an "appeal process" is thinking about the subject backwards.

Andre asked for a proposal - I'll present in writing my proposal for how the whole Worlds' release process could work.

If an athlete decides they want to request a release from their current gym to compete for another program's Worlds' team, they must do the following:

• The athlete must submit, either electronically or in writing, a request to be released from their current program to the USASF.
• Upon receipt of the release request, the USASF will then notify the athlete's current gym, either electronically or in writing, that a release request has been made. At this point, the gym has three options:
  1. Accept the release request. At this point, the athlete is immediately free to compete for any other gym of their choice, without restriction.
  2. Do nothing. If the athlete's current gym chooses not to respond to the release request, the athlete is automatically released from their commitment to their current gym 90 days from the date the release request was received by the USASF. During this time, the athlete is NOT allowed to compete with any other program other than the one they are currently affiliated with.
  3. Deny the release request. The athlete will not be allowed to compete with any other program other than the one they are currently affiliated with.
• If a gym wishes to deny the release request, they must provide, in writing, the reason why they are denying the request. The only valid reasons for denying a release request are:

1. 1. Financial obligation. If the athlete currently has an unpaid financial obligation to their current gym, the gym has the right to deny the athlete's transfer request. Evidence of financial obligations must be provided, and these can include contracts, invoices, or other instruments that illustrate the athlete's unmet obligations.
   2. Violation of recruiting guidelines. If the current gym has evidence that the athlete in question was recruited by another USASF member program, the gym has the right to deny the athlete's transfer request. The gym must provide physical evidence (email, first-hand social media, etc.) that recruiting has taken place. Note that hearsay, rumors or second-hand information will not be considered "evidence" for the purposes of this denial.

• In the event an athlete's release request is denied, they will be notified electronically or in writing within 7 days of the request being denied.
  • If the athlete's request was denied due to unpaid financial obligations, the athlete must be given the opportunity to pay the gym any monies owed. If the athlete provides evidence (voided checks, invoices, etc.) that said obligations are paid in full, then the gym can no longer deny the release request on these grounds.
  • If the athlete's request was denied due to a violation of recruiting guidelines, then the athlete can appeal the denial to the USASF Board of Directors. The athlete must be provided copies of the evidence used by the gym in the initial denial of the transfer request and be given an opportunity to rebut said evidence in writing.
• No athlete can request more than one release per competition season.
• No athlete can request transfers in consecutive competition seasons.
• No athlete can request a release within 90 days of Worlds.
• Athletes can appeal release denials to the USASF Board of Directors. All appeals will be heard within 30 days and the decision of the USASF Board of Directors is final.

RATIONALE


The purpose of changing the USASF Worlds release process is to put the onus on the gym to have a valid rationale for denying a release. Right now, the current method allows gyms to deny a release for any number of reasons, or for no reason at all. In a sport that's "pay to play", that is simply too much power to put in the hands of the gym owner.

The model proposed has many advantages:

• It has safety-valves in case gyms do not respond to release requests, thus handling the oft-cited case of "what happens if the gym closes".
• It encourages transparency. Gym owners cannot simply refuse to allow a transfer - they must have a valid reason that fits within the specific criteria listed above.
• The limits on transfers discourage gym hopping and serve to protect higher-level teams at major competitions, like Cheersport, NCA, etc.

Great start



Question



Who has the burden of the cost to staff and fund this appeals process? Is it the USASF, The GYM, or the Athlete?



I cannot see the USASF spending a dime on the process so the cost would have to come from somewhere.



Is there a process to appeal the ruling?

 

[Cheer Cougar]

I think if the athlete is awarded a release then the gym should pay. If not, the athlete should pay!

 

[wiscogirl]

If you are "paying to play" then this also leaves the gym with the responsibility of keeping their costumers. If a child wants to leave and you won't let them, are they really worth keeping around anyways? they prob are not going to work as hard and that just hurts the team. I like the above proposal because it limits that you can only ask for release once a year and not in consecutive years so it does discourage gym hopping but it also encourages gyms to keep up their product and make people want to stay. Again if a family wants to leave and you wont let them, they aren't worth keeping around anyways.

