GENERAL DIVISION GUIDELINES & POLICIES FUTURE CHEER 2005-2006 SEASON REGIONAL CHEER & DANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS london *** midlands *** edinburgh Please Note: The following Divisions and Guidelines are relevant ONLY for Future Cheer REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS. For Guidelines and Divisions related to Future Cheer INTERNATIONAL 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. Individual Cheer or Individual Dance — 1 min. 30 seconds maximum routine. 1 min. 30 second maximum music. When more than six participants register for an INDIVIDUAL cheer or dance category, these divisions will be subject to a preliminary round in which individual elements will be scored en masse rather than the entire individual routine. (See the Future Cheer Scoring Criteria and Point Value Breakdown for more details.) The top six ranking competitors will advance to a final round where they will perform their full routine. The top six finalists receive awards. Sorry, we cannot provide refunds for competitors who do not advance to the finals-- please plan accordingly. General Safety Rules Safety is our foremost priority. Future Cheer’s General Safety Rules are based on the USASF guidelines and are listed in full 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 competitions 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 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!