College Stunt Tournament

[King]

I am blown away at this video. After officiating 3 NCATA meets and watching this I have no idea how USA Cheer/Stunt thinks the NCAA will make Stunt a collegiate sport when they are performing high school cheer routines. I understand things being a work in progress but Stunt doesn't have 3 years to catch up before the NCAA picks a format. Really you almost can't compare the two, they are like apples and oranges.

Throw in the fact that NCATA teams get real scholarships and ALL of the benefits of a Varsity sport right now, not some day. I know as parent which direction my kid would be going.

I will say I get the convenience of being impartial and not caring who the eventual winner is, just as long as the final product is good and helps us all out. If STUNT is lagging in areas then it needs to improve fast or die. Survival of the fittest. If STUNT gets better and then eclipses NCATA, then cool. NCATA will have to get better.

Like I said, which one 'wins' doesn't really matter to me or anyone on this board as long as its a good outcome. And I find competition makes people work harder and produce better results (or gets rid of the crap).

 

[tntdynomite]

In fairness I think when you are figuring something out you wont necessarily do the hardest stuff cause you are trying to figure out exactly how it works. It is a different setup than allstar. What happens by the ned of the season and next year is going to be different and better than this year.

Judge it off of what happens in three years. Thats about how long it takes for something to hit its stride.

I get that. But most of us that frequent the college part of the board also know that a back tuck basket is not that difficult. So why have the majority of your baskets be toe touches? And the stair step stunt was taught to my middle schoolers at NCA camp circa 2004 or 05. Why have that stunt when you could have switch ups, tick tocks, or full ups? Stuff that should really not be all that difficult if you have a halfway talented group of collegiate cheerleaders. If I'm going to have my kids compete in Stunt then I would expect for us to need at least full squad back handsprings and tucks and at least ROBHS tuck in running. There were more ROBHS's done then tucks and higher and that is backwards to me.

Also these teams have been together since at least September. They clearly had a list of skill requirements, so if I'm serious about my team competing then we start working in September.

 

[cheerforeverever]

I get that. But most of us that frequent the college part of the board also know that a back tuck basket is not that difficult. So why have the majority of your baskets be toe touches? And the stair step stunt was taught to my middle schoolers at NCA camp circa 2004 or 05. Why have that stunt when you could have switch ups, tick tocks, or full ups? Stuff that should really not be all that difficult if you have a halfway talented group of collegiate cheerleaders. If I'm going to have my kids compete in Stunt then I would expect for us to need at least full squad back handsprings and tucks and at least ROBHS tuck in running. There were more ROBHS's done then tucks and higher and that is backwards to me.

Also these teams have been together since at least September. They clearly had a list of skill requirements, so if I'm serious about my team competing then we start working in September.

There are different difficulty level routines and you are required to preform 3 out of 4/5 of the routines. So if your team cant do the level 4 or 5 routine sequence then you do lower difficulty ones. Example: Level 1 tumbling is a roundoff BHS and a standing BHS. Level 2 is toe BHS and roundoff 2 BHS. it goes up until level 4 or 5 (can't remember off the top of my head) which requires toe backs. Level 1 stunting is that stairstep crap. Level 2 goes into a yo-yo and some other allstar level 3 stuff. It goes up to level 5 which is a rewind to the top and a 2 1/4 cradle with some other elite stunting skills. Also they really emphasize stability and cleanliness so if you can do an easier routine cleaner then you have a better chance of winning than doing a super hard routine and falling all over the place because another team could hit it and win those points from you. Plus this whole thing takes a lot out of you stamina wise....having to do all these mini routines plus your routine at the end is really tiring.
Overall the level system is aimed at providing all levels of teams a chance to get points possibly imo , as many of the teams competiting in stunt are club teams or small universities mixed in with large university cheer programs.

 

[yojaehs]

Since NCATA and Stunt are BOTH trying to get the "sport" status, is there any cross communication? I mean it seems to me if they work together or better yet merge (haha sorry merge in cheer TYPICALLY) a bad idea I would see success much quicker success in the future. I get attempting to make a level playing field but from the video it does seem a bit too basic, but I still wanna see what more they can bring.