So, in essence, it's okay to gym hop in season, but only every other year??

 

[GreatWhite92]

So, in essence, it's okay to gym hop in season, but only every other year??

If you are not happy with a service and move gyms does that automaticity make you a gym hopper? Even if its due to safety, bullying, quality of service?


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[LabbyGirlMOM]

If you are not happy with a service and move gyms does that automaticity make you a gym hopper? Even if its due to safety, bullying, quality of service?


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It depends on when you move if you all of the sudden a week before a comp decide that you want to move gyms then yes but I believe and I may receive alot of grief for this but you need to move gyms before November 1st.

 

[GreatWhite92]

It depends on when you move if you all of the sudden a week before a comp decide that you want to move gyms then yes but I believe and I may receive alot of grief for this but you need to move gyms before November 1st.

And really I think you should be able to tell before then too, I'm not unhappy with the rule as is but I also like the one proposed above as well.


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[newcheerdad]

So, in essence, it's okay to gym hop in season, but only every other year??

The intent of the original rule was to prevent athletes from hopping to several gyms to find a gym where they could compete and get a worlds' bid. I think saying you can request a transfer once every two years is pretty reasonable. If you want it to be once every three years, perhaps that's negotiable. The whole purpose behind my proposal is that you can play a little bit with the timeframes and such, but the basic premises (waiting period, limited reasons for deny transfers) exist.

 

[newcheerdad]

Great start



Question



Who has the burden of the cost to staff and fund this appeals process? Is it the USASF, The GYM, or the Athlete?



I cannot see the USASF spending a dime on the process so the cost would have to come from somewhere.



Is there a process to appeal the ruling?

As far as appeals go, I think the idea would be that the athlete would have to appeal the ruling and perhaps pay a deposit in order to have the appeal heard. If the USASF rules in their favor, the athlete is refunded their money and the member gym is charged. If the USASF rules against them, they're out the money.

I see the appeals process as a one-step approach. Basically if a gym denies a transfer for financial or recruiting reasons, it takes effect. The athlete then initiates an appeal, pays the money, and the case is heard by the USASF board of directors (or some other committee within USASF) within 30 days. After the hearing the USASF BOD rules, and that ruling is final.

 

[wcdad]

I forgot to add a part in my proposal about enforcement:

Eligibility of athletes with regards to gym affiliation should ideally be determined at bid-giving competitions. Competitions should be checking registration of all athletes to ensure that they are rostered to the gym they are competing with. However, the primary responsibility for eligibility lies with USASF member gyms. If a gym is unsure of an athlete's eligibility or release status, they can use (insert website here) to determine the athlete's eligibility as per USASF guidelines.

Before the bid-giving competition - if an improperly registered athlete is identified, the athlete will not be allowed to compete and will be stricken from the roster. That athlete will not be allowed to be added as an alternate to that team's roster until they have been properly released from their current gym.

During/after the bid-giving competition - if an improperly registered athlete is identified and the team has already competed, any bids received will be considered "declined" and handed down as per the guidelines of the event producers and/or USASF. If the gym has received any compensation (in the case of a paid bid) those monies must be refunded. In addition, the gym in question will receive a fine of no less than $1,000 to be paid to the USASF.

During/after worlds - if an improperly registered athlete is determined to have competed at Worlds, the team in question will be disqualified (receive a score of zero) and standing will be adjusted accordingly. The gym in question will receive a fine of no less than $1,000 to be paid to the USASF.

Multiple offenses - if a gym commits multiple eligibility offenses within a three-year period, the gym will be banned from competing from Worlds for the next calendar year.

Appeals - USASF member gyms can appeal any ruling on the eligibility of athletes to the USASF Board of Directors. The USASF BOD must rule on the matter within 30 days and all rulings by the BOD are final.

How is an EP going to do this? We do not have an Athlete Registration AND ID process in place yet. No Data base to store this information. I would think that would be needed before an Appeals Process can be presented.



How can it be proved that Gym A “owns the Rights” to Suzy? That she is a member in good standing with the USASF and GYM A. We cannot document what level she is or if she is of proper age for a division.



It’s my opinion that this would need to be established long before an appeals process that affects a hand full of athletes.



