USASF Critical Updates for 2012-13

Mar 28, 2012

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Dear USASF Members,

The primary missions of USASF are to promote the safety of the all-star cheer athletes and to help grow the sport. The USASF Board of Directors is charged with establishing policies and procedures consistent with that mission. The Board typically does this through normal operating procedures but has the authority and in fact, the responsibility, to act outside of those normal procedures if they feel a critical situation exists that threatens that mission. This is not unlike professional football that recently instituted a number of emergency measures to address the issue of head trauma and concussions. They felt the safety of their athletes and the long term health of the sport was at risk so they acted very quickly and without following their normal procedures.

During our March 28th Board meeting conference call, a joint presentation of CHEERSPORT, JamBrands and Varsity with an endorsement from Cheer Limited was made to the Board that stated they believe immediate action was needed for the long term interest of all-star cheer and its’ athletes. The proposal was the result of analyzing their own internal data relating to these issues as well as extensive discussions with gym owners, coaches, athletes and parents.

One of the primary concerns related to the negative impact of the increased focus on elite tumbling skills. Most programs report an increase in the number and severity of injuries as the tumbling skills become more difficult. The focus on elite tumbling also restricts the growth of the sport because it limits the type of athletes who can compete. It was agreed among these event producers to use score sheets that maximize tumbling scores at “half plus one” to create a majority. This will allow for more diversity of athletes among all teams. Beyond tumbling recommendations, the group also proposed several changes to the age grid and divisions including establishing a minimum age in all senior divisions. There were various reasons for all the changes but the consensus was that all these changes would enhance the sport and were necessary.

The proposal was accepted by the Board and will take effect for the 2012/2013 season. While the Rules Committee has been charged with writing the specific rules, an outline of the changes is attached in an effort to get the word out as quickly as possible.

A second issue addressed during the Board meeting today was the approval of the attached Image & Appearance Policy and Etiquette. This is in response to the input gathered during the Summer Regional Meetings and a survey conducted during January /February, in which 2,700 USASF members participated, indicating uniform, choreography, and make up issues needed to be addressed to enhance the legitimacy of the sport.

Jim Chadwick

President, USASF

USASF Image Policy

USASF Image Etiquette

USASF Rules to Implement for 2012-13

Comments

8 responses to “USASF Critical Updates for 2012-13”

Dayna

March 28, 2012

Elite tumbling is for elite athletes… (LEVEL 5). That’s why you so graciously created the other LEVELS. If you can’t tumble level 5…it means your level something else PERIOD. If you really wanted to open opportunity for other athletes … consider other levels at WORLDS.

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1. Andre
  
  March 28, 2012
  
  Tell that to our coaches that don’t follow progressions and the parents that pull their kids when a coach tries to teach them well.
  
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Stacy Fuchs

March 30, 2012

So u r saying punish the ones that listen and do right too. Hmm doesn’t sound right to me.

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Laura

March 30, 2012

I love these new rules. Not only will they give cheerleading a better name but it also makes sure that winners are based on true tallent rather than dangerous not consistant skills. These rules do not punish the coaches and athletes that follow the safe progression of skills because these coaches and athletes would have true talent that deserves to be showcased. I believe that cheerleading will begin to be recognized by the world as a true sport.

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1. Shannon
  
  April 5, 2012
  
  Yeah like performing combination decades old will get us regcognized! This rules are down-grading athletes and keeping them from performing to their full potential. These rules were created by coaches and gym owners that are just upset that their crappy team has never been famous or known. I just want the rules to go back to the way the were, this is just to basically telling cheerleaders “You can be good but not good enough. You can’t be better than your neighbor”. Sad
  
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  1. Andre
    
    April 5, 2012
    
    “These rules were created by coaches and gym owners that are just upset that their crappy team has never been famous or known.” – There are 4 coaches on the Board that created these rules. One from World Cup, one from ACE in Alabama, one from Cheer Athletics, and the final one from Mac’s All Stars. I don’t think the statement you made applies to them since 2 of the 4 are defending World Champions and 1 of the others has 3 World Championships.
    
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tana

May 9, 2012

The age changes on open teams and really any team is simply killing the “Small Gym” — we don’t have hundreds of members to choose from to form our teams. So now we simply can’t offer it ….yet another reason for cheerleaders to head to the “Big Name Gym”– The whole thing from tumbling, to age limitations is simply too much to do within one given year- giving gym owners no opportunity to plan ahead and make any provisions- The people making the rules are not considering the effect it will have on small gym owners- Over all the safety issues should fall upon the individual gym owner/coach and the rest of the nation should not be affected negatively for it.
oh (The uniform issue is all good with me, I have had that enforced in my own gym for several years now).

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kat

June 14, 2012

It’s been a long time coming for these rules to come down. I’m glad there will be some regulation to the age minimum, so that senior teams aren’t throwing tiny girls in the air that are barely old enough to be on a senior team. I’ve worked and helped build small gyms for almost a decade, it does put a strain for the upcoming season, however, there are small team divisons that accommodate smaller teams. If there isn’t a division listed call the Event coordinator or director if they offer any other divisions for you.

I agree with Andre about coaches and progressions. I HIGHLY agree. Progressions keep the athletes as safe as possible and sometimes parents don’t understand that it takes these basic foundations to build Elite level skills, something I learned from being Camp Staff for 6 yrs for a respected company. There are gyms in my area that have coaches and staff that aren’t certified and just don’t have the experience that should be required to instruct or teach higher levels, so you see more injuries. That’s whats sad……. Certify your coaches and educate the parents to keep these athletes safe, that is the responsibility of great coaches/owners…….

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