This thread went somewhere that made no sense to me for a little bit there, but I'll voice a little opinion on here. Unfortunately (maybe fortunately for some, depends on your views), cheerleading is going through a time that large adjustments NEED to be made to accommodate the "little guy", in this instance, it is often the international teams. International score sheets have been changed to accompany the fact that most international teams are at an equal stunting ability as American teams, however are not matching in tumbling (Thailand for example). HOWEVER (and maybe this should be saved for another thread) this is my HUGE issue with this, and why I agree that the score sheet SHOULD be accepted the way it is being changed. This sport will NOT develop, I repeat NOT develop the way we all want it to if we continue to segregate the United States from the rest of the World. Yes, it is possible for an international team to enter the "club" (most commonly referred to as the US division) at Worlds, however with the current score sheet, it is nearly impossible to even come close to the American teams. This is why the international score sheet (I will forever disagree with "international" and "club" being 2 separate events at Worlds) was adjusted, to give other countries a chance against American teams, however they are in 4 specific divisions, with specific guidelines and expectations. A small limited team from another country is NOT going to do well in the international division because they will (in all likelihood) be competing in IOC 5, a division dominated by teams putting up 8 stunts, the average small limited team, no matter how good, does not put up 8 stunts (even if they added 4 more people specifically for Worlds). They are also, in all likelihood, not go to finals in the club division, because the expectations are far too high for them to match. SO (I suck at explaining myself, I apologize if this post is a jumbled mess) my main point is this, we want to expand the industry in other countries to match that of the United States, that WILL NOT happen if the expectations stay where they are (for the time being, this is not forever). I'm not saying that another country will be able to automatically win against for example F5 in large senior simply because now the percentages have changed, however this is going to encourage more countries to develop these senior teams (not focusing on the international division teams), and have a completely different competitive mindset. Competing as a large senior team would be a lot different than competing as an international open all girl team. The option to compete large senior, or any "club" division for that matter, is hardly open to other countries because of the huge expectations on them to match tumbling.
I make no sense in this post, so I'll wrap it up. The only way this sport will develop (in my eyes) is if other countries are entering these other divisions, getting a taste of Worlds from a different point of view, and are not being lumped under "international" a.k.a who can be the best of the worst? (with some exceptions: Thailand, CS Great Whites)
