GENERAL DIVISION GUIDELINES AND POLICIES FUTURE CHEER INTERNATIONAL CHEER & DANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS 1-2 July 2006 Brighton, England The Brighton Centre Please Note: The following Divisions and Guidelines are relevant ONLY for Future Cheer INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS. For Guidelines and Divisions related to Future Cheer REGIONAL COMPETITIONS, click here. General Routine Limits All music, lyrics, gestures, and apparel must be suitable for family viewing as determined by the Competition Director and Point Deduction Judges. Additionally, competitors must follow routine limits related to music, time, and other general guidelines listed below. Failure to adhere to these noted guidelines will result in penalties to your competitive score, so please take time to read them thoroughly. Cheer Teams — 2 min. 30 sec. maximum routine. 2 min. 30 sec. maximum music. 1 min. 15 sec. minimum music. All Cheer team routines are governed by the applicable GENERAL SAFETY RULES and the ESP LEVEL RULES listed within the registration packet. Dance Teams — 2 min. 30 sec. maximum routine. All music. Routines can be scored on a POM scoresheet or a FUNK scoresheet (see scoring criteria to make the best selection for your team). The following are NOT allowed for DANCE TEAMS: tumbling (exception: only forward rolls, shoulder rolls and back bend kick-overs are allowed), partner stunts, pyramids, stepping or standing on backs, knee-drops, toe-touches to push-up position or lifts. All dance team routines are governed by the applicable GENERAL SAFETY RULES listed within the registration packet. ESP Rules do not apply to dance teams. Stunt Groups & Partner Stunts — 1 min. 30 seconds maximum routine. 1 min. 30 seconds maximum music. No more than 5 participants per “Stunt Group” and no more than 2 participants per “Partner Stunt” group (excluding spotter.) Co-Ed partner stunts with 2 members (one male and one female) will be listed in the Sr. Partner Stunt Co-Ed (SPSC) division or combine with SSGC, depending on entries. No more than one flyer at a time. No cheers, chants, tumbling, or jumps. All competitors must start with at least one foot on the ground. Youth stunt group divisions are governed by ESP Intermediate level rules. Junior and Senior Stunt Groups are governed by ESP Advanced rules. Senior Open Stunt Groups are governed by ELITE ESP safety guidelines. Parnter Stunts are either Advanced or Elite ESP level as noted in the division title. Mascots — 1 min. 30 seconds maximum routine. 1 min. 30 seconds maximum music. Mascots may not leave the performing surface. Props are allowed but they cannot leave the performance area. (i.e.— no throwing candy, footballs, t-shirts, etc.) Props must not have sharp components or heavy components that might damage the performing surface. Due to time restrictions we regret that we are unable to offer solo divisions at Future Cheer International Cheer & Dance Champsionships. General Safety Rules Safety is our foremost priority. Future Cheer’s General Safety Rules are based on the USASF guidelines and are listed in the competition registration packet. Please be sure you know these rules and adhere to them strictly. Failure to comply with these general safety guidelines will result in a penalty assessed to your team at Future Cheer competitions. Additionally, for the safety of all athletes, Future Cheer strongly advises that you follow these safety guidelines in ALL of your cheer functions, games, performances, and events. View the Future Cheer General Safety Rules here. Divisions: ESP Leveling System Equal Skill Performance (ESP) Leveling Guidelines allow entrants to compete with teams with ability levels like their own by selecting a division that best matches their own skills. Future Cheer has elected to best meet the needs of our International athletes by utilizing four skill levels at the International Championships. These four levels meet the safety guidelines of USASF levels 2, 3, 5, and 6, which we call Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Elite, respectively. Criteria for determining which division your team should enter and a complete listing of the ESP Level guidelines can be found in the competition registration packet. View the Future Cheer ESP Level Guidelines and Rules here. Judging System We are very proud to provide the most qualified, experienced, and professional judges in the industry for Future Cheer events. Future Cheer International Championships use a SINGLE PERFORMANCE SCORING SYSTEM. Each panel of judges consists of three Panel Judges (including a Head Judge), and two Point Deduction/Safety judges. Panel Judges score routines in various categories for a total of 100 points possible (300 for the entire panel combined.) Point Deduction judges are responsible for noting and penalizing for bobbles, falls, and safety/rule violations. Bobbles are penalized at 0.5 points each occurrence and falls are 1 point each occurrence. Rule violation penalties depend on the type of violation, usually 5-10 points, or more for severe violations at the discretion of the Competition Director (i.e.— Honour Code violations; inappropriate lyrics, gestures, or apparel; unsportsmanlike conduct, etc.) Point Deduction Judge penalties are taken off the top of the combined panel score to determine the overall rankings. Ties are broken using a priority system of tie-break categories, which are listed in order of priority on the actual scoresheets. (i.e.