Spirit Company

Focusing on the Business of Cheerleading & Dance

Observations Before Diving Into Competition Season

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It’s almost time to dive into competition season. This weekend is my last open weekend before 5 straight weekend of events, with 3 of them being outside the United States. Judging by the number of upcoming showcases on CheerLive’s Schedule, I’m not the only one about to dive into competition season, and the next several months flying by. Before you get too deep into the speed and fury of competition season, take a minute to make sure your athletes and teams are ready. Re-read the scoring systems and rules and examine your routine. Have other coaches you work with or know take a look at your routine and give feedback. They’ll notice adjustments that need to be made that you’re too invested in to change on your own.

You not only need to make sure your athletes and teams are ready, you also need to be sure you are. Some of the things I do to get ready for the busy season are double check my calendar, make sure I make time for my non-cheer priorities, and ensure I schedule some me time. I’m pretty calendar based and don’t like cancelling events so I need to be sure every event, cheer or not, I’ve confirmed or discussed is noted on my calendar so I don’t create conflicts. I’ll also block off some me and friend time to ensure I keep my sanity and my friends don’t think I’ve forgot about them for half the year. I also make sure I’m exercising and eating healthy at home because I don’t usually do either on the road. I’m sure what you do is different, but take a minute to ensure you’re ready to do whatever it is you need to do.

Increasing Competition – Part 5 – Recommendations

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This is the final piece of a 5 part series on increasing competition in All*Star Cheerleading. This one will focus on my recommendations and suggestions that were sent to the USASF as part of the Rules Process for 2013-15 seasons.

Spirit SMove Coed Divisions on the Age Grid

My first suggestion is to move Coed divisions from the top of the Age Grid and list them in the When to Split Divisions section similar to how Small and Large splits are listed. This would make it so every Junior Level 3 team is competing against each other, regardless of large, small, coed, or all girl, until there are enough Junior Level 3 teams to warrant splitting Junior Level 3.

I intentionally avoided stating how many teams should remain on each side of a split in the official suggestion to avoid clouding the issue with a specific number, but I think it should be raised to 5.

Move Coed Divisions on the Age Grid

Remove Size Based Division Splits in Favor of a Single Team Size

My second suggestion is to remove Small, Medium, and Large divisions in favor of a single division size. Once again I intentionally did not state what size teams should be in the official suggestion to avoid clouding the issue of if there should be a single division size with what size it should be. If it were up to me I would go with 24, but I’ve heard some decent logic behind using 25 instead.

Remove Size Based Division Splits in Favor of a Single Team Size

Increasing Competition Series

Increasing Competition – Part 4 – All Girl & Coed

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This is Part 4 on our series on Increasing Competition in AllStar Cheerleading. This one focuses on the All Girl & Coed options for AllStars. There are several questions asked and none answered, but it raises the questions we need to think about as we head towards rules changes for the next couple of year.

USASF LogoWhat is the best way to split Coed and All Girl teams? Right now younger divisions, Tiny, Mini, and Youth, don’t split, while Junior and Senior divisions do. Junior and most of Senior have a simple All Girl and Coed split, while Senior Level 5 has All Girl divisions along with Small, Medium, and Large Coed divisions based on the overall team size and the maximum number of males allowed. Is this fair?

At what point should All Girl teams not be put in divisions against Coed teams in the name of fairness? How much impact do guys really have on a routine? Does it vary by age group or level? What have the major scoring systems done to account for this? Have they done enough? What else do you suggest they do?

What can be done regarding All Girl and Coed divisions to increase competition? Should Coed divisions be added to Tiny, Mini, and Youth ages? Should Junior and all Senior divisions have Small, Medium, and Large Coed options? At what point does the desire for competition outweigh the desire for fairness?

Spirit Post Increasing Competition Series: