The NCATA will never "merge" "compromise" or "join" USA Cheer. Why would they? The six universities that created a new sport aren't trying to fit into the cheerleading world. I've read many arguments, complaints and suggestions that all seem to share one thing in common, the "cheerleading world." Guess what? This is the the college sports world and cheerleading has no place in it except on the sidelines with pom poms and megaphones. I know that sounds harsh, but the quicker everyone sees that in college sports, if it acts like an activity, talks like an activity, looks (skirts and poofy hair) like an activity...IT IS AN ACTIVITY. Why are so many people in the cheerleading world simply blind to the fact that Varsity Brands has worked to preserve cheerleading as an activity? They govern it, they oversee the safety of it, they dress it, they compete it, they even think they own it... WE ARE CHEERLEADING. Uhhh, isn't that a little bit insulting that they think they ARE CHEERLEADING. I guess all the actual cheerleaders have nothing to do with it.
But back to my point. For years, Varsity has made sure cheerleading was treated and recognized as a activity and not a sport. All high school and college sports are governed by NFHS, the state associations and the NCAA. This means loss of control, loss of participation at competitions and thus potential loss of customer loyalty, uniform sales, camp sales and general revenue and profit loss. If you can't make them compete with you, dress with you and abide by your rules, then you can't keep them from spending their dollars else where. As a sport, when the school is required to buy uniforms for a team, do you really think a school is going to pay the inflated prices for uniforms that the kids themselves do now? Imagine a school having a choice of the $250 uniform or the $75 plain one. As you can see, Varsity never wanted cheerleading to be a sport. Jeff Webb even says in his financial documents filed with the Security Exchange Commission that cheerleading as a sport would have an adverse impact on their profits.
Your gonna tell me that the largest cheerleading company in the world that claims, WE ARE CHEERLEADING, didn't have the power to step forward sooner and make cheerleading a sport? Seriously? Why all of a sudden does USA Cheer/Varsity Brands want to make cheerleading a sport. Enter NCATA and Acrobatics and Tumbling. The NCATA is the governing body of Acrobatics and Tumbling and is the organization that is responsible for bringing competitive cheerleading to sport status at the collegiate level. This is the organization made up of CHEERLEADERS that simply decided they wanted to get rid of the non competitive elements of cheerleading and promote the athletic ones. These people are from the same cheerleading world you are from. They just finally wanted something more specialized on the competitive. So the NCATA formed, came up with a format and started moving forward. Webb/Varsity, whose market value is going down (inside sale reference), couldn't stand for someone else to beat him to the punch. As if what looks like a monopoly wasn't enough, Jdubbs threw STUNT in the mix with it's capital letters and football like refs and whistles. But that's really only part of the master plan. As president of the International Cheer Union, the plan is to take over the world. Having saturated the American market, Varsity has set it's sights on the international arena. The plan to take the ICU and cheerleading to the international sports world and possibly the Olympics is the ultimate goal. So it's imperative that he have control over the "sport" in the United States. But you can't control the sport as a company. You must do this as a national governing body. Conveniently, along comes USA Cheer which suddenly claims to be everyone's governing body of cheerleading? Well I guess it sort of works when you just form in the dark and put all Varsity-loyal people from various organizations on the USA Cheer board and in office. Then it "appears" that you have representation/membership from all levels of cheerleading (USASF, High School, AACCA, etc.). Now you fit into the model that the internation sports world is expecting for any sport. USA Cheer governs the US and belongs to the ICU. The ICU is the internation governing body forthe sport and they recognize USA Cheer. The ICU is run by Jeff Webb.
Let's get back to the NCATA and USA Cheer. I had to take you on a trip for a second. To bring this all back around, cheerleading should have been made a sport a LONG time ago. Varisty had the power and opportunity to do it. They did not because it did not serve their business model at the time. Now that Varsity basically owns the US cheerleading world (and World's hahaha), they have embarked on the conquest of the internation market. Foreign countries deal with sports much differently than the US. They recognize cheerleading as a sport and it's governed by non profit national governing bodies, not companies trying to make a dollar. So thus, there had to be a different approach to the structure of things in order to make headway in the international market, i.e. USA Cheer, ICU.