— the first category listed on the scoresheet is the first tie-break category, the second category on the scoresheet is the second tie-break, etc.) Scoresheets are returned to coaches immediately following awards. Please feel free to direct any queries to the Competition Director , as it is our aim that you have every opportunity to learn and grow from your competition experience as you enjoy peace of mind that you will receive fair and honest feedback with accurate scoring and a positive educational process for teams. Judging Criteria The scoresheets we use provide our judges with the most accurate tools possible to declare correct placements for teams. We strongly encourage you to study the scoresheets and utilize the layout to be sure that your routines score as high as possible! Scoresheet criteria for all divisions are listed in the competition registration packet. Click here for the Future Cheer Scoring Criteria and Point Value Breakdown Double-Duty Policy On a limited basis, Future Cheer allows individual competitors to register as “double duty” and compete on more than one cheer team at the same competition. (Competing on one cheer team and one dance team is not considered double duty. Stunt groups and partner stunts are not restricted under these guidelines either.) Unfortunately, due to scheduling difficulties, we regret that double duty competitors are restricted only to those competing in one all-girl cheer team and one co-ed cheer team at the same competition. The following conditions also apply for double duty competitors: The competitor must meet all age and eligibility requirements for each division entered AND… The competitor has indicated double duty status on the registration form AND… The competitor has paid in full for all divisions entered. While we make every attempt to avoid overlapping schedules for double duty individuals, Future Cheer cannot guarantee that competitors have more than 15 minutes between performances. You can do your part by checking published schedules promptly and notifying us immediately of any double-duty conflicts of less than 15 minutes. VIOLATION OF DOUBLE DUTY RULES IS GROUNDS FOR DISQUALIFICATION AT THE DISCRETION OF THE COMPETITION DIRECTOR. ALL DECISIONS ARE FINAL. Additional General Division Notes NEW Divisions for 2006: Senior Partner Stunt (one base, one flyer); Pee-Wee Dance (age 9 and under, Pom and Funk); Senior Open Dance (All members 16+, Pom and Funk); Senior Open All-Girl Advanced (SOAA) Senior Open Co-Ed Advanced (SOCA) ALL members must be age 16+ for Senior Open divisions. Members of Senior Open teams do not need to be a member of a specific university to participate. See division charts for details. University Teams can either enter a University division with Intermediate or Advanced ESP levels OR they can select a Senior Open division with an Elite ESP level. Collegiate/University Divisions employ a 10% Allowance Rule. Up to 10% of the athletes on the team can participate as non-university students. No petition form is necessary, but be aware that you may be asked at registration to provide valid student ID cards (or other suitable proof of current registration) for at least 90% of your team. Elite Divisions for TEAMS ONLY employ a 10% Allowance Rule. This means that up to 10% of the athletes on the team can submit a PETITION to be on an Elite Level Team if they are 15 YEARS OLD on the day of the competition. Petition forms can be obtained from the Future Cheer office and must be filed in writing no later than the registration deadline for that competition. Petitions will be evaluated on an individual basis with criteria being: (1) written parental consent for the athlete to compete in that specific division, (2) the number of years experience the athlete has, and (3) written confirmation from the coach that the athlete is physically capable of performing at that level and that the athlete’s presence on the team is in the best interest of the individual in question. Additionally, personal interviews may be conducted to better assess the situation. As noted in the mandatory Honor Policy, Future Cheer expects that coaches will make educated, appropriate decisions regarding the placement of their athletes on each team. Future Cheer has the right to deny petitions that we deem inappropriate and all decisions are final. No petitions for athletes under 15 will be accepted. Future Cheer reserves the right to change division parameters as deemed necessary by the competition director. Although we cannot guarantee exact division splits, we do make every effort to see that teams from the same program do not compete against one another. Because of this, Future Cheer states that any division may be split, combined, added, deleted, or otherwise changed in order to preserve the integrity of the competition environment. All decisions are final. Annual Reviews At Future Cheer, we aim to provide consistent, up-to-date systems that protect the integrity and fairness of our competitions. Therefore, we constantly utilize our own experiences, input from industry experts, and input from our customers (YOU!!!) to do a thorough review of our scoring, judging, division, safety, and procedural policies. If you have input you’d like us to hear, we very much want to listen. Please contact us! We look forward to hearing from you!