New Usasf Rules For Next Year

[flyghttyme]

It seems like the uniform companies will benefit the most. A lot of teams will require new uniforms to meet the standards.

 

[Luvmy4kids]

I'm just a little confused as to why they didn't set a uniform standard when half tops first came out. My cp has been cheering for 5 seasons. The gym she started at never had half tops for the youth & mini teams. She could hardly wait to wear a half top. Now that she is on a senior team and she has been wearing a half top, I can't see going back. The full length tops tend to pull upward when arms are lifted anyhow. I don't understand.

 

[chelseaacogan]

The new rules are ridiculous. Talk about a motivation killer. Once you get a standing tuck, there's nothing else you can do! No more standing fulls! I understand no half tops until senior... but everything else is totally uncalled for and overkill.

 

[ACEDAD]

It seems like the uniform companies will benefit the most. A lot of teams will require new uniforms to meet the standards.

The uniform rules don't take effect until 2015-16. If you disagree with the rules at least know what they are.

I'm just a little confused as to why they didn't set a uniform standard when half tops first came out. My cp has been cheering for 5 seasons. The gym she started at never had half tops for the youth & mini teams. She could hardly wait to wear a half top. Now that she is on a senior team and she has been wearing a half top, I can't see going back. The full length tops tend to pull upward when arms are lifted anyhow. I don't understand.

And senior teams keep half tops.

 

[Luvmy4kids]

With the new rules, she can legally be on a youth team for another season.... 6 years for youth division? She turns 13 in October. I doubt that will happen, but it's possible!!

 

[redshark]

Did anyone see this part of the Image Etiquette page?
"Should be male and female appropriate
Avoid anything overtly sexual or flirtatious
Males - minimize exaggerated or theatrical
movements"
I'm a little confused about what they meant by specifying that males in particular have to tone down movements? I assume USASF in no way meant for that to seem sexist but it just seems strange to me that they would feel the need to include that in their "Minimizing the Negative" section at all.

 

[IQTL]

I am most confused about the bow size rule... for what purpose was this rule inducted?

 

[Abi24]

I have to admit i'm glad they're restricting uniforms on the younger cheerleaders - i'm a pageant girl and nothing annoys me more than some of the outfits the kids on Toddlers and Tiaras wear. This is kind of the same principle, and I also think full tops look better on kids anyways. Mind you in recent years i've found myself going "OWOW how does she not bust out of that uniform?" at certain teams who seem to use less and less fabric each year.

As for tumbling restrictions - brain. does. not. compute. It's like stepping back in time. I couldn't tumble to save my life when I cheered, I was genuinely rubbish, but that doesn't mean I want everyone else to be brought to my level so the playing field is a bit more even. Could you see the NFL taking out Tom Brady, the Manning brothers, all the genuinely talented QBs, to make things easier for the other teams? No.

USASF, you messed up.

 

[Adrian]

omg im so mad i seriously hate the new rules

 

[munchkinmom]

It seems like the uniform companies will benefit the most. A lot of teams will require new uniforms to meet the standards.

The new uniform rules go into effect in 4 seasons. By then most teams have changed uniforms anyway and/or the cheerleaders have outgrown/wore out their current uniform.

 

[L5cheermom]

I object to the wording of lots of the new rules. I decide what's age appropriate for my kids. I don't need the USASF to police that for me.

 

[L5cheermom]

I am most confused about the bow size rule... for what purpose was this rule inducted?

I know, right! Is there an epidemic of bow related sports injuries. I agree that some of them look ridiculous, but what does that have to do with the skill of the athlete or the execution of a routine?

 

[Labegg]

Wow, clearly I am in the minority. I like the new rules. Admit that no standing fulls is strange.

Love that youth team goes to to 12 now. My 11 y/o (now 12) cp was placed on a Junior 4 team this season (although she could have been on a youth team this season) because she looked too tall for the youth team, but she was too short for the junior team. She is not a flier so she didn't have anyone to base with and being a front spot is "bogus". Maybe they need to adjust the mini age too.

