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| Meet the newest sport for women: acrobatics and tumbling | Meet the newest sport for women: acrobatics and tumbling |
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| Oregon Acrobatics & Tumbling 2013 from Fowlplay2010 on Vimeo. | Oregon Acrobatics & Tumbling 2013 from Fowlplay2010 on Vimeo. |
| As a former competitive cheer coach, I've heard all the jokes and debates about whether an activity where girls (and a few guys) strut around and shout in cute outfits can be a "sport". | As a former competitive cheer coach, I've heard all the jokes and debates about whether an activity where girls (and a few guys) strut around and shout in cute outfits can be a "sport". |
| Many cheerleaders today aren't just on the sidelines supporting other athletic teams, they also perform athletically based routines of their own. Cheerleaders began using tumbling and acrobatics in the 1940s to help pump up the crowd, and they began going to competitions where they would perform several minute long routines in the mid-1970s. If you look at early competitions, you will see the direct influence of group gymnastics with cheerleaders using ribbons, mini trampolines, acrobatics lifts and tosses, and, of course, tumbling in addition to doing a cheer to be scored and determine the winner. | Many cheerleaders today aren't just on the sidelines supporting other athletic teams, they also perform athletically based routines of their own. Cheerleaders began using tumbling and acrobatics in the 1940s to help pump up the crowd, and they began going to competitions where they would perform several minute long routines in the mid-1970s. If you look at early competitions, you will see the direct influence of group gymnastics with cheerleaders using ribbons, mini trampolines, acrobatics lifts and tosses, and, of course, tumbling in addition to doing a cheer to be scored and determine the winner. |
| However, there are many aspects of even the most athletically inclined cheerleading that do not provide the type of skill development and athletic competition that many young women today want and deserve. It became clear to me that outdated perceptions of cheerleading and its premise of supporting other athletes were holding back the opportunities for women to be considered high school and college athletes. That's why I became a pioneer in a new collegiate sport: acrobatics and tumbling. | However, there are many aspects of even the most athletically inclined cheerleading that do not provide the type of skill development and athletic competition that many young women today want and deserve. It became clear to me that outdated perceptions of cheerleading and its premise of supporting other athletes were holding back the opportunities for women to be considered high school and college athletes. That's why I became a pioneer in a new collegiate sport: acrobatics and tumbling. |
| The sport of acrobatics and tumbling is the evolution of different skill sets used in gymnastics. Those skill sets are also the athletic aspects of cheerleading. The collegiate sport of acrobatics and tumbling is competed on campuses of the member universities, just like a basketball or soccer game. The meets are held in a basketball or volleyball arena. The teams compete head to head, with real time scoring that is based on execution just like a gymnastics or diving meet. Each meet consists of six events broken down into 20 different heats of competition. Depending on the heat, there can be from one to 24 athletes on the competition floor at any given time. | The sport of acrobatics and tumbling is the evolution of different skill sets used in gymnastics. Those skill sets are also the athletic aspects of cheerleading. The collegiate sport of acrobatics and tumbling is competed on campuses of the member universities, just like a basketball or soccer game. The meets are held in a basketball or volleyball arena. The teams compete head to head, with real time scoring that is based on execution just like a gymnastics or diving meet. Each meet consists of six events broken down into 20 different heats of competition. Depending on the heat, there can be from one to 24 athletes on the competition floor at any given time. |
| I am now head acrobatics and tumbling coach at the University of Oregon. I also serve as the director of expansion with the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA). My passion for the sport of acrobatics and tumbling comes from watching so many women train in the different disciplines of gymnastics over the years only to be left with nothing to do as they entered college. So few artistic gymnasts are able to compete at the elite international level, and there are a limited number of opportunities for collegiate artistic gymnastics. Many female gymnasts, realizing there is no route for them after high school, transition to the activity of cheerleading around middle school because they don't see any other options to do what they love. There are a large number of female athletes training gymnastics skill through competitive cheer gyms as well,and acrobatics and tumbling is an opportunity for these athletes to compete at the collegiate level. | I am now head acrobatics and tumbling coach at the University of Oregon. I also serve as the director of expansion with the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA). My passion for the sport of acrobatics and tumbling comes from watching so many women train in the different disciplines of gymnastics over the years only to be left with nothing to do as they entered college. So few artistic gymnasts are able to compete at the elite international level, and there are a limited number of opportunities for collegiate artistic gymnastics. Many female gymnasts, realizing there is no route for them after high school, transition to the activity of cheerleading around middle school because they don't see any other options to do what they love. There are a large number of female athletes training gymnastics skill through competitive cheer gyms as well,and acrobatics and tumbling is an opportunity for these athletes to compete at the collegiate level. |
