In Arizona, cheer is still considered an "activity" and listed in the same sections as chess and debate club.
Before 2009, certain athletic teams were not allowed to participate in competing "club" sports (ie. football, basketball, soccer, track, etc.). That didn't affect cheer, and many girls crossed over to do both high school and allstars.
However, in March 2009, the AIA (
Arizona Interscholastic Association) added cheer to that list, while still categorizing it as an activity. It was the only "activity" added to the non-participation rule. At least when my CP gets to high school, I can be comforted knowing she can be on the school chess team while also doing chess allstars. Whew. Dodged a bullet there.
This new rule has
effectively killed significantly weakened the competitiveness of Arizona cheer. Girls now must choose between paying thousands of dollars to be on all-star cheer or paying considerably less to be doing high school cheer. You get the picture. All-stars in AZ has taken a beating.
Several local gyms joined together to get an injunction against the new rule. Here is the news article.
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2009/07/cheerleading_companies_fight_t.php)
They lost. Here is the court document and some
very interesting reading on the subject...
http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/07/29/CheersAz.pdf
Apparently the reasoning behind the non-participation rule is something the AIA calls the "loyalty" rule. Students should put their high school team above their own self interest. They feel it isn't fair if team members miss practice or competitions during the school season. The "risk of injury and effect of fatigue"... blah, blah, blah. My favorite part is that they say it is contrary to their interest to have a student receiving coaching from the school while also possibly getting contradictory coaching from allstar. The joke is that it is the all-star coaches that are out working with the all the high schools in the area.
I am very frustrated over this issue...