Do other countries really need to have both a "new Level 5" and a "new Level 6" division at Worlds? Is there really much of a difference between those levels for foreign teams? It feels like overkill.
Do we really need 4 non-tumbling International divisions? I understand it for countries just starting out in cheerleading, but this certainly isn't helping encourage them to incorporate tumbling into their training and fully embrace our sport. Why even bother trying tumbling when you can be a World Champion without learning more than a cartwheel. :rolleyes: The teams in this division are fine and watchable, but it shouldn't be at Worlds.
I miss when Worlds finished on a Sunday and the Milkhouse was packed to the gills for Finals. It was a fire hazard at times, but it was an intimate setting and very exciting. And the Worlds Finalists felt like superstars with all eyes on them. A World Championships should finish on a weekend, not on a Monday night in a relatively empty arena.
The creation of all these international divisions has meant that Worlds doesn't revolve around the "regular divisions" as much. I know this is technically an international event, but the regular divisions are why All Star cheer even exists in the US (and other countries are of course able to enter these divisions as well). Without them, there would be no sport in the US, and therefore no Worlds in Florida every year. This trend of catering to the adult open teams and creating a million divisions for them that we don't need, at least here in the US, isn't a good one. I used to know who was competing in the International/Open divisions, but now it's out of hand. I followed Worlds, but I have no idea who won some of the Intl divisions.
This is what happens when you don't have an independent governing body and your sport is run by an apparel company.
