School All Star Team?

[Sugarplum14]

Is it possible for a school team to compete as an all star team? The school where I coach doesn't have football, basketball, or any other sport where you would normally cheer. So we decided to go the competitive route (which is what I know anyway).

Last year we went as a show team so it didn't matter if we were called an all star team or a school team. This year we are actually competing, so do we have to compete as a school team? We don't do any of the school team stuff, (chants, cheers etc.) We just do the normal 2:30 long routine.

I can't find anything that says a school cheer team can't compete as an all star team, but that doesn't mean there isn't a rule somewhere about it.

Anyway. Does anyone know or have experience with this? Thanks!

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Generally, comps have rules as to what constitutes a school/rec team v. All Star. You need to check with them.

 

[SarahS]

If you want to compete as an all star team at a USASF sanctioned event, your "gym" must be a USASF member gym ($150/yr) and all of the athletes must be USASF members ($30/yr). Additionally, all coaches that want to enter warm ups at USASF sanctioned events must be USASF professional members with a "green light" NCSI background check (and no, school background checks do not count; it has to be done through the USASF system). Professional memberships are $30/yr and background check prices vary by state, but are usually less than $25 (cost is for each coach).

If you can get your school team to do all of the above, you can compete in all star (this year - for the 2016-2017 season it is likely that, in addition to the above, coaches entering warm ups will also have to be credentialed to the level of team they are coaching).

I haven't seen rules at comps forbidding school teams from entering all star divisions (as long as the above conditions are met), but some comps do specifically forbid school teams from entering rec divisions.

Hope that helped

 

[Sugarplum14]

If you want to compete as an all star team at a USASF sanctioned event, your "gym" must be a USASF member gym ($150/yr) and all of the athletes must be USASF members ($30/yr). Additionally, all coaches that want to enter warm ups at USASF sanctioned events must be USASF professional members with a "green light" NCSI background check (and no, school background checks do not count; it has to be done through the USASF system). Professional memberships are $30/yr and background check prices vary by state, but are usually less than $25 (cost is for each coach).

If you can get your school team to do all of the above, you can compete in all star (this year - for the 2016-2017 season it is likely that, in addition to the above, coaches entering warm ups will also have to be credentialed to the level of team they are coaching).

I haven't seen rules at comps forbidding school teams from entering all star divisions (as long as the above conditions are met), but some comps do specifically forbid school teams from entering rec divisions.

Hope that helped

Thanks so much, I had no clue it was that costly. I looked around on the USASF website, but I guess I had just scratched the surface. I will call the comp organization before registering, I'm not sure that the one we go to is USASF sanctioned. Thanks again!

 

[dance_extreme_94]

If you do all of the above you should be fine, but keep in mind that a lot of girls actually do school cheer because they cannot afford all star cheerleading. Are the parents okay with this?

 

[Sugarplum14]

If you do all of the above you should be fine, but keep in mind that a lot of girls actually do school cheer because they cannot afford all star cheerleading. Are the parents okay with this?

Okay with paying for competitions or paying the USASF fees? I am going to call the comp organization and see what their rules are, but if we have to pay USASF fees we will have to compete as a school team and adjust what we do, or just go as an exhibition team again.

My parents don't mind paying the comp fees, but all of the USASF fees would have to be paid either by parents, or would have to be raised. My parents don't have it, and neither does my school. We are doing cheer pretty low budget, it's less than $450 for everything for the whole year.

The school where I coach is a very small non-profit school (less than 100 students). Athletic grants are hard to find, and sometimes even harder to get.

 

[Nina Zack]

My school competes and we do involve cheers and chants in our routine, but we have been to many school competitions in which there are divisions dedicated to "All Music" (no cheers or chants) which is what yours sounds like. I don't know the specifics behind entering or finding these but I would guess that if you search along those lines you'll find something that suits your team.

 

[retiredl5cheer]

My middle schoolers compete at all star competitions in the school division. We do a cheer in the routine, but only because I had to fill dead space. The JAM Brands competitions offer school divisions at many of their traditional all star competitions. I don't know where you're located, but we compete CheerStarz events, which cost something like $29 per athlete to register.