College Ncata Or Stunt

[yojaehs]

So I have noticed that NCATA has already started this season and seems to be interesting, still not sure how I feel about it but its started. Are there any other schools that are considering this? This may be a dumb question but is there a difference between NCATA and STUNT?

 

[cheerforeverever]

Yes. Stunt is regulated by USA cheer and has more teams signed up for it. The sequences are of easier difficulty (though still challenging) imo compared to NCATA, so its a better fit for most school teams that dont recruit (hence more teams participating in addition to other things like waived fees for NCA nationals in daytona,etc.). NCATA schools are regulated by USA gymnastics, so teams recruit gymnasts as well as cheerleaders. NCATA schools are not allowed to compete at other competitions while competiting for NCATA (no NCA nationals, etc.)The scoring is different though the general concept of the 2 is the same.

 

[yojaehs]

Yes. Stunt is regulated by USA cheer and has more teams signed up for it. The sequences are of easier difficulty (though still challenging) imo compared to NCATA, so its a better fit for most school teams that dont recruit (hence more teams participating in addition to other things like waived fees for NCA nationals in daytona,etc.). NCATA schools are regulated by USA gymnastics, so teams recruit gymnasts as well as cheerleaders. NCATA schools are not allowed to compete at other competitions while competiting for NCATA (no NCA nationals, etc.)The scoring is different though the general concept of the 2 is the same.

But is stunt considered by the NCAA as a sport? I know NCATA isn't yet BUT the schools participating are being waved as a step towards Title IX, so the COLLEGES are treating them like a sport, isn't that better? I don't know and haven't seen or heard anything on Stunt.

 

[cheerforeverever]

Basically, Stunt is geared more towards teams that either still want to cheer at games and compete or teams that have NO support from their athletics programs. NCATA is geared towards the few universities that do consider it a sport.Both are have sent in the forms to be considered for NCAA. I wouldn't say one is better than the other, they just have different target markets. JMO If the thought of wearing another skirt, hairbow or cheering at another game makes you sick then go NCATA and strictly compete. If you want the whole game & competition experience or are a club team, go stunt.

 

[Future]

Basically, Stunt is geared more towards teams that either still want to cheer at games and compete or teams that have NO support from their athletics programs. NCATA is geared towards the few universities that do consider it a sport.Both are have sent in the forms to be considered for NCAA. I wouldn't say one is better than the other, they just have different target markets. JMO If the thought of wearing another skirt, hairbow or cheering at another game makes you sick then go NCATA and strictly compete. If you want the whole game & competition experience or are a club team, go stunt.

Comparing Stunt to NCATA: one gives opportunities for scholarships and one gives free entry to a national competition. If the opportunity to have an athletic paid education at a university meant no bows in the hair or no skirt...hmmm...let me think on this one. What is "different target markets"? PS: Going to USA Gymnastics web site and reviewing "sanctioning of meets"....the answer that is applied to the relationship between them and NCATA is 'sanctioning' and not 'regulated'....why is this so relevant?

 

[cheerforeverever]

A target market is a group that a company aims its products/services. So as stated above, NCATA's target market seems to be schools that already consider theses competitions a sport. Stunt's target market seems to be the schools that don't consider it a sport yet but are trying to prove themselves. So depending on where you're coming from, one will be a better fit than the other for you. I've seen one NCATA meet in person, and to even be on the bench you had to have a standing 2 to full with decent form on the flat mats.......if you are from a small university or a normal university cheer team there is just no way to compete with that. In contrast the highest tumbling difficulty routine in stunt has Toe backs and two roundoff 2 BHS fulls. NCATA has more options of what to preform for stunts/baskets/tumbling as they have a set routine plus a specialty pass/group that has a preset difficulty like gymnastics. Stunt simply has 4-5 difficutly level routines to choose from, so if your team has crazy amazing talent then it wouldnt be for you. If your team is like most university teams, where the talent varies widely across the board, then stunt is for you.

So basically what I'm getting at is that you can't just say "this one is better".... different formats are best for different types of teams.

Not sure on why " not regulated" is emphasised on the usag website. Maybe someone familiar with usag more in depth can explain the significance.

 

[Ashley]

But is stunt considered by the NCAA as a sport? I know NCATA isn't yet BUT the schools participating are being waved as a step towards Title IX, so the COLLEGES are treating them like a sport, isn't that better? I don't know and haven't seen or heard anything on Stunt.

Colleges can treat anyone they want as a sport - Maryland has done it for years, whether or not they're sanctioned as a sport. Neither of those are recognized by the NCAA, but Stunt is USA Cheer's attempt to fulfill the requirements of a "sport."

