At one point in time CSP said in a thread on here that if a kid didn't move up a level each year it felt like a failure. So that mindset is definitely there.
I have always enjoyed watching CEA's higher level teams, but I'm in agreement with you, most of the drama surrounding CEA I've heard has to do with how they work their strategies within the rules. That's where I feel "don't hate the player, hate the game" comes in. What I am surprised to hear, if it's true, is that most of their talent is home grown, because CEA has most of their success in levels 4 and 5. Their lower levels don't reflect the same success as their higher levels and most successful World's gyms have become destination gyms for high level athletes. When I think of "home grown" I think of California All Stars and Cheer Athletics that are consistently successful in every single level and in the most competitive divisions. With that said, those gyms also have many destination athletes coming to World's tryouts.
These are the results of Summit 2019 for CEA:
Level 1:
Wild Card: Purple Crowns (Richmond) 23rd out of 26, Ladybugs (Raleigh) 7th out of 7
No teams in Semi's or Finals.
Level 2:
Wild Card: Lucky Charms (Chicago) 22nd out of 26, Sparkle (Raleigh) 32nd out of 38, Slay (Maryland) 7th out of 16
No teams in Semi's or Finals
Level 3:
Wild Card: Vogue (Chicago) 18th out of 39, Glamour Queens (Maryland) 7th out of 23, Golden Girls (Richmond) 22nd out of 23, Rage (Chicago) 7th out of 8, Sr Coed 3lite 1st out of 4
Semis: Emeralds (Roanoke) 17th out of 37, Jr 3lite Queens (Raleigh) 24th out of 25, Gucci (Chattanooga) 11th out of 11, Coex (Location ?) 12th out of 13
Finals: Sr Coed 3lite 10th out of 12
Level 4:
Wild Card: Angles 4.2 (Raleigh) 2nd out of 3, Jr 4lite (Raleigh) 2nd out of 17, Berries (Raleigh) 1st out of 6
Semis: Youth X Sharkbites (Raleigh) 1st out of 1, Sr 4lite (Raleigh) 7th out of 31, C4 (Location ?) 1st out of 13
Finals: Angels 4.2 (Raleigh) 2nd out of 6, Youth X Sharkbites (Raleigh) 1st out of 1, Jr 4lite (Raleigh) 7th out of 15, Sr 4lite (Raleigh) 5th out of 19, C4 (Location ?) 1st out of 12, Berries (Raleigh) 4th out of 12
Level 5:
Wild Card: Princesses (Charlotte) 2nd out of 4, SRX (Raleigh) 3rd out of 5, Crush 1st out of 1
Semis: Fireflies (Charlotte) 1st out of 1, JRX (Raleigh) 1st out of 1, Monarchs (Charlotte) 2nd out of 2, SJX (Raleigh) 3rd out of 5, Obsession (Chicago) 2nd out of 3
Finals: Fireflies (Charlotte) 1st out of 1, Princesses (Charlotte) 2nd out of 8, JRX (Raleigh) 1st out of 2, Monarchs (Charlotte) 2nd out of 7, SJX 3rd out of 8, Obsession (Chicago) 3rd out of 4, Crush 2nd out of 4