For this very reason, the NCATA could never compromise with Varsity. The NCATA is about the opportunity created for female athletes. It is about the sport itself and the athletes that are a part of it. This is not about power or money or some race to make cheerleading a sport or reach the Olympics. This is about a need for something athletes wanted and a group who is trying to bring it to fruition. Please raise you hand if you truly believe that is the principle behind STUNT? If your hand is up, please raise the other one and flap the two like wings. Because you are dreaming and in your dreams you can just fly away.
Even though Acro and Tumbling is competitive cheerleading, it is a new sport in the eyes of the NCAA. It is not meant to take away from the structure of the collegiate, high school or all star cheerleading world. It is simply meant to add another opportunity. It's not meant to limit males from participation. It's simply meant to add more opportunities for women in college sports where they are still underrepresented. Everything about this new sport is meant to be for the good of the sport and the participants. I haven't even mentioned the 2 million plus dollars in college scholarships that have been given out by the universities sponsoring varsity Acro and Tumbling teams. That is commitment to a sport and to the athletes. Meanwhile, USA Cheer (Varsity) has probably spent about a fifth of that paying for teams to travel for free, giving away free uniforms and paying entry fees to bribe them to participate in STUNT. Again, this is just not the way sports work or who the NCATA wants to be associated with.
There is no sitting down with USA Cheer. There is no compromise. There is no nuetral ground. Unless USA Cheer wants to drop the copy of A&T they call STUNT, step back and get out of the way of what the NCATA is doing, it's just going to be a battle they will loose with the NCAA. Unfortunately, most of the people in the cheerleading world have been led to believe the NCATA is the one who did something wrong and is trying to ruin everything. Meanwhile, Webb and the crew are laughing all the way to the bank.
If you really want to know the truth, just look at the facts. In January, then February of the 2009-2010 season, the first two NCATA meets where held. Then at NCA nationals that year, USA Cheer and NCA tried to get the compete only teams to agree to bring the new format into it's own division at NCA that they could run. Bill Boggs said they would make the NCATA a household name (as if he had the power). The NCATA university adminstrators wisely told him no thank you. Then the courtcase with Quinnipiac involved Jeff Webb VOLUNTARILY testifying that cheerleading was NOT a sport, but rather an activity like chess and that it was entertainment. But then he and USA Cheer turned around and started a copy of the sport called STUNT. They said they had been working on it for 5 years, but USA Cheer just was formed in 2007. That's not even 5 years at this point a year after they said it. Have you seen the two models? OMG... there's no comparison. STUNT is game compared to the SPORT of Acro and Tumbling. Then comes the barring of teams from participating in Acro or they can't compete at UCA or NCA nationals. This is beginning to sound like a hostile company take over. Oh wait... that's exactly what this attempt is.
For those of you who think the two organization need to sit down at the table and work this out, please answer one question. Why does a angel sit with a demon to plan building a church. Perhaps the best way to approach this issueis to separate the cheerleading world that Varsity Brands has created/controls and the collegiate sports world. It's like Arnold Swartzeneggar going into politics. Do you really want and actor to cross into the world of politics? I mean sure, California elected him, but now they are bankrupt and functioning on government bailout money. Cheerleading and all it's glamour, glitter, bows, poms, uniforms, game day excitment, leadership, athleticism and spirit will still be the same cheerleading world. There just will be another women's sport on campus. It's not part of the cheerleading world it's part of the sports world. Stand for the group that stood for the sport. There can be no compromise in this situation so pick a side and give your support. I just hope you realize one side charges for that support and on the other side, that support will double and pay off for a female athlete down the road.
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