All-Star More World Divisions

[Keep_Believing]

Vizion 20/20 medaled at Worlds more than once. Their highest medal was silver. They only had one Worlds team. Unfortunately the gym no longer exist.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

So, we slice the 6/7 pie into ever smaller slices. It's not going to make there magically be more 6/7 level kids.

Honestly, wouldn't it make more sense to add lower open level teams so that small gyms that may not have a worlds team can offer, say, an open 3/4 for kids who don't make a college team, or even an open 1 or 2 for cheer parents who think it might be fun to try?

Yeah level six and seven athletes are the 1% of cheer.

I would even say at this point that true senior aged level 6 athletes are on the decline.

That’s why everyone who would normally be small coed or small all girl is going open. I feel like it’s getting harder and harder to field true senior teams at the worlds levels. Unless you’re somebody who is building talent from the ground up through your program.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

I have so many issues with this, but one of the biggest ones is reusing a division name that used to exist with a totally different meaning. I know its been almost 10 years since those divisions existed, but it still annoys me.

That confused me too because I recall limited meaning something related to number of boys.

 

[luv2cheer92]

That confused me too because I recall limited meaning something related to number of boys.

Yep. Limited=4, semi-limited=12, then unlimited. With limited broken down into small and large.

 

[NJ Coach]

Yep. Limited=4, semi-limited=12, then unlimited. With limited broken down into small and large.

the small small days. I don't miss that confusion

 

[cheermomforever]

Yep. Limited=4, semi-limited=12, then unlimited. With limited broken down into small and large.

But NT isn’t small and large? Rediculous!

 

[SL&AM]

Vizion 20/20 medaled at Worlds more than once. Their highest medal was silver. They only had one Worlds team. Unfortunately the gym no longer exist.

That is the saddest thing I've read all day.

 

[riwa12]

Rain Athletics had 3 Worlds teams last year. 2 the year before that.

they had two last year. aqua and downpour

 

[luv2cheer92]

they had two last year. aqua and downpour

Thought for sure they had Storm again last year, you're right!

 

[kayemm]

There were so many divisions at Worlds this past year that it hurt my head trying to follow it all, and that was without all the added international teams from outside the US.

I would personally rather see more teams in the medium and large divisions, than more in the small and x-small divisions. Maybe if teams are struggling to field larger teams with Worlds athletes they should look at changing the numbers so more medium teams would be large, more small would be medium etc etc. Rather than adding even more divisions.

I have no idea if that would even be possible or fix the issue though.

 

[emo_wifey]

Honestly, wouldn't it make more sense to add lower open level teams so that small gyms that may not have a worlds team can offer, say, an open 3/4 for kids who don't make a college team, or even an open 1 or 2 for cheer parents who think it might be fun to try?

If it's about money (and we all know it is) this makes more sense. I have said for years if Open 1 was a thing, I'm in, no question. For all of those aging out in levels 1-2-3 it would be a great option. NT exists but a lot of gyms I've seen still want you to be experienced in level 5+ stunting.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

If it's about money (and we all know it is) this makes more sense. I have said for years if Open 1 was a thing, I'm in, no question. For all of those aging out in levels 1-2-3 it would be a great option. NT exists but a lot of gyms I've seen still want you to be experienced in level 5+ stunting.

I have read on here and in other places about kids being on NT 6 with varying levels of experience (because tumbling is not part of it) but I’m guessing it depends on the gym.

I’ve seen some trajectories that look like:

New to cheer: J1
Second season: S3
Third: NT6

Heck, I remember reading on here at one point that a gym started out Senior kiddos with no cheer experience on 4.2 because that was all they had.

If you pick up basing fast enough, you probably could reasonably move from 4.2 to NT6. Not too sure about flyers though.

Now I can’t say how good that team is going to be if it is composed of relatively new cheerleaders (e.g. Not sure if it could compete with the teams who placed in the top three of the NTs) but it probably does happen like that in some places.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

I do agree with your general point though.

The average cheerleader is not aging out at the worlds level, tumbling or not.

I feel like a big moneymaker would be to open up competition to open teams at the lower level.

Also I’ve seen studios offering beginner adult ballet, tap, hip hop, etc. I think cheer doing the same could really bring in $.

I mean it wouldn’t even have to be competitive. There are probably some adults who would pay for a cheer fitness type class where you learn a routine and have a little showcase like the dance studios have. You know just for fun and giggles and the occasional “still got it!” IG story post.

I mean we pay to throw axes, do escape rooms, etc. Why not an adult cheer class at XYZ All Stars?

 

[cheermomforever]

This is exactly what I was trying to communicate but you said it so much better.

What exactly is it about being the only worlds team from a gym that makes it more difficult for you to place in any of the existing divisions?

I can see how being a D2 program might. Or only having 100 kids in an entire gym might. Or not having tumbling.

I fail to see how being the only worlds team in your gym makes it more difficult.

I almost want to make a list of teams who have placed in the top 10 or top five or in globe position at worlds but were the only worlds team in their gym.

Because in the smaller team size divisions, aren’t most of the top finishers the only worlds teams in their gym?

Or even in divisions like NT6. Aren’t there several gyms in which the NT team is the only worlds team they have?

My daughters gym has always been considered a small gym, under 150 athletes, and have respectively place top 10 and top 5 being their only Worlds team. We have now added NT and were .03 from 3rd and globing……we should have but due to shananigans…….

 

[catlady]

If it's about money (and we all know it is) this makes more sense. I have said for years if Open 1 was a thing, I'm in, no question. For all of those aging out in levels 1-2-3 it would be a great option. NT exists but a lot of gyms I've seen still want you to be experienced in level 5+ stunting.

Or, it's about the venue and meeting their criteria. The Summit has a plethora of teams/divisions to give bids to (Disney translation: amount of multi-day park hoppers they want for the venue) but, World's is a different story. No doubt when the Disney-Varsity partnership was formed and the new building was built, Varsity had to meet economic criteria (park hoppers) for each of Summit, Dance World's, Cheer World's, and D2 weekends . From a fan perspective, I'm right there with everyone that would prefer seeing a handful of divisions battle it out. From solely a business perspective, I can see how Cheer World's would have the smallest population and the hardest time meeting economic criteria. More divisions=more park hoppers. When I was a buyer we used to say, "Welcome to Groveling and Sorcery 101, where you rely on everyone else's businesses to get your job done, but you still have to meet dates/deadlines, cost and profit margin." I imagine EP's and buyers have a lot in common.