US Finals
The US Finals (the new Final Destination) was announced recently. The event will be hosted in 4 cities, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, Cincinnati, and Virginia Beach.
USASF Regional Meetings
Jim Chadwick sent the following email to event producers on June 17th:
Dear USASF Event Producer Member,
Thank you for being a member of the USASF. We deeply appreciate your participation and support. Importantly, we want to invite you to attend any of our 6 summer regional meetings. The meeting schedule is listed below. To register, please contact your USASF Regional Director or go on-line <USASF.NET> to register and view the agenda.
June 21 – Charlotte, NC.
July 13 – White Plains, NY.
August 2 – Cincinnati, OH.
August 9 – Dallas, TX.
August 16 – Orlando, FL.
September 15 – Anaheim, CA.
Here is a quick update of the key actions underway at this time.
Worlds, 2009 – While many have told us the 2008 Worlds was the most successful yet, we are carefully gathering input from everyone in an effort to make the Worlds, 2009 even more successful. Key areas of attention are streamlining the registration paperwork, better utilization of the venues, improved control of the number of teams in specific divisions, especially in finals, more convenient transportation between venues, and better customer service .
As impressive as it was to host 30 countries with teams at the Worlds in 2008, we expect a dramatic increase to about 50 in 2009 with the International Cheer Union (ICU) competition for national teams occurring the Friday (April 24) before the Worlds (April 25-26), all at Disney in Orlando. Think about it, many Olympic sports do not have teams from 50 countries competing. We have come a long way and I believe this is just the beginning of the history we are making together.
Rules – We are planning on moving to an every other year rules cycle. The rules updates we make this year and announce in March 2009 would be for the 2010-11 year. This means everyone will have plenty of time to make any necessary adjustments. Of course, we will reserve the right to make rules changes whenever necessary to address urgent safety or other issues but these should be the exception.
Financials – We expect the USASF to be able to make a sizable repayment on Varsity’s start up loan in 2008 and to begin to provide significant scholarships to member athletes in 2009 as well as to continue to repay the loan. From losing over $500,000 in 2005 to only losing about $140,000 in 2007 then actually being in the black in 2008 is a milestone in the history of the USASF and a testament to what we all can do together when we put our minds to it. Once the audit is complete, we will post the financials on the website.
Athlete Credentialing – Athletes will no longer need to be credentialed to compete at the Worlds. Membership will be required but athlete credentialing will be optional. We are working with our insurance underwriters to make sure we will be able to continue to offer member athletes and credentialed member coaches the $1,000,000 catastrophic injury insurance.
Enhanced website – We are hoping to introduce new functionality to the enhanced <IASFWorlds.org> website to strengthen your event visibility plus offer a new credentialing educational and testing program on-line in September to make it more convenient for members to become credentialed and for prospective members to join.
Best regards,
Jim Chadwick
Power Joins the JAM Brands
Power Consulting, Choreography, and Camps has joined with the JAM Brands.
All Star Challenge
I have not seen a merger or acquisition announcement, but All Star Challenge is listed as a Varsity Family Plan company on the “No Release Form” press release.
Varsity Eliminates Release Forms
Justin Carrier has hit send once again:
Coaches,
We are proud to announce exciting news. For those of you that plan on registering for the Varsity Family Plan during the upcoming season, we are excited to announce that you will not have to fill out ANY RELEASE FORMS to attend our events–not even ONCE. This should get rid of 99% of the headaches associated with doing paperwork and will give you more time at NCA/NDA events to do what you do best: coach your teams!Click Here for information on our new No Release Form Policy.
Click Here for a list of NCA/NDA Championships for the 08-09 Season.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Justin Carrier
Executive Director - Strategic Development
NCA/NDA
Georgia Allstars is Back
Jamie Parrish has decided to bring back Georgia Allstars.
Rumor: Varsity Bought All Star Challenge
The Rumor of the Day is Varsity has bought All Star Challenge. More will be posted as information becomes available.
JAM Rewards
In an announcement we all saw coming, JAM Rewards was introduced by JAM Brands today. Visit the JAM Rewards website for more info.
2008-09 NCA All*Star Divisions
NCA has released their 2008-2009 All*Star Nationals divisions on Varsity.com. They consisted of 7 Level 1’s, 8 L2’s, 10 L3’s, 9 L4’s, 10 L5’s, 2 L6’s, 2 International, and Special Needs, for a total of 49. NCA will also offer some small gym divisions.
Update: Justin Carrier sent an email saying the initial release had an error with the International Open divisions that has since been corrected.
More on the Varsity Family Plan
Scott Cole of Varsity Brands sent the following email in early March:
All Star Gym Owner/Director:
Hello, my name is Scott Cole and I am excited to inform you that I will be the new Varsity Family Plan Regional Development Director for Alabama. I will be your direct contact for anything Varsity Family Plan related and look forward to helping you take advantage of this tremendous revenue opportunity. The average rebate check for the 2007-2008 season was around $10,000 and the 2008-2009 rebates start with $1.
Attached to this email is a detailed description of the Varsity Family Plan for the 2008-2009 season, a tentative listing of all qualifying events, a rebate calculator to help you estimate your potential May 2009 rebate, and a step-by-step on how to register.
Win a free trip to the 2008-2009 World Cheerleading Championships and USASF Conference in Orlando, FL!!! All you need to do is fill out the attached Pre-Season Commitment Form.