The ruling as it stands is cut and dry, there is no gray area and that is why it has worked.

 

[wcdad]

As far as appeals go, I think the idea would be that the athlete would have to appeal the ruling and perhaps pay a deposit in order to have the appeal heard. If the USASF rules in their favor, the athlete is refunded their money and the member gym is charged. If the USASF rules against them, they're out the money.

I see the appeals process as a one-step approach. Basically if a gym denies a transfer for financial or recruiting reasons, it takes effect. The athlete then initiates an appeal, pays the money, and the case is heard by the USASF board of directors (or some other committee within USASF) within 30 days. After the hearing the USASF BOD rules, and that ruling is final.

So a"Non Profit" will or may have the burden to fund this proccess and staff it?

 

[wiscogirl]

If you are not happy with a service and move gyms does that automaticity make you a gym hopper? Even if its due to safety, bullying, quality of service?


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If you aren't happy with a service, you always have the option to settle your bill and leave. If you switch gyms after November 1st, yes, you are a gym hopper. You can cheer on another team, but I would prefer the 90 day waiting period. You still can't go to worlds.

 

[newcheerdad]

So a"Non Profit" will or may have the burden to fund this proccess and staff it?

For as often as this is likely to happen, I don't see it as a major expense.

But honestly, I'd like the process to be far more simple - i.e., a release is automatic after 90 days and the gym has no right to refuse. Then you don't have to worry about an "appeals" process. The process is really simple, and the 90 day rule is a reasonable deterrent against gym hopping.

However, I understand that's probably a political non-starter. Thus I tried to come up with something that I thought would assauge gym owner concerns. (basically negotiating against myself. )

 

[wcdad]

What makes this rule work is it costs nothing. No one has spent a dime to date. There is something to its simplicity.

You make a commitment to a program, a team on November 1, in most cases 7 months after tryouts. If you as a consumer have not been able to make an informed decision with in that time frame, or seen the writing on the wall, or un safe actions than I would think we would be in denial.

Is there a number of athletes that we are talking about? I contend that we are talking about less than 1%

 

[newcheerdad]

What makes this rule work is it costs nothing. No one has spent a dime to date. There is something to its simplicity.

You make a commitment to a program, a team on November 1, in most cases 7 months after tryouts. If you as a consumer have not been able to make an informed decision with in that time frame, or seen the writing on the wall, or un safe actions than I would think we would be in denial.

Is there a number of athletes that we are talking about? I contend that we are talking about less than 1%

I agree that the number of athletes is small, the rule is simple, and if you understand it ahead of time it will definitely inform your thinking about your gym choice.

My issue is more along the lines of how to handle that 1%, and whether that decision to release should be solely in the hands of gym owners.

 

[Hi-Phlyer21]

How is an EP going to do this? We do not have an Athlete Registration AND ID process in place yet. No Data base to store this information. I would think that would be needed before an Appeals Process can be presented.



How can it be proved that Gym A “owns the Rights” to Suzy? That she is a member in good standing with the USASF and GYM A. We cannot document what level she is or if she is of proper age for a division.



It’s my opinion that this would need to be established long before an appeals process that affects a hand full of athletes.



The ruling as it stands is cut and dry, there is no gray area and that is why it has worked.

As all athletes are registered with USASF and are assigned an athlete member ID and issued an ID card (in some cases photo ID) I don't think it would be that difficult. Maybe presently it is, but I feel as though when a program registers at x competition and sends in the rosters there should be a way, especially for USASF member EP's to cross reference that roster with the USASF database/member gyms account info. Especially given that one registers for a competition WAY ahead of time usually at least when it was planned it is, though I know the last minute comp does pop up here and there.
A competition we went to this year had us go through and list each athlete, birthdate, and USASF member ID before anyone was allowed to even look at the floor. Maybe that's why all athletes have to register with the USASF now and not just the athletes on worlds teams. So that something like this can be put into place? If its not already.
Because additionally your athletes profile has the gym and team affiliation of not only the current season but seasons past as well.
On that note I would think that all gym owners and coaches would make sure that their athletes are affiliated with the program prior to competition to avoid any problems. Maybe I'm wrong though.

Just a thought


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