What do you like/dislike about Cheersport Nationals?

[Level5Mom]

Now that we have the 3 'biggies' over with for the year, I'm curious to hear everyone's opinions on NCA, Cheersport and Indy. What did you like about it? What did you dislike about it, or would like to see changed? Let's use this thread for Cheersport Nationals only.

 

[King]

Likes -
No one organizes like cheersport. I am pretty sure the entire event is on time down to the minute. If I had to organize and move 10,000 people they would probably be the first ones I would call for advice.
Venue great for flow of people. It is a heck of a lot of walking but at no point is there a bottleneck.
Plenty of competition in all divisions.

Dislikes -
Scoresheet :/ - I get what they are trying to do but the way our sport is going it just doesnt seem to make a lot of sense. I hear the most complaints about their scoresheet out of all of them (not just from those around me, but people across the industry)
Grandness of event - because it is so organized it sometimes feels very... assembly line ish. A little more flash and fizzle would be nice.
Food in the coaches room... please?

 

[Level5Mom]

Parent perspective -

Likes:
-Love how big it is! You always know you will have competition in every division here! The grand scale of it is amazing and I will never forget my first escalator ride down into the competition halls.
-Love how it switches from one side to the other, it gives the parents time to get in position to cheer on their teams.
-Love the idea of the dartfish video judging. I think with time this will change cheerleading once the bugs are worked out.
-Love the longer warm ups!
-Loved the special events on Friday night.
-I enjoy having the shopping areas, and the food choices are great compared to most comps.
-I appreciate the ability to prepay for a parking spot on the red deck
-Parent packet: makes it much easier to navigate
-I like how 1st-3rd gets their own medals


Dislikes:
-Scoresheet, scoresheet scoresheet.
-Would like to be able to pre-purchase my admission online.
-Scheduling of high profile divisions simultaneously: spread them out for us cheer stalker fans
-I really really missed having the leader board this year. That was part of the fun was camping out with a pizza and watching results come up.
-I would like to legally video tape.

I can't decide if I like the awards being held in a different arena or not. I like that they don't interupt my day of watching cheer, but when it's time for my cp's awards it feels rather "unimportant" because it's off in its own little room alone.

 

[ACEDAD]

because it's off in its own little room alone.

Agreed with the vast majority of what you said, but I had to chuckle a bit with this. I don't think Cheersport has "little rooms" for anything.

:)

 

[Level5Mom]

because it's off in its own little room alone.

Agreed with the vast majority of what you said, but I had to chuckle a bit with this. I don't think Cheersport has "little rooms" for anything.

:)

LOL I was being overly dramatic for special effect :pullinghair:! You are right considering you could fit an entire Athletic Championship competition into their awards room haha.

 

[quitthedrama]

This was our first year at cheersport - amazing comp and we can't wait to go back. Everything that has been said already is spot on (except the scoresheet worked for us, so I'm not complaining!). So many likes: the venue, the amazing organization, the blanket/bag gifts, the spectacular teams, etc. Only two dislikes: I am not a fan of long, drawn-out awards, but these went so quickly that most parents didn't even know their teams division had already been announced, and there was not much time for celebration once the champions were called. Major dislike: different jackets for lower level teams - I don't like the fact that they make it seem like level 2 isn't as important as level 5.

 

[fiercelyfamous(:]

I haven't been to Cheersport since 2008, but I totally agree about the "showiness" of the event not being enough! I just want some spotlights and music or something to give me a more competition atmostphere. I felt like I was just in the hall and then walked up to some stage they set up for teams to perform on. And not every teams is Senior Elite or Orange and Cheersport is their "Big Nationals" of the season so I feel like especially the younger teams would appriciate and really enjoy lights and things to make the event feel really unforgettable.

 

[airbornecheer]

they did not have music when you walked out?

 

[cheerinfo]

Likes:

- Always runs on time...I LOVE this. For such a large event, they really keep it moving
- Love being able to buy parking passes in advance. Makes the day a little less stressful
- Like the ample time and space for warming up. As a coach, I liked it, and as a parent, my kids say they like it. No need to rush. Never feel like you didn't have time to get to everything.
- Caliber of teams. While not quite NCA-level, you still get a lot of major worlds and NCA champion contenders there and it's always a good group to watch.
- Venue. I like the GWCC. Plenty of space, food, shopping, etc.
- Awards. I like that they are held elsewhere and do not interrupt the event. And I like that it's not shoved off into a tiny little side room. It keeps the event moving and on time.