Please return your completed form via Fax: (number omitted) or Email: (email omitted) before April 7th to be eligible!
If you have any questions concerning the new program, please do not hesitate to contact me via email or phone. Additional information is also available on our website: www.varsityfamilyplan.com. Thank you for your time and I look forward to helping you utilize the new program to its fullest potential.
Attachments: Varsity Family Plan Rebate Calculator, 2008-2009 Varsity Events, Introduction to Family Plan Letter, Varsity Family Registration Letter, & Pre-Season Commitment Form
Regards,
Scott Cole
UCA All-Star / Varsity Family Plan
Regional Development Director
6745 Lenox Center Court
Memphis, TN 38115A NEW REVENUE SOURCE FOR GYMS!
www.varsityfamilyplan.com
New IASF Website
The IASF has a new website at IASFWorlds.org.
JAM Brands & COA form Partnership
JAM Brands and COA have formed a partnership. See the JAM Brands & COA Press Release for details.
USASF on the Varsity International Championship
Steve Peterson sent the following email to USASF Event Producers on January 31st in response to Mike Martinez’ email sent on January 30th:
IASF USASF Member Event Producers,
Following the announcement of Varsity Brands’ International All Levels Championship, the IASF USASF contacted Varsity to remind them of a recommendation approved by the IASF USASF Board of Directors in September 2006 that states:No member of the USASF - IASF may characterize any competition they conduct, or participate in, as a “Worlds” or “World Championship”.
The IASF USASF had asked Varsity for a clarification of their press release. After a very willing and quick response, the clarification, from Mike Martinez on behalf of Varsity, was shared with the IASF USASF Board of Directors. The Board recommended the clarification be shared with all IASF USASF member event producers. Please read below.
Yesterday, during the IASF USASF Board of Directors conference call, John Newby on behalf of Varsity Brands offered to NOT include any divisions offered at the IASF USASF Worlds at their International All Levels Championship on the condition that other IASF - USASF members do likewise. Therefore, a proposal was made and approved by the Board.
APPROVED PROPOSAL:
No IASF - USASF member may conduct or participate in a multi-brand/event producer end of season
championship that includes divisions offered at the IASF - USASF Worlds.Please feel free to call me or Jim Chadwick if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Steve Peterson
VP - USASF Events & Corporate Alliances
Mike Martinez’ email:
Dear Jim,
You have requested that I further explain the press release announcing the International All Levels Championship.As I informed you, I headed up the marketing effort to announce the project. The announcement was formatted with the intent to fully describe to potential customers (the gyms) that this championship would be structured so that teams would qualify from events conducted by a wide array of companies across the country (similar to the method used by USASF Worlds), and that international teams could also be included. In other words, we were simply trying to describe an idea about scope and the selection process that gyms would be able to understand.
We in no way intended to confuse the market about this event being in any way connected to the Worlds. In fact, we specifically stated in the release that this event could compliment the USASF’s event, thereby specifically pointing out that this is indeed totally separate and distinct from the USASF.
Further, please note that the name “Worlds” was not, and will not, be in any way part of the title or subtitle, tagline, etc of the International All Levels Championship. Again, the headline was merely meant as a description of the type of structure to be used.
Regarding the scholarship program, as you are aware the scholarship program was very publicly proposed at the NACCC meeting (an official USASF event) in Atlanta, and our intention was to clearly state that we were supporting this proposed program to benefit the athletes who comprise the sport.
I sincerely regret if there was any misunderstanding in the situation. As always, we remain committed to the USASF, its ideals and its official World Championship.
Sincerely,
Mike Martinez, President
Athletic Championships
ATC Cancels Events
Alana sent the following email on January 29th:
Dear Coaches, Teams, Judges and Vendors,
All Things Cheer and Dance will not be having any events the rest of the season. We are focusing all of our attention to organizing our 2009 competition schedule. We are currently in the process of finalizing dates, locations and venues. As soon as our dates and venues get finalized we will make sure you receive a schedule, along with event details. All Things Cheer and Dance is looking forward to bringing you the best competition experience possible in 2009. We look forward to working with you. As you might have seen our website is under construction. In the meantime please don’t hesitate to call us with any questions.
Thank you,
All Things Cheer and Dance
www.allthingscheer.com
NCA Date Change Announcement
Justin Carrier sent the following email on January 25th:
I wanted you to be the first to know about some exciting news in the All-Star World. Please read the announcement below concerning NCA and CHEERSPORT Nationals.
We are excited to announce that the two largest All-Star National Championships, NCA and CHEERSPORT, will take place on separate weekends in 2009. For the last several years, running these championships parallel has been neither ideal for our customers nor our companies.
In an effort to better serve our customers, both companies have shared a mutual and keen interest in resolving this date overlap. However, a number of variables, including contracts with hotels and venues booked years in advance in cities saturated with conventions, have made this an insurmountable task.
Recently, an opportunity in Dallas was presented that allowed NCA to move its date. So, in 2009 the NCA All-Star National Championship will be February 29-March 1, and CHEERSPORT Nationals will remain on February 13-15 in Atlanta.
Both NCA and CHEERSPORT are committed to exploring similar opportunities in future years, although nothing at this time has been confirmed.
This is great news for the cheerleading industry and hope this affords more gyms to experience both championships in 2009. Please contact NCA or CHEERSPORT if you have any questions.
Good luck to everyone competing at our events next month!
Justin Carrier
Executive Director - Strategic Planning
Loading ...