Summer is in full swing! But already I know we've started thinking about fall, and even about competition season too. Here are some reminders and updates regarding Rec Cheer in Washington State:
The Washington Recreational Cheer Programs must be non-school affiliated teams that are attached to a bona fide City Parks Department, Boys & Girls Club, Pop Warner program, recreational association or youth sports program. Recreational squads MUST NOT be formed solely for the purpose of competition. Recreational programs must include a sideline squad that cheers for an organized sport.
The purpose of recreational cheer is to provide the entire youth community interested in a positive cheer experience at an appropriate level. It is expected that recreational cheer programs will offer participants the opportunity to have fun while increasing their physical fitness, learning new cheerleading skills, and learning teamwork, fair play, leadership, sportsmanship, time-management skills, cooperation, trust, and regard for others.
The WSCCA Competition Divisions for Rec State 2020 are as follows:
Mini - age 8 and under
Mini Non-tumbling - age 8 and under
Youth - age 11 and under
Youth NT - age 11 and under Junior - age 14 and under Junior NT - age 14 and under Senior - age 18 and under
Senior NT - age 18 and under
All-Star Crossover (3 or more USASF-registered athletes on the team) - Age 18 and under An athlete's age for the 2019-2020 season is determined by their age on August 31, 2019.
The WSCCA Rec division follows the NFHS rules and uses the Washington High School score sheets. Competition routines should include both a music portion and a cheer portion (total time must not exceed 2:30 with a maximum of 1:30 being music).
All recreational teams will need to provide a letter, on letterhead, from the overseeing director of their league (City administration, Pop Warner, YMCA, Boys & Girls Club, Junior Football League, etc.) that proves legitimacy of the organization.
One question I recently received was about the age divisions for competition: I wanted to clarify that the division you enter is based on your oldest athlete, NOT an average age. So even if you have only one cheerleader that bumps you up a division, that is the division you must compete in (we are in that situation every year...one to two athletes that put us into