| I am asked many times why I am not pushing to make cheerleading a sport. My answer is very simple: choice. The NCATA wants to create new opportunities to compete at the collegiate level and for the competition to adopt a gymnastics approach to the sport. Opportunities for cheerleaders are already there. College cheerleading teams play a very important role on college campuses across the country. They are a huge part of tradition and game day atmosphere. Those opportunities should stay there for whoever would like to take part in that activity. However, some female athletes want to compete in the skill set that they love and have trained in for their entire life. By creating a new sport, we open new opportunities and give these athletes a choice. | I am asked many times why I am not pushing to make cheerleading a sport. My answer is very simple: choice. The NCATA wants to create new opportunities to compete at the collegiate level and for the competition to adopt a gymnastics approach to the sport. Opportunities for cheerleaders are already there. College cheerleading teams play a very important role on college campuses across the country. They are a huge part of tradition and game day atmosphere. Those opportunities should stay there for whoever would like to take part in that activity. However, some female athletes want to compete in the skill set that they love and have trained in for their entire life. By creating a new sport, we open new opportunities and give these athletes a choice. |
| Throughout its development, NCATA has looked to USA Gymnastics for training, sanctioning and guidance. USA Gymnastics has provided incredible support and last May announced it was adding acrobatics and tumbling as a discipline as part of USA Gymnastics' Gymnastics for All programming. USA Gymnastics and NCATA have worked together to create a safe and athletically rigorous opportunity for young women. | Throughout its development, NCATA has looked to USA Gymnastics for training, sanctioning and guidance. USA Gymnastics has provided incredible support and last May announced it was adding acrobatics and tumbling as a discipline as part of USA Gymnastics' Gymnastics for All programming. USA Gymnastics and NCATA have worked together to create a safe and athletically rigorous opportunity for young women. |
| The NCATA is seeking to be added to the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) list of emerging sports. Ten universities throughout the United States already sponsor acrobatics and tumbling as a varsity sport. What this designation means is that the sport of acrobatics and tumbling is treated just as any other sport within their respective athletic departments: full-time coaches, strength and conditioning programs, athletic trainers, academic support, a travel budget, a recruiting budget and scholarship opportunities, etc. | The NCATA is seeking to be added to the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) list of emerging sports. Ten universities throughout the United States already sponsor acrobatics and tumbling as a varsity sport. What this designation means is that the sport of acrobatics and tumbling is treated just as any other sport within their respective athletic departments: full-time coaches, strength and conditioning programs, athletic trainers, academic support, a travel budget, a recruiting budget and scholarship opportunities, etc. |
| We are creating new opportunities for female athletes to compete at the collegiate level, not shifting them. The women who are taking advantage of these opportunities are women who have trained hard and want to continue to compete at the collegiate level. There are so many different positions for an athlete to participate within this new sport, there are no height limits or weight limits, just athleticism. All of the variations of cheerleading (competitive /sideline/all-star/dance) within the United States are mostly controlled by one company. It has proven to be a lucrative business plan, but a sport should not be controlled by a for-profit company. A sport should be created and maintained with the best interest of the athlete in mind. | We are creating new opportunities for female athletes to compete at the collegiate level, not shifting them. The women who are taking advantage of these opportunities are women who have trained hard and want to continue to compete at the collegiate level. There are so many different positions for an athlete to participate within this new sport, there are no height limits or weight limits, just athleticism. All of the variations of cheerleading (competitive /sideline/all-star/dance) within the United States are mostly controlled by one company. It has proven to be a lucrative business plan, but a sport should not be controlled by a for-profit company. A sport should be created and maintained with the best interest of the athlete in mind. |
| I invite people to watch videos of Acrobatics and Tumbling or come to a meet. You will see young women doing amazing – yet safe – acrobatic lifts, tosses and tumbling passes in group formations. This new sport deserves recognition from the NCAA. | I invite people to watch videos of Acrobatics and Tumbling or come to a meet. You will see young women doing amazing – yet safe – acrobatic lifts, tosses and tumbling passes in group formations. This new sport deserves recognition from the NCAA. |
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