I know I've already stated that Gens are my ride or die in SS but I do believe the deduction was appropriate. A mistake is a mistake and should be deducted - no matter how small or big. Cheer is also an activity where you are judged on technique and perfection of a set of skills so why not deduct if you aren't performing it properly? Even if it wasn't intentional, it's still a mistake.
I wasn't saying don't deduct at all. I, like everyone else, want to see mistakes receive deductions. It just seems a little extreme to apply a massive deduction for something that really wasn't a big error.
I do have an issue with deduction vs warning not being consistant across comps/score sheets though. I hope in the future, as our sport grows and as we try to move toward a universal scoresheet, that we have some sort of warning vs deduction rubric so there is less of a grey area
I do agree there. This has been going on forever-- the same skill is called legal at one competition and illegal at another. You may get no deduction at all (or just a warning) for the skill one week, and a massive deduction the next week. There is also a substantial difference between an entire team doing a skill that is flat-out illegal vs one stunt group having a performance error on a legal skill. A performance error shouldn't get as large of a deduction.
It would also better equip athletes to react to a mistake when it happens on the competition mat because of an unplanned event. Coed Elites "tuck basket" a few years ago at worlds comes to mind when the bracing stunt group wasn't there and the other group threw the flyer up anyways and she performed an unbraced inversion. If the flyer/bases know the brace can't be made for the skill to be performed in a legal way, adjust to avoid a deduction (assuming deduction would be given and not a warning). Either straight ride it or dont throw the flyer. The perfection score might drop a smidge or you might get a smaller "performance error" deduction instead of a safety violation/heavy legality.
I agree that the athletes should be educated enough to know that throwing any sort of "tuck basket" is going to be called illegal. But in this case, we're talking about a smaller performance error, where the flyer and backspot likely didn't have the best grip for the inversion due to the stunt being a little off. And in that split second, it wouldn't have been possible to stop the inversion, nor would it have been safe for half the stunt group to decide not the throw the inversion while the other half continued on without knowing anything was wrong. Ultimately, you want the athletes to be safe, not bailing in the middle of stunts because they're paranoid over a skill getting called illegal.
I watched this same stunt in a video from NCA and the backspot held on plenty long enough... I don't think this is an instance of the girl being careless or uneducated about the legality rules. It was just a mistake-- worthy of a deduction, just maybe not a huge one. I feel similarly about the legality deduction SSX got-- their error was even less egregious than Gen's.
It can be disheartening that one tiny mistake has the ability to make such a huge difference, but it happens in other sports too. Look at NFL football - one offensive pass interference call or illegal block on a catch in the end zone can completely change the outcome of the game. The player doesn't "intend" to do something illegal, but it results in a penalty anyway. The little things SHOULD matter.
I agree that little things matter. My only issue is with little things getting massive deductions. In football, pass interference calls are so common-- it's a typical big error for a football player. But these are rare instances in cheerleading where legal skills get called illegal and get huge deductions (only at some competitions) as soon as there's a small error.
___
I understand everyone's viewpoints, I'm just surprised people seem okay with legal skills getting massive illegality deductions when they don't go perfectly. If it's a matter of safety, I saw far more dangerous stunting at Worlds than the inversion in Generals' stunt. Maybe a stunt that collapses to the ground should be considered illegal too lol.