Lets face it there are a lot of kids out there throwing skills that they haven't perfected and whether you want to admit it or not injuries are on the rise. They didn't change the rules to level the playing field. I see them trying to shift the emphasis from tumbling to include perfecting the tumbling skills and focusing more on awesome stunts/pyramids/jumps. Cheering is not just about the tumbling (if it were everyone could all just compete in gymnastic floor routines!)

As for the uniforms. We all complain that nobody take all-star cheerleaders seriously as athletes and let face it the outrageous uniforms and over the top make-up don't help. So what if you have to wear a full length top until your 14.

I for one (and I know I am the only one) appreciate the changes.

 

[Marie]

Wow, clearly I am in the minority. I like the new rules. Admit that no standing fulls is strange.

Love that youth team goes to to 12 now. My 11 y/o (now 12) cp was placed on a Junior 4 team this season (although she could have been on a youth team this season) because she looked too tall for the youth team, but she was too short for the junior team. She is not a flier so she didn't have anyone to base with and being a front spot is "bogus". Maybe they need to adjust the mini age too.

Lets face it there are a lot of kids out there throwing skills that they haven't perfected and whether you want to admit it or not injuries are on the rise. They didn't change the rules to level the playing field. I see them trying to shift the emphasis from tumbling to include perfecting the tumbling skills and focusing more on awesome stunts/pyramids/jumps. Cheering is not just about the tumbling (if it were everyone could all just compete in gymnastic floor routines!)

As for the uniforms. We all complain that nobody take all-star cheerleaders seriously as athletes and let face it the outrageous uniforms and over the top make-up don't help. So what if you have to wear a full length top until your 14.

I for one (and I know I am the only one) appreciate the changes.

I agree with what you are saying about perfecting the tumbling skills. Too many coaches put in skills that a child learned just the week before because they "hit" it a couple of times. Even worse, they put so much pressure on the kids to keep hitting it because its now in the routine! I also notice they will watch a kid tumble in the summer and "predict" what skills that child will have by fall and incorporate those skills in the routine too, then expect the kid to live up to their expectations! This method of coaching can cause a lot of injuries! I know not all coaches do this, but we all know that some do!

 

[Adam Denison]

Here's my take on all the new rules.

A) I like the new rules about the uniforms. We need to focus the SPORT as a SPORT, especially for the outside world looking in. Whenever I show a random person who doesn't know anything about All-Star cheerleading a video online, their first comment is usually "Why are they half-naked?" It shouldn't be about how flashy you look, but what you can DO! I think half-tops on any age are inappropriate if we're going to take this sport seriously. On younger girls, they've ALWAYS been inappropriate.

B) The new tumbling rules are strange. I get why they are changing things, but I think they just went too drastic with the changes. I worry that no standing fulls will mostly affect coed teams. Older boys especially find this skill pretty easy to master, and as a boy with a standing full, I know it's pretty hard to hurt yourself working up to this skill, as long as you're working it into a pit or on a spring floor. I've fallen so many times, but never felt like I was going to injure myself. The other silly rule for me is double fulls only from running tumbling. Standing three to a double is no more dangerous than running. I understand restricting the bounding skills, because I do know a lot of knee injuries happen when working up to these skills. Tumbling can still be creative without throwing a double, double, double.

C) Why not leave the elite tumbling skills the way they are, but limit the divisions they are allowed in? How about we actually differentiate between Level 5 and Level 6 tumbling-wise? Maybe this would encourage more teams to work toward level 6 and actually compete! Or... say that elite-level tumbling is only allowed in Worlds Divisions. That way we don't have Junior or Youth teams competing more difficult skills than are necessary for the age group. Junior athletes can always work up to these skills so that when they are placed on a Worlds Division team they are ready to compete.

That's my two cents.