My daughter is a varsity cheerleader and every time I turn around it is several hundred more dollars. I don't have a grand total but I think $3500 is a fair estimate. Frankly, it is a bleeping joke.

 

Wow! Save your money and stick with DiGorno. You'll still be the cool dad.

As far as expenses go, you generally have (and these are estimates from 2011), $100-$150 for "camp" clothes, usually 2-3 T-shirts, 2-3 pair of shorts, socks, 2-3 bows. These are also worn throughout the year at practices. If they get a new backpack, that's additional, sports bra, additional. New uniforms were fund raised by selling t-shirts with sponsor names on the back. No sponsors, parents paid $125 and the SCHOOL does keep the uniforms. Add on school fee for the sport, another $30, plus insurance at the gym for another $30. Then we get to gym fees. I think we paid $45/ month times 11 months= $495. Choreograph fees were about $175 per girl to be taught the competition routine. We are already at around $1000. Add on entrance fees per competition and warm ups at say $75 each. Now comes National time. Airfare was $250 for wife and daughter. Package that included hotel, transportation, competition fee, and passes to get into parks to see competition depended on how many nights you stayed. For the wife and daughter together was another $1000. We are already at $2650 and you have to add on food, etc. The fund raisers in 2011 pretty much covered paying for the coaches' expenses and each girl had $50 to use. So, the coaches decided to use it on spirit wear for Florida..They HAD to have two more outfits to practice in, plus bows, and cute little outfits to wear around the parks to show off their school spirit. Our year was leggings and a t shirt, colored sunglasses designated by year, i.e. seniors wore blue and had a blue colonel on the leggings.

 

Now, as a parent who has paid out all of this money and more, thinking that all the T's have been crossed and the I's dotted, would you really want to have the team pulled because of a misprint in the program? Would you want to look your daughter in the eye and tell her that they can't compete because the principal "changed" her mind and decided to put them in a catch-22 situation? After the countless hours of practice and enduring all of the bumps, bruises, strains, sprains, injuries and fatigue, there is no way in this world I would tell my daughter she couldn't take the mat.

 

I applaud this team for sticking together and showing some unity that had been missing from this team for a few years. They were faced with a tough decision, especially for the seniors. They could deny their 8th place finish at Nationals, or they could stick up for themselves and make a pretty strong statement. For the entire team to sit the second half sent a strong statement and it reflected badly on the principal for being petty, and not on the girls. But that's my opinion.

Do you expect the schools to pay the $3500? That is $70,000 for a squad of 20 girls. Where are schools going to get that? Is the National Competition a true national competition? How can Ryle, Cooper and Dixie be there? What do you pay for other than getting the kids to Nationals?

 

 

It is a true "National" competition. Qualifiers are held throughout the US each year prior to Nationals. Squads have to score a certain amount of total points to qualify to compete in FL. If you do not earn enough points, you are done, or you can pay to try again at another competition. There are teams from all over the US, including some very good ones from Hawaii. Ryle, Cooper, Dixie, and Boone County represent NKY pretty much every year. The teams are divided up into divisions by size of team. Boone, I believe was in the small team division, which is 12 girls or less. Ryle and Dixie were in Medium, which is no more than 20, and Cooper may have been in Large and there is also a Super Large division. There were so many in the medium division that they were broken into two brackets. Unless the team is a top 5 finalist, they have to compete in Preliminaries hoping to place high enough to move onto Semi-Finals. Scoring high enough there puts them into Finals. Some teams will compete twice in one day. Some are able to skip straight to Finals. Some have made the trip only to compete once and the season is over.

One of hundreds of cheerleading competitions where a "national champion" is crowned.

One of hundreds of cheerleading competitions where a "national champion" is crowned.

(whistle blown, flag thrown) "unsportsmanlike conduct... 15 yard penalty"

It is a true "National" competition. Qualifiers are held throughout the US each year prior to Nationals. Squads have to score a certain amount of total points to qualify to compete in FL. If you do not earn enough points, you are done, or you can pay to try again at another competition. There are teams from all over the US, including some very good ones from Hawaii. Ryle, Cooper, Dixie, and Boone County represent NKY pretty much every year. The teams are divided up into divisions by size of team. Boone, I believe was in the small team division, which is 12 girls or less. Ryle and Dixie were in Medium, which is no more than 20, and Cooper may have been in Large and there is also a Super Large division. There were so many in the medium division that they were broken into two brackets. Unless the team is a top 5 finalist, they have to compete in Preliminaries hoping to place high enough to move onto Semi-Finals. Scoring high enough there puts them into Finals. Some teams will compete twice in one day. Some are able to skip straight to Finals. Some have made the trip only to compete once and the season is over.

 

 

Seem to me at least to be a nice little operation these "Cheer National Competition" groups have going on and I am guessing they get paid handsomely too! :idunno:

 

Honestly spending $3,000.00 on Cheer leading? OK you might say sport players families might spend that kind of money on AAU teams and such but how many girls get scholarship for cheering? My daughter had two friends who as middle school/Freshman cheer leaders had dreams of being College Cheer Leaders at UK until they found out that at 5'9" and 5'7" and around 145/135 pounds they were too big.

Seem to me at least to be a nice little operation these "Cheer National Competition" groups have going on and I am guessing they get paid handsomely too! :idunno:

 

Honestly spending $3,000.00 on Cheer leading? OK you might say sport players families might spend that kind of money on AAU teams and such but how many girls get scholarship for cheering? My daughter had two friends who as middle school/Freshman cheer leaders had dreams of being College Cheer Leaders at UK until they found out that at 5'9" and 5'7" and around 145/135 pounds they were too big.