 

[Coed.11]

Here's footage from The Cheerleader Magazine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXEl72eNfQw

 

[tntdynomite]

There are different difficulty level routines and you are required to preform 3 out of 4/5 of the routines. So if your team cant do the level 4 or 5 routine sequence then you do lower difficulty ones. Example: Level 1 tumbling is a roundoff BHS and a standing BHS. Level 2 is toe BHS and roundoff 2 BHS. it goes up until level 4 or 5 (can't remember off the top of my head) which requires toe backs. Level 1 stunting is that stairstep crap. Level 2 goes into a yo-yo and some other allstar level 3 stuff. It goes up to level 5 which is a rewind to the top and a 2 1/4 cradle with some other elite stunting skills. Also they really emphasize stability and cleanliness so if you can do an easier routine cleaner then you have a better chance of winning than doing a super hard routine and falling all over the place because another team could hit it and win those points from you. Plus this whole thing takes a lot out of you stamina wise....having to do all these mini routines plus your routine at the end is really tiring.
Overall the level system is aimed at providing all levels of teams a chance to get points possibly imo , as many of the teams competiting in stunt are club teams or small universities mixed in with large university cheer programs.

Thanks for explaining. It makes much more sense now why they would have such low skills involved.

 

[ztaprincess]

I was thinking that things were watered down because it was the very first STUNT "meet". I actually like that they have the simple skills in there with stunts and tumbling. It shows that yeah these teams can do hard skills, but they have perfected the skills leading up to those harder skills. It was interesting to watch and I see good things coming from this, but remember this was the very first time these athletes competed against each other like this. In time I am sure the routines will get harder and things will look better. Everyone is throwing in the towel with just 1 meet over with.

With the tumbling it is really interesting how they do a set of each "level" of skills. To me it shows progression which is important in cheer. For stunting I was expecting to see harder stunts, but hey they can stunt better then I can so who I am to judge. Kudos to all three teams.

And of course the NCATA supporters are going to hate the way the STUNT format was done and the skills done, that was probably expected. They are both aiming at the same thing, so why not support each other instead of simply stating "this way is better" eveytime one or the other is mentioned.

 

[wcdad]

I like that each girl has a number.. Do you think it will evolve like football and basketball where the girls name will be on the back as well?

That if someone becomes a stand out they retire the number? lol

 

[cheerforeverever]

I like that each girl has a number.. Do you think it will evolve like football and basketball where the girls name will be on the back as well?

That is someone becomes a stand out they retire the number? lol

If universities will give out the money to pay for new shells each season or the athletes pay for their own tops then I see that possibly happening. For those that rent out uniforms to their athletes though it may be too costly, since uniform tops are more expensive than jerseys typically.

 

[CheerFanatic]

Love the uniforms. See people: simple, clean uniforms and makeup LOOK GREAT! Also, no bows.

They look like ATHLETES!!!!!

they actually sent us a text saying no bows

 

[AcaseA]

I was thinking that things were watered down because it was the very first STUNT "meet". I actually like that they have the simple skills in there with stunts and tumbling. It shows that yeah these teams can do hard skills, but they have perfected the skills leading up to those harder skills. It was interesting to watch and I see good things coming from this, but remember this was the very first time these athletes competed against each other like this. In time I am sure the routines will get harder and things will look better. Everyone is throwing in the towel with just 1 meet over with.

Yes PROGRESSION... something that is often looked over in the cheer world that gives us a bad name with gymnasts and such.

Also people need to remember that not all college teams are beyond amazing like Louisville... there has to be some sort of stratification in the skills set to allow these lower level teams to compete.

And of course the NCATA supporters are going to hate the way the STUNT format was done and the skills done, that was probably expected. They are both aiming at the same thing, so why not support each other instead of simply stating "this way is better" eveytime one or the other is mentioned.

I've seen a lot of this which is very disheartening... I really agree that for cheer to become a sport both sides need to support each other. Sure they have different approaches and obviously people are going to pick sides. However, put downs from either side will only hinder the overall improvement of the sport.

 

[cheersafety]

For the record I am for the skill sets of cheerleading being a sport with safety first and genuine opportunities for female athletes. My door is open to anyone who wants to discuss safety and risk management of sport.

This is about the athletes; not money or one group or the other.

 

[King]

So what is the update of status on both STUNT and NCATA. Where are they currently? Number of teams, what are they considered in relation to the NCAA, how long is the season? (will people please only answer for the ones the represent or participate in)

 

[CheerFanatic]

The way the STUNT competition worked was the lowest scoring team of each round (the one that got 0 points) got to choose the routine for the next round. Because Louisville did not come in last in any round - they never got to choose which routine to do. This kind of levels the field at the event because the lowest skilled teams involved get to choose the next round - and that is why the routines looked so easy. There are harder routines and had louisville chose to forfeit a round - they could have chosen the next round and picked a more difficult routine. As teams get more used to the format - I can see strategic forfeiting - to choose the next routine - that you are the best at. Hope this makes sense.

 

[MissBee]

Oh I see! I was wondering how that all worked out. Yes, it will become VERY strategic-like cross country.