Category: Spirit

Here is some of the news from February 2015 we found interesting: On February 5th AZ Central published High School Cheerleaders: Skilled, but Comparatively Safe. On February 9th The Daily Reflector published An Appreciation of Cheerleading. On February 17th Laughing Place published The Backbone of ESPN WWOS: Cheerleading?!. On February 24th All Things Cheerleading published…

If your Junior Dance Program is aiming to compete at Worlds, applications are due this Sunday!  Six U.S. teams will earn At Large Bids to the Jr. Dance Worlds. Application deadline:  March 1, 2015. Read More

The USASF National Advisory Board (NAB) elections end today. If you were a Professional Member of the USASF on or before January 28th, please check your email for voting instructions and vote immediately. You’ll have a separate email for each voting group you are eligible for. You can click below to meet the candidates: Coach…

Here is some of the news from January 2015 we found interesting: On January 13th KESQ.com published California Bill Would Make Cheerleading a Sport & KEYT.com published Cheerleaders Cheer Bill To Make Cheerleading A Sport. On January 15th Kentucky.com published University of Kentucky Cheerleading Squad Looks to Defend its National Title this Weekend. On January…

In light of our recent update to the Varsity All Star scoring system two weeks ago, many coaches asked questions regarding the interpretation of our Coed requirement. We’ve collected those clarifications from the last two weekends of competitions and reformatted our scoring document. The COED section of the updated document is easier for coaches and…

Welcome, 2015! We’re mid way through competitions and nationals season is upon us! Best of luck to all teams as you prepare for it all! In this month’s update: USASF scholarship applications are due February 1; check out your NEW online resource pages for both cheer and dance programs.; Jr. Dance Worlds Bid Applications are…

We wanted to inform you of some changes that are taking place with the Varsity All Star Scoring System. Over the past several weeks we have received significant feedback from our customers in regards to scoring. The majority of this feedback has come from coaches and gym owners who participated in one of our 3…

I’m writing today to say Spirit Post will be moving to the back row for a while as I focus my attention on a different aspect of our industry. Spirit Post’s first article was published on January 1, 2007, but it really started about 2 years before that with a couple other sites, and the…

Here are some of the articles from December 2014 we found interesting. On December 9th Women’s eNews published NCAA Blocks Cheerleading Jump to Sports Status. On December 15th Mother Jones published A Not-So-Brief and Extremely Sordid History of Cheerleading and Philly.com published The “Split” Over Cheerleading: Is it an Activity or a Sport? On December…

The December 17th show featured Adam, Andre, King, Lark and Shane discussing comparative scoring and it’s impact on grand champions and bids. Andre also announced it was his last show.

Athlete Membership cards are getting a makeover and will be much more easily available! Have you read about the accident and catastrophic insurance policies for your athletes? There are a few things we need you to do in your gym/studio profiles to keep your Event Rosters and database accurate. Read below and take action today!…

Forbes published 6 Ways Successful Teams Are Built To Last, discussing the characteristics of a good team builder and leader. History has shown us that it takes a special kind of leader with unique competencies and skills to successfully build great companies and teams.

Entrepreneur published  What Athletics Can Teach About the Characteristics of Great Leaders, touching on some of the positives of participating in sports. Among the many lessons athletics can teach about leadership, three stand out: setting an example, listening and developing a strong failure quotient (or FQ).

The Australian All Star Cheerleading Federation (AASCF) Nationals takes place this weekend in the Gold Coast. It’s our understanding AASCF Nationals is the largest cheerleading event outside the United States. In addition FECAD’s Costa Rica Nationals is this weekend in San Jose. We’d like to wish all the competitors at these events Good Luck!

Cheer Professional published Spotlight: A.S.G.A., profiling the group via co-founder Randy Dickey. The group started back in 2008 with a select group of growing gyms including ACX, CEA, Cheer Carolina All-Stars, Charlotte Allstars and Rockstar Cheer. Dickey says the group was “fairly low-key” at that point and mainly connected several times a year to share…

Entrepreneur published 5 Tips for Making Meetings Less Unproductive, discussing ways to make meetings useful. Many of us attended so many unproductive meetings or meetings we don’t even know why we are there for. Unfortunately, we cannot avoid making meetings altogether because a successful business needs brainstorming, discussion and an open-dialog among others.

LinkedIn published How to Lose a Great Employee in 10 Ways, discussing what not to do to good employees. Yes, #1 on the list is dishonesty. I don’t need a scientific study or a survey to tell me this so you will not see one cited by me, though I suspect it is out there…

BYU’s The Universe published Is Cheerleading a Sport? BYU Cheer Chimes In, continuing the debate. “Is (cheerleading) a sport right now?” she said. “No, I would say it’s not a sport, but is it athletic? Yes, absolutely. … Are these kids competing at a national level? Are they putting their bodies through majorly athletic skills?…

American Way published Rocket Science, about a group of professional cheerleaders that are scientists promoting science, technology, engineering and math. If watching drones playing music is weird, hearing someone “woo-ing” about scientists — scientists in dance costumes who are members of a group called Science Cheerleader — is flat-out bizarre. And it’s supposed to be.…

The New Yorker published Better All the Time, discussing improvements in training. Today, in sports, what you are is what you make yourself into. Innate athletic ability matters, but it’s taken to be the base from which you have to ascend. Training efforts that forty years ago would have seemed unimaginably sophisticated and obsessive are…

Forbes published 7 Things You Can Do To Build An Awesome Personal Brand, The question is no longer IF you have a personal brand, but if you choose to guide and cultivate the brand or to let it be defined on your behalf. Here are seven ways to start building an awesome personal brand.

Entrepreneur published 7 Funny Quotes With Serious Leadership Lessons, pointing out the importance of keeping a sense of humor. Successful entrepreneurs go above and beyond in everything they do. They know that without the right skill and will to achieve their goals, there won’t be any “extra” in their “ordinary.”

USA Today published The 10 Best Cheerleading Squads in College Football, putting Alabama in the top spot. Alabama is a football powerhouse. It’s also a cheerleading powerhouse. As a cheerleader, said program coordinator Jennifer Thrasher, “It’s as tough to make it at Alabama as it is anywhere in the country.”  

The November 12th show featured Andre, Lark, Lisa, and Shane talking about gym showcases, Chile, and international “Summit” events.

PR Newswire published Varsity Brands Enters Into Definitive Agreement To Be Acquired By Charlesbank Capital Partners. Varsity Brands, a dynamic portfolio of brands that promote student participation while celebrating academic and athletic achievement, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an investment group led by Charlesbank Capital Partners,…