Dislikes:

- SCORESHEET/GRID/SYSTEM: I just hate that a mistake costs SO much. It is nearly impossible to come back from any deficit at this event. Each mistake costs you a ton of points. And the scoring being 50/50 (which I also do not like), makes it very hard to come back. So basically, if you have any error day 1, you are not likely to be able to come back. I don't like EVERY LITTLE THING being a deduction either. Susie's hair wasn't pulled up tight enough...1 point deduction. It just seems a little excessive to me.
- Although the event is large and well-run as far as staying on time....I know when I coached, it felt much like being herded like cattle. Herded on, herded off, lol.
- The production is not very grand, the sole emphasis seems to be running on time. Which I appreciate, but I want it to be on time AND have a little more production and grandness.
- I am not a fan of the splitting divisions within divisions. We already have SO many divisions, it seems silly to divide them even further. Judges should be able to judge 25+ teams and choose a winner. I don't like split champions.

 

[Jessica]

Major dislike: different jackets for lower level teams - I don't like the fact that they make it seem like level 2 isn't as important as level 5.

They started doing this in maybe 04. Before that you got jackets in your teams colors sent to you a month or so later. Then they did those purple and green pull over things... I like the idea of different level 5 and 6 jackets for some reasons and for some reasons i don't.

I like it because getting a cheersport 'leather' jacket can only be done by winning at level 5 or level 6 (correct me if i'm wrong but i think all other levels get jackets that aren't as nice? cloth sleeves?) I like this because if a team sandbags at cheersport and goes level 4 and wins then they don't get the 'real' cheersport jacket. Also I think that it is something to work toward and I like that idea.

On the other hand, I am a huge believe in 'cheerleading isn't all about level 5'. Not everyone is a level 5 athlete and not everyone will be. That is just the facts of life; however, i think that all levels and athletes are just as important as level 5ers. (which is also why I wldn't consider a gym "the best gym" when they only have good high level teams and don't focus on other levels) So that being said, i don't like that the lower levels don't seem as important when it comes to jackets at cheersport.

 

[Jessica]

Likes:

- Always runs on time...I LOVE this. For such a large event, they really keep it moving

- Like the ample time and space for warming up.
- Venue. I like the GWCC. Plenty of space, food, shopping, etc.
- Awards. I like that they are held elsewhere and do not interrupt the event. And I like that it's not shoved off into a tiny little side room. It keeps the event moving and on time.

Dislikes:

- I am not a fan of the splitting divisions within divisions. We already have SO many divisions, it seems silly to divide them even further. Judges should be able to judge 25+ teams and choose a winner. I don't like split champions.

i agree with your likes!

but as far as splitting divisions I have mixed feelings on this as well. While I like the idea of no team getting 38th place in the small senior 5 division (or what ever division), I don't like the idea of having 2 cheersport national champions in the small sr 5 divison. I could really go either way on this but i understand why they spilt it up. That many teams is hard to place correctly in one division and also who would want to come back to a competition the next year when they placed 38th? They are more likely to come back if they placed say 14th....
Just my thoughts

 

[coreathletix]

Likes:

- Always runs on time...I LOVE this. For such a large event, they really keep it moving

- Like the ample time and space for warming up.
- Venue. I like the GWCC. Plenty of space, food, shopping, etc.
- Awards. I like that they are held elsewhere and do not interrupt the event. And I like that it's not shoved off into a tiny little side room. It keeps the event moving and on time.

Dislikes:

- I am not a fan of the splitting divisions within divisions. We already have SO many divisions, it seems silly to divide them even further. Judges should be able to judge 25+ teams and choose a winner. I don't like split champions.

i agree with your likes!

but as far as splitting divisions I have mixed feelings on this as well. While I like the idea of no team getting 38th place in the small senior 5 division (or what ever division), I don't like the idea of having 2 cheersport national champions in the small sr 5 divison. I could really go either way on this but i understand why they spilt it up. That many teams is hard to place correctly in one division and also who would want to come back to a competition the next year when they placed 38th? They are more likely to come back if they placed say 14th....
Just my thoughts

I understand the reason for splitting but it is perhaps my biggest problem with Cheersport. How do you say you won cheersport if you won your division but after combining all 3 sub divisions you actually got 6th? Id rather win on any day trust me, however I do think it does make it seem kind of... "phony" just my opinion but I think they should be one division for all usasf divisions, if you 16th your 16th lets not fool anyone in to thinking they are better than they are because they got lucky in the lottery when the divisions were sub divided.

