USAG says Cheer is a sport

[cher062]

Ok USAG has sanctioned cheerleading as a sport
read all about it

GK Elite - USA Gymnastics Sanctions Cheerleading as a Sport

 

[bogwoppit]

I read this too. A bit odd to say the least. Does this mena we will have Olympic CHeer soon? JUst imagine the crazy cheer moms vying for a team place!

 

[gymdog]

Cool, good for them. As far as the Olympics, lots of things like power tumbling aren't Olympic sports, that's kind of another process. Though cheer has going for it the much bigger NCAA presence but I still think the sport is too decentralized as a whole now, it would take awhile (for example NCAA has much different rules and restrictions - can't even double full - and equipment (hard floor) than even most all star cheer).

Edit: having now read the article I think it is a little misleading because from what I know about the programs described, they are not really "cheer" teams in the sense of the current cheerleading phenomenon (the schools described have other cheer teams? I don't think they are talking about their varsity cheer teams). UMd for example has the Gymkana thing which is as described a stunts and acrobatic thing, it's not the college version of all star cheer. So maybe I'm missing something.

 

[cher062]

I read this too. A bit odd to say the least. Does this mena we will have Olympic CHeer soon? JUst imagine the crazy cheer moms vying for a team place!

LOL that would be interesting.

I was surprised the USAG was involved to be honest.

 

[CoachTodd]

I agree that this could be a good thing for cheer but there will be a long time getting everyone in the same rule book much less on the same page.

 

[MdGymMom01]

This news is already out in the All-Star cheer community and they are ESTATIC to say the least!!! See link below:

Cheerleading a sport! US Gymnastics picks up the NCSTA

 

[MdGymMom01]

Here is another article that further explains it, a little clearer, I would say:

USA Gymnastics To Sanction Cheerleading - Sports News Story - WBAL Baltimore

 

[Azgymmiemom]

I remember reading somewhere, about a year ago, that cheerleading is also the sport with the highest rate of injury and even death among teen and preteen participants.

And if I recall...gymnastics was NOT second...or even third...

hmmm...anyone else hear this?

 

[bookworm]

Must be some money in it for USAG...

 

[MaryA]

My daughter's strongest skill has always been her tumbling, and she takes an acro class at the local dance studio. I've actually suggested to her before that she might prefer cheerleading to gymnastics, but I think it's the images evoked in her mind ("Go Team!") that make her very anti-cheer. "Competitive Acrobatics," on the other hand, would probably be very exciting to her. I had never heard of Gymkana (in spite of getting my masters degree at UMD) or maybe just had no interest at the time so I didn't pay much attention, but I pulled up a couple of their videos on youtube and it's pretty cool. If programs like that became more widespread, I think it could be a good thing. As one of the articles that MDGymMom posted said, it would be new direction that some young gymnasts could choose as they progress. I hope they call it something like "Competitive Acrobatics" instead of "Cheer" though. No matter how much skill and strength it takes, some people (and I may be in that category of people myself) have a hard time taking "Cheer" seriously. They could stand to lose the little flouncy skirts as well. No offence intended to any cheerleaders or parents of cheerleaders out there! I was in the marching band, so it's deeply ingrained in me to regard the cheerleaders with suspicion!

 

[MdGymMom01]

All-star cheer is soooo different than sideline cheer or what you are referring to MaryA. I remember when dd's cheer coach handed me an info packet on his cheer team and said that he wanted my dd for his cheer team, I was like "Cheerleading??? Are you kidding me??" But, I soon learned how athletic it really is.

Here is a video from my dd's cheer team the last year she cheered:

YouTube - Maryland Twisters Little Winds Sm Lv 2 2008


And this is their Level 5 Senior all Girl Team:

YouTube - Maryland Twister F5 NCA day 2 2010

As you can see the higher level you go, the more intricate the stunts are and more difficult the tumbling is.

 

[gymcoach26]

I remember reading somewhere, about a year ago, that cheerleading is also the sport with the highest rate of injury and even death among teen and preteen participants.

And if I recall...gymnastics was NOT second...or even third...

hmmm...anyone else hear this?

Yes, I've also heard this. I think it has to do with the following reasons..
-some of these cheer coaches have hardly any training ( at the high school cheerlevel, not so much for all-star)
-they tumble on hard wood, grass, and a non spring floor- any fall into that is going to be much worse than in gymnastics where all the correct matting is in place.
-They are pushed to learn tumbling moves that are not broken into pieces enough for them to understand it.

Hopefully this new decision will result in implementing some kind of standard policies and rules so everyone is on the same page, which before were not in place.
I think it is a good step for cheerleading. I think for the most part what they do is very athletic and challenging and deserves to be recognized.

 

[SkiBumGymMom]

My daughter switched from level 10 gymnastics, to high school gymnastics (in a state where there's not a very strong high school level program), to high school cheerleading, back to gymnastics. Sometimes it makes my head spin! Originally when she came home saying she was going to try out for cheerleading I wasn't thrilled. I remember what my high school cheer squad was like in the late 70s (I hope that doesn't date me too much!), mostly just pom pom waiving girls who dated the football players.

But as my daughter got involved I started to see how even at the high school level (at least in her school, I definitely cannot speak for all programs), that has changed. They went to a camp for the summer where they learned dance choreography, tumbling, stunts, etc. While none of their stunt work compared to what she had done in gymnastics, it really did teach her to work with a team (I think there's a lot to be said about that, especially with teenage girils). During the school year, they practiced 5 days a week. On top of that they did sprints and other conditioning.