 

[yojaehs]

Colleges can treat anyone they want as a sport - Maryland has done it for years, whether or not they're sanctioned as a sport. Neither of those are recognized by the NCAA, but Stunt is USA Cheer's attempt to fulfill the requirements of a "sport."

So basically STUNT is going after the Olympics and NCATA is going after NCAA?

 

[cheerforeverever]

No both are going for NCAA

 

[Ashley]

So basically STUNT is going after the Olympics and NCATA is going after NCAA?

No, NCATA is one attempt at making cheer recognized as a valid sport for NCAA purposes (remember the Quinnipiac court case from this summer?) and STUNT is USA Cheer's attempt at the same. I'm not sure why USA Cheer didn't just get involved with NCATA, maybe they already had their own thing in mind. Maybe they wanted the recognition for it, maybe they wanted it to be able to take place at college nationals - who knows. But they're essentially going for the same thing, NCATA just doesn't let athletes cheer at games or anything.

 

[Audrey]

Personally I like NCATA a lot better. I think it's moving the sport in the direction it needs to be moved a lot more than stunt is. The universitites seems to recognize NCATA teams as sports more than they recognize stunt teams.

 

[tntdynomite]

I don't understand how Stunt athletes can also cheer games. Isn't one of the reasons why cheerleading is not considered a sport under Title IX because cheerleaders support other sports more than they compete? Competing in a few Stunt competitions won't change the fact that cheerleaders are at way more games throughout the year than stunt competitions.

Also, Azusa Pacific is a part of the NCATA, but is a NAIA school, not a NCAA school, so how is it that they were able to participate in the NCATA at all? Isn't the whole point of NCATA to get the NCAA to recognize cheer as a sport? Or is it to get cheerleading to be a sport under Title IX ruling? As far as I know NCATA is not trying to be affiliated with NAIA or their efforts to make cheer a sport.

I'm not trying to start any drama, but these are questions I have had for a while.

 

[Ashley]

I don't understand how Stunt athletes can also cheer games. Isn't one of the reasons why cheerleading is not considered a sport under Title IX because cheerleaders support other sports more than they compete? Competing in a few Stunt competitions won't change the fact that cheerleaders are at way more games throughout the year than stunt competitions.

Also, Azusa Pacific is a part of the NCATA, but is a NAIA school, not a NCAA school, so how is it that they were able to participate in the NCATA at all? Isn't the whole point of NCATA to get the NCAA to recognize cheer as a sport? Or is it to get cheerleading to be a sport under Title IX ruling? As far as I know NCATA is not trying to be affiliated with NAIA or their efforts to make cheer a sport.

I'm not trying to start any drama, but these are questions I have had for a while.

Realistically, most of the teams involved in Stunt at this point don't want to be just competition only athletes. Maryland for example does NCATA, they don't and haven't cheered at games in years. Louisville is doing Stunt this weekend, but they're not going to stop cheering at games anytime soon. I think USA Cheer likes it because it allows teams who do and don't cheer at games to participate. Realistically, cheerleading isn't going to be recognized as an NCAA sport anytime soon, but in the meantime, Stunt allows schools to recognize their cheer teams as sports for Title IX, if they want to. With Quinnipiac, for example, ultimately, it couldn't be counted as a sport by the school, not because of it's NCAA status, but because the season wasn't clearly defined, it's not regulate enough, etc. Everyone can go to NCA nationals. But with Stunt or NCATA, there are "meets" and you'll have to make the playoffs or championship, there's a legitimate season, etc. It's a step in the right direction.

So yeah, this has more to do with Title IX than NCAA.

 

[Ashley]

Personally I like NCATA a lot better. I think it's moving the sport in the direction it needs to be moved a lot more than stunt is. The universitites seems to recognize NCATA teams as sports more than they recognize stunt teams.

Well Louisville is a Stunt school, and a lot of the Stunt schools are teams that aren't going to stop cheering at games anytime soon, which is requirement for NCATA. I think, as time goes on, rather than having UCA or NCA, we'll have NCATA for NCAA Title IX teams, and Stunt for teams that want to continue cheering at games and competing. I think that's the biggest difference. Plus, coed teams can't be a Title IX sport, so there's no room for them in NCATA.

 

[MissBee]

The way I see it they could have the NCATA or Stunt team as an NCAA sport, and then the spirit team (sideline cheering) as a club or organization. You can still do both. There are plenty of NCAA athletes who also join student organizations and make it work.