Official OWECheer
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- Jan 16, 2014
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I was reading through this thread Article On Espnw Says Cheer Not A Sport | Fierce Board - The Voice Of Cheer and doing some thinking.
I am of the persuasion that stunting and tumbling are not safe on grass, basketball court, or rubberized track. However I would also like for teams to be able to safely showcase their cleanest, most difficult skills for the student body. So I'd like to know whether your schools use the following system, and how well it works for you.
Fall-Sideline football cheer: No stunts, no tumbling, and no jumps. Crowd leading materials used regularly to encourage crowd participation (signs, poms, megaphones, flags, banners). IMO could be more effective because absence of stunts mean more kids available to hold props. Sideline football is a requirement for competition/basketball sideline in winter. Since this wouldn't be a sport, they could fundraise for necessities but the administration would cap how much is paid out of pocket by each athlete (perfectly fine if you're a frugal coach that can plan out your fundraising).
Winter-Competition/basketball sideline cheer: preseason takes place during the same time as sideline football, during which they practice 3-5 (ideally 5) days a week and if possible, hit the weight room every week (ideally 3-4 times a week). Also take tumbling 1x a week (during a non-lifting day) if possible. This practice schedule complements sideline football schedule, so that kids can do both. Sideline cheer used for F-ball are modified w/ stunts and tumbling added to do on mats during pre-game performances (some schools do these), and for halftime (if possible). Also, since participation in football/sideline would be necessary for participation in comp/B-ball sideline, behavior and commitment during involvement in the former would be evaluated in determining whether an athlete can participate in the latter. So if a kid is in sideline but is lazy, you might consider making them an alternate during the winter season.
Questions:
How would one be able to figure out pep rallies for football season? This might rule them out because a considerable amount of time has to be spent on prepare to execute, and then actually practicing stunts (and tumbling, if available) before publicly performing them.
Would the preseason even work, or would it violate season limits? Could the preseason be ruled as intramural, or would that even work for cheer?
Would costs be lower compared to programs that stunt and tumble on the sideline as well as competing?
Do any of you live in areas where sideline cheer is highly valued and garners lots of participation, or areas in which sideline cheer is grudgingly regarded as an accessory to competition cheer? How would a system like this work if implemented in your area (if there isn't one like it already)?
Also, how would we adjust this to the varying schedules for cheer from state to state? Some states regard cheer as a sport but don't allow training to begin until August, others begin earlier, and the final competition dates vary not only from state to state but from school to school.
I could very well be describing nothing new, but I just wanted your thoughts.
I am of the persuasion that stunting and tumbling are not safe on grass, basketball court, or rubberized track. However I would also like for teams to be able to safely showcase their cleanest, most difficult skills for the student body. So I'd like to know whether your schools use the following system, and how well it works for you.
Fall-Sideline football cheer: No stunts, no tumbling, and no jumps. Crowd leading materials used regularly to encourage crowd participation (signs, poms, megaphones, flags, banners). IMO could be more effective because absence of stunts mean more kids available to hold props. Sideline football is a requirement for competition/basketball sideline in winter. Since this wouldn't be a sport, they could fundraise for necessities but the administration would cap how much is paid out of pocket by each athlete (perfectly fine if you're a frugal coach that can plan out your fundraising).
Winter-Competition/basketball sideline cheer: preseason takes place during the same time as sideline football, during which they practice 3-5 (ideally 5) days a week and if possible, hit the weight room every week (ideally 3-4 times a week). Also take tumbling 1x a week (during a non-lifting day) if possible. This practice schedule complements sideline football schedule, so that kids can do both. Sideline cheer used for F-ball are modified w/ stunts and tumbling added to do on mats during pre-game performances (some schools do these), and for halftime (if possible). Also, since participation in football/sideline would be necessary for participation in comp/B-ball sideline, behavior and commitment during involvement in the former would be evaluated in determining whether an athlete can participate in the latter. So if a kid is in sideline but is lazy, you might consider making them an alternate during the winter season.
Questions:
How would one be able to figure out pep rallies for football season? This might rule them out because a considerable amount of time has to be spent on prepare to execute, and then actually practicing stunts (and tumbling, if available) before publicly performing them.
Would the preseason even work, or would it violate season limits? Could the preseason be ruled as intramural, or would that even work for cheer?
Would costs be lower compared to programs that stunt and tumble on the sideline as well as competing?
Do any of you live in areas where sideline cheer is highly valued and garners lots of participation, or areas in which sideline cheer is grudgingly regarded as an accessory to competition cheer? How would a system like this work if implemented in your area (if there isn't one like it already)?
Also, how would we adjust this to the varying schedules for cheer from state to state? Some states regard cheer as a sport but don't allow training to begin until August, others begin earlier, and the final competition dates vary not only from state to state but from school to school.
I could very well be describing nothing new, but I just wanted your thoughts.
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