Sure they still decorated the school for homecoming and wore short skirts (however belly revealing shirts are not allowed by our state high school board, a decision I support) and spent time putting on stage make up. *er gym team used to have t-shirt parties though too!) But they had their own competitions, went to nationals to perform their own routines and overall functioned as a true athletic team. Needless to say, my opinion on cheerleading changed after my experience with my daughter.

 

[grizzoline]

I hope they call it something like "Competitive Acrobatics" instead of "Cheer" though. No matter how much skill and strength it takes, some people (and I may be in that category of people myself) have a hard time taking "Cheer" seriously.

It's not that far off from Sports Acro, which is an amazing sport, with some very stunning and breathtaking routines (both powerful/intricate and VERY pretty at the same time - I'm always sad that not more people do it). Anyway, doing a group sports acro thing would probably be the closest you could get to cheer. I'd LOVE that idea, would make it much safer too (though that in the end depends on the coaches), though I'm not sure if the whole dare-devil, see what I can do thing isn't at least partially what makes Cheer so attractive for many. Mostly, because that makes it so accessible and noone expects a year of doing handstands only before they will even work with you on a bhs.

 

[MdGymMom01]

I also think the reason why "cheerleading" has such a high injury rate is because the progression of skills (especially with tumbling in all-star) is so fast. In gymnastics it is a slow progression where you aren't attempting fulls untill at least the optional level which takes YEARS to get to. But in cheer, once the kids "get their BHS", they are quickly adding the tuck to the pass which leads to the kids learning twisting for the full in as little as 1 or 2 years after they have learned the basic BHS. I have seen this with my own eyes and it is scary!!! It is not uncommon in cheer to go from level 1 to level 5 in as little as 2 years.

Also, I feel cheerleaders DO NOT warm up and stretch as much as gymnasts do and they practice fewer days a week. Strength and conditioning is extremely important in stunting, especially when they are tossing girls 10 feet in the air and then having to catch them. Those bases and back spots need to be strong and ready to catch them. I think if USAG gets involved and they place some stricter standards on the program it will become much safer.

 

[CheerVision]

Gymnastics sanctions competitive cheer....the answer why!

I wanted to reply to a post about the USAG taking on "competitive cheer". I am not a member nor a gymnastics community person. I am someone with great insight into the "competitive cheer" side of this issue. I just wanted to bring understanding to the gymnastics people so they see the big picture.

The National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association is the college version of competitive cheer. The group is made of 6 universities (Azusa Pacific, Baylor, Fairmont State, Maryland, Oregon and Quinnipiac) that currently sponsor varsity level Acobatics and Tumbling teams (A&T). The universities have taken the undefined competitive form of cheerleading, with its acrobatic and tumbling skill sets and structured it all into the new sport of Acrobatics and Tumbling. These teams do not cheer nor lead crowds at sporting events. Instead, they use a similar skill set to compete head to head against one another in a multi-event based format similar to a gymnastics meet. Even the scoring is similar. This is evolved from cheerleading, but its not the version you would see at a football game by any means. This is the sport version, Acrobatics and Tumbling, recently changed from the name Stunts and Tumbling.

The NCATA is developing the new sport of A&T in order to make it Title IX compliant and consequently achieve NCAA emerging sport status recognition. One of the major requirements for reaching that status is the alignment with a recognized governing body. This provides a pathway to quality development as a sport, higher safety standards for the athletes, internationally standardized rules and officials and comprehensive continuing education for the instructors and coaches of the sport.

The alignment with USA Gymnastics is a natural relationship given the gymnastic disciplines of acrobatics and tumbling are two of the skill sets used in A&T. This relationship offers the NCATA an opportunity to strengthen its application for NCAA status. For USA Gymnastics and young female gymnasts, this offers another avenue to continue to use their gymnastics skills in areas other than traditional gymnastics teams. I know in the sport of gymnastics that Olympic dreams and competing for your favorite college team is not going to be possible for every gymnast. This is a new opportunity for both female competitive cheerleaders and female gymnastics athletes to recieve scholarships and compete for NCAA institutions.

Both the USA Gymnastics and the NCATA are a great fit to help each other continue to promote and create sport, scholarship and professional opportunities for young girls and women in America.
In addition to the NCAA implications for the NCATA, future consideration as a discipline of gymnastics could potentially be the pathway to uniformly harnessing the exploding popularity of "competitive cheer" around the world and lead to an Olympic Sport. While that is a long way away, for now, just remember, a new sport is being born that both gymnasts and competitive cheerleaders might someday now have a realistic opportunity to win an Olympic Gold medal!
I know pronounce you husband and wife.... you may kiss the gold medal!
This is a good marriage!

 

[gymdog]

Thanks. That makes more sense. I know the schools that adopted this had "spirit squads" so I was confused about whether it was separate or not, since a lot of the schools doing competitions (UCA, NCA) it's not separate. But that makes a lot more sense. Hopefully more schools will adopt the strictly competitive model, I know a lot of people that would appreciate that (don't want to cheer sideline).

 

[AGM78910]

My DD knows several gymnasts that are or were on the team with her that have quit gymnastics for cheer. Two of them were level 9s. The migration seems to happen right after optional season.

 

[gymnastjess]

The thing i don't like about cheer is well this video should show it: YouTube - My Back Tuck Progress I don't like how cheer has no many 'untrained coaches' and aren't particular about form or anything, I feel that gymnastics coaches go through ALOT more training than cheer coaches.

 

[MdGymMom01]

The thing i don't like about cheer is well this video should show it: YouTube - My Back Tuck Progress I don't like how cheer has no many 'untrained coaches' and aren't particular about form or anything, I feel that gymnastics coaches go through ALOT more training than cheer coaches.

I so know what you mean gymnastjess. That video was just plain scary.