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

[wcdad]

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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I agree with this, there should be a way, however none of this is in place.

 

[wiscogirl]

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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I think this should be the case - they should be checking to see if everyone is registered properly. Not to bring up soccer again, but the refs check the player passes in every state my athlete has played in, prior to every game.

 

[Hi-Phlyer21]

Additionally I list the athletes birthdate, and unless the birth certificate is on file it list the competitions age as "unconfirmed"
I can't tell you how long my birthdate has been "unconfirmed" on my athlete profile.

So then having all these resources with which to verify an athletes standing at a program/ age/ etc. really has no point if not being used the way described above.
Let me re-phrase that. Because it has a point and came in handy at one of our bid competitions a couple weeks ago. A coach accused us of competing an aged out athlete on a senior team. Specifically they thought the 18 year old was 32.......
Obviously all of his information was presented and that was that, but I feel like if this was how the data was used situations like these would be avoided. Coaches could still carry the information with them, but it wouldn't be as much a necessity as it is now.
Even now this is all a lot of he said/ she said.

It means nothing for it to be required of all athletes to be registered with USASF if no one can do anything with that registration data by the gym owner, the athletes themselves and... Well that's it. What does USASF do with this? Simply take the $25 and say "okay. Now you can compete, but make sure your coaches have all the info on hand in case someone challenges your eligibility" ?

I guess that's fine, but the EP's need a better way to verify I formation than just going solely on what is provided to them by a program.

But I'm just thinking out loud now..



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[DropAndRun]

One thing that I don't understand is why it is not required that you be a usasf member to compete as an athlete at any event. I don't care if its tiny 1 or senior 5. There needs to be a way to regulate these people and guarantee that Susie's mom (and coach) don't conveniently change Susie's age constantly. You know people do it. I see it all the time.

It's really not rocket science to do this. You need to invest in a computer system, yes. But if you have a database and EVERY ATHLETE has an ID number, you can verify these things. Before you compete for the first time, you pay to register, provide proof of age, etc. that number stays with you for life. When you compete, your coach must have your number to put on the entry form. If you don't provide it, you don't compete.

IMO it would offer a way to regulate a lot of things.


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[CoachTamara]

One thing that I don't understand is why it is not required that you be a usasf member to compete as an athlete at any event.

Who is going to enforce this? USASF? They don't have the power to enforce this at the moment.

EPs are not willing to lose money and turn customers away. Customers don't want to register athletes because they don't believe in what the USASF is doing and are concerned about the information being used/sold to Varsity. There are many gyms out there that don't even know about the USASF. It's the double edged sword. You just can't win.

 

[Hi-Phlyer21]

One thing that I don't understand is why it is not required that you be a usasf member to compete as an athlete at any event. I don't care if its tiny 1 or senior 5. There needs to be a way to regulate these people and guarantee that Susie's mom (and coach) don't conveniently change Susie's age constantly. You know people do it. I see it all the time.

It's really not rocket science to do this. You need to invest in a computer system, yes. But if you have a database and EVERY ATHLETE has an ID number, you can verify these things. Before you compete for the first time, you pay to register, provide proof of age, etc. that number stays with you for life. When you compete, your coach must have your number to put on the entry form. If you don't provide it, you don't compete.

IMO it would offer a way to regulate a lot of things.


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From my understanding it is required. Every single athlete at my gym is registered with the USASF and has a member ID. From our mini 1 to Open 6. I thought this was a rule currently in place or that athlete would be disallowed from competition. At least, that's what we were all made to understand. Or is it that all athletes must be registered by such an such season??
In any case I'm sure EP's not affiliated with USASF don't require this. But at the same time an EP not associated with USASF doesn't matter because they wouldn't be giving out bids to worlds.
Now if we were to broaden the subject beyond just worlds, then as our sports governing body all EP's should require it. Not just those producing events sanctioned by USASF.

I feel like that's something easy enough that it should have been an immediate thing. Not a "by 2015 season all athletes..."

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[DropAndRun]

Who is going to enforce this? USASF? They don't have the power to enforce this at the moment.