 

[jlfcheer]

"Some post but everyone reads the Fierce Boards" is a great tag line because it is so true. Hopefully it will not surprise anyone that the CHEERSPORT staff reads the Fierce Boards religiously. The reason we do is to get candid feedback from customers and to stay in tune with our sport. Our staff often wants to post but frankly we have a policy against it. We are going to make an exception to the policy and post because we want to encourage the feedback and also to add our perspective to a couple of issues.
We recognize that any success we have enjoyed is the direct result of the athletes, coaches and parents that attend our event and work diligently to listen and improve based on their feedback. Most of the innovative ideas we have implemented came directly from coaches who care enough to give us suggestions. We are completly engaged in allstar cheer. Our staff and management is comprised of former and current allstar parents, former coaches and gym owners, and former athletes. It is a very diverse group but is bonded together by a love of our sport and a heart for kids.
We apologize for the "paid political announcement" (especially since we didn't pay anything) but I thought that perspective would help. With all that said, let us address a couple of the issues that have been raised.

Jackets- We understand the controversy and we could provide leather sleeved jackets to everyone for essentiallly the same cost. We do not do so because we are trying to provide special recognition to the athletes who have achieved the highest level of our sport. Like many other things in life, it simply depends on how you choose to percieve it. The cotton twill jacket the majority of levels receive is a very nice jacket. We view the leather sleeved jacket as a slight upgrade from that jacket not the twill jacket being a downgrade.
When we say we understand the other perspective, we really do. We debate it internally at least once a year and not everyone agrees. We will continue to evaluate it and appreciate the discussion about it here. We will tell you a little story that Acedad will enjoy. The first year we provided leather sleeved jackets to the Level 5 and 6 divisions one of our staff people was literly cussed out by a Mom in the lobby of the Georgia World Congress Center by a clearly "well to do" Mom. After the interchange when our manager was wondering if it was even worth being involved in the sport, they went looking for a place to cool off and happened to wander to the backstage of awards and lo and behold the special needs division awards were being held. It renewed this managers believe in the sport. Everyone in the awards ceremony was crying including this manager who is old and doesn't cry often. In less than a minute we were able to see the absolute best and worst of our sport. We were cussed at by a Mom who was clearly priveledged and whose child was healthy and probably had everything money can buy because she didn't like the jacket we were giving her. We then saw the unadulterated joy of the special needs athletes and the kindness and encouragement the athletes and parents gave them with extended standing ovations. We had not thought through what kind of jackets to give the special needs athletes but after that the answer was pretty obvious and that is why all our special needs athletes recieve the leather sleeved jackets. It did cause us to run out later which is another which we will save for a another time when our fingers don't hurt from typing so much.

Friday night- Thanks for all the positive comments. We view this as our gift to the athletes, coaches and parents who support us. It is going to be phenomenal in 2011 as we celebrate our 15th Nationals.

We apologize for the length of this e-mail and will try to be more concise with future postings. Please continue with the candid comments and we will jump in and comment where we think our perspective might help.

 

[jlfcheer]

Wow, we got carried away. Sorry.

One other thing though. About splitting divisions, we understand both sides of this one as well and we know everyone understands that splitting divisions cost us money because we spend more on jackets, medals, etc.
The reason we do it is because our senior staff who are accomplished judges in their own right do not believe you can judge for over 2 hours and get the entire division right. Yes, you can get the top 10 right but we want to make sure we get the rest right too. Because of our experiences with our teams, we know it matters to them whether or not they get 13th or 17th. Again, unless you have had our shared experiences, you might not have that perspective but at least now you know why we do it even if you disagree

 

[cheer8]

I think splitting the div is great, ONLY if it is small gym and large gym and by small and large div!
I also think that if all pay the same money to go to the competition then the winners should get the same jackets weather leather, mesh, twill pull over etc...too! Everyone works as hard as the level 5's and 6's " I mean we didn't win but"? It would be nice for the winners! LOL