 

 

Different schools have different kind of teams. At UK, all of the girls are flyers and yes, 5'9 and 145 pounds would be too big. But, at Louisville, they have all girl teams and coed teams. All girl teams have girls in all positions, i.e., bases, back spots, and flyers. Maybe they should have researched UK better, and they would have known that the girls there only fly.

 

Not everyone does a sport just to get a scholarship. You're right, not many do, but it isn't just about scholarships. Cheerleading keeps them in great physical condition, it's a team sport, so they learn teamwork. Do you think gymnasts just walk out onto the mat and start tumbling? No, they spend years learning the skills. Cheering was what MY daughter wanted to do, just like football is what MY son wants to play. If it's what they want to do, then I support them 100%. My daughter cheered on an elite cheer team for two years in high school and loved it. Elite teams do not actually cheer, they just compete. She met girls from just about every school in the area and has many lasting friendships because of it. One young lady moved here from Washington state, and was on an elite team out there. Both teams attended UCA's elite team competition in FL. They met up while down there and each team came out and supported the other while on the mat. It makes a big difference to have supporters yelling for you while you are doing your routine.

 

My point is, cheering, whether high school, middle, recreational, or elite, was my daughter's choice. Some people spend money on cars. Some spend money on totally frivolous and useless stuff. Some parents spend money on private education. But that's THEIR choice. We chose cheerleading, it was OUR choice.

(whistle blown, flag thrown) "unsportsmanlike conduct... 15 yard penalty"

 

"Hundreds" might be pushing it but he is correct in that there are several national championships. UCA usually is the most prestigious, in my opinion.

This incident is more than enough.

 

I disagree, even if I feel that the principal is in the wrong here, which is not clear to me. I am more interested in how the principal rules the school. Education trumps sports and extracurricular activities for me every day. That's why I was curious about any other issues. It would be ridiculous to fire a good educational leader for the incident you described.

One of hundreds of cheerleading competitions where a "national champion" is crowned.

 

I never said that UCA was the one and only "National" competition. I stated that it is a national competition, in that, teams from across the nation compete. This weekend, in Atlanta, the largest cheer competition in the US is being held. Cheersport attracts over 900 TEAMS. We're talking thousands of cheerleaders. They have their own nationals, just like UCA does. I just don't think it would even be possible to hold a competition where every team, whether it be rec, elementary, middle, high school, or all star, competes. And on top of all that you have some that cheer not only for school, but all star as well. So, what's the big deal?

It's not as big of a deal as the title "national champion" means in other sports... That was my point.

 

A few years ago one of the teams here was claiming to have won an international championship.

 

I think the girls work very hard. But the sport of Cheerleading has a culture that I have a tough time with. It is very different than other sports.

It's not as big of a deal as the title "national champion" means in other sports... That was my point.

 

A few years ago one of the teams here was claiming to have won an international championship.

 

I think the girls work very hard. But the sport of Cheerleading has a culture that I have a tough time with. It is very different than other sports.

 

 

You mean the high school national champion basketball team or football or hockey or baseball or......

I never said that UCA was the one and only "National" competition. I stated that it is a national competition, in that, teams from across the nation compete. This weekend, in Atlanta, the largest cheer competition in the US is being held. Cheersport attracts over 900 TEAMS. We're talking thousands of cheerleaders. They have their own nationals, just like UCA does. I just don't think it would even be possible to hold a competition where every team, whether it be rec, elementary, middle, high school, or all star, competes. And on top of all that you have some that cheer not only for school, but all star as well. So, what's the big deal?

 

 

And like I said, the organizers make a ton of money, to manage and promote these events!

 

SkyCvg, I really do understand we did soccer but no way did we or would we, spend $3,000.00 to play.

 

I noticed that in your post there were a "they HAD" to have stuff. Well the "they HAD" to have stuff from your type seems to have set you off a bit and I don't blame you one bit for that. That type of stuff doesn't make a team or player better, it just makes one feel more important than others and that is not why you participate in any event!

 

BTW you mentioned gymnastics. I had a young girl play for me for one year who received a full ride to a big ten school for gymnastics, it cost her family a ton of money but considering the full ride, there was a return in their investment!

 

Finally as T&B ask, how is the educational value at Dixie? Meaning how does Dixie stack up against a Beechwood, HHS or even an NDA?

And like I said, the organizers make a ton of money, to manage and promote these events!

 

SkyCvg, I really do understand we did soccer but no way did we or would we, spend $3,000.00 to play.

 

I noticed that in your post there were a "they HAD" to have stuff. Well the "they HAD" to have stuff from your type seems to have set you off a bit and I don't blame you one bit for that. That type of stuff doesn't make a team or player better, it just makes one feel more important than others and that is not why you participate in any event!

 

BTW you mentioned gymnastics. I had a young girl play for me for one year who received a full ride to a big ten school for gymnastics, it cost her family a ton of money but considering the full ride, there was a return in their investment!

 

Finally as T&B ask, how is the educational value at Dixie? Meaning how does Dixie stack up against a Beechwood, HHS or even an NDA?

 

Hard to compare BHS & HHS because these schools take out of district students that have to pass an entrance test.

 

 

NDA all students have to pass a test for entry, so again apples to oranges.

Hard to compare BHS & HHS because these schools take out of district students that have to pass an entrance test.

 

 

NDA all students have to pass a test for entry, so again apples to oranges.

 

Understand but if you spend $3,000.00 on any sport without a chance of a return of a college scholarship, spending that on getting a better education, wouldn't that be better investment?

 

Understand I don't know the value of Dixie education, I do know the value of Beechwood, HHS and or an NDA education, so I am asking?