EPs are not willing to lose money and turn customers away. Customers don't want to register athletes because they don't believe in what the USASF is doing and are concerned about the information being used/sold to Varsity. There are many gyms out there that don't even know about the USASF. It's the double edged sword. You just can't win.

Well.. Hmm. Lol. I guess my inexperience leads me astray.. I wrongfully (I suppose) think of USASF as a national governing body.

In my sport experience as an active coach, we have an NGB whose officers are elected by the membership, and our dues (significantly more than usasf fees.. I believe as an coach I pay about $135 per year) pay to run the association. They write the rules, the elected committees vote on them, and you either follow them or don't compete. In order to compete at our recognized competitions you must have a member number or pay a hefty ($50ish) non-member fee. There are probably 1,000s of unrecognized competitions that you can go to.. And they aren't necessarily recognized. But of course the prestige is in the recognized shows and finals.

I probably should not have crawled out of my mini mom corner to join in this discussion, but some of the problems here flabbergast me.

So there is essentially no Governing body making a standard set of rules for comps to follow? No wonder cheer has so many problems!





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[DropAndRun]

Hi-Phlyer21 afaik my daughter is not a usasf member. I suppose that the gym could have registered her but I did not pay an itemized fee for that (and our gym is great about itemizing) and if she has a number I have never seen it. I certainly have never had to provide any documentation as to her age. I do not think its required.


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[wcdad]

One thing that I don't understand is why it is not required that you be a usasf member to compete as an athlete at any event. I don't care if its tiny 1 or senior 5. There needs to be a way to regulate these people and guarantee that Susie's mom (and coach) don't conveniently change Susie's age constantly. You know people do it. I see it all the time.

It's really not rocket science to do this. You need to invest in a computer system, yes. But if you have a database and EVERY ATHLETE has an ID number, you can verify these things. Before you compete for the first time, you pay to register, provide proof of age, etc. that number stays with you for life. When you compete, your coach must have your number to put on the entry form. If you don't provide it, you don't compete.

IMO it would offer a way to regulate a lot of things.


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King started a thread a few years back about this and had it where a shoe tag could possess all of the information allowing the EP to scan each athlete as they check in and take the floor.

 

[wcdad]

Hi-Phlyer21 afaik my daughter is not a usasf member. I suppose that the gym could have registered her but I did not pay an itemized fee for that (and our gym is great about itemizing) and if she has a number I have never seen it. I certainly have never had to provide any documentation as to her age. I do not think its required.


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Athletes attending worlds have to be enrolled in the USASF and a member

 

[DropAndRun]

I have both a membership card and one if those little things that goes on my key chain. Nowadays though, most everything is computerized. I provide rider and horse numbers and the office looks them up. Some of the more "archaic" competitions require paper but generally have computers available in the office and you can go into the NGBs database and reprint your card no problemo.

Not to say there aren't people who abuse this system, but generally speaking, it works.

 

[DropAndRun]

wcdad that would explain why my CP doesn't have or need one. She is 5 years away from being worlds eligible.

 

[DropAndRun]

I will go back to my mini-mom corner now. I'm pretty happy there.

It's astonishing though, looking from the outside in, how unorganized and messed up this organization appears to be.

Carry on, friends!

 

[Hi-Phlyer21]

wcdad that would explain why my CP doesn't have or need one. She is 5 years away from being worlds eligible.

I just double checked all worlds athletes have to have the 5-star membership of which I was aware. And then there is also athlete ID. the difference is that the five star membership is paid and offers more benefits while athlete ID is not. However athlete ID will be required by everyone prior to participation in your first event of the 2013-2014 season. And obviously worlds teams will continue with five star.

I like the idea of the shoe tag. We used them in cross country for, like, conference and big meets like that. It scanned as we crossed the finish line to take placement and time.
It's a good idea having athlete info on it however I feel like that's a very important item to expect kids to keep up with. Especially the you get ones.
I wonder how it would work in practice.


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[DropAndRun]

Hi-Phlyer21 were they IDs or timer tags? I race triathlon and have those at almost every race but they are not athlete specific.. They just record the exact times you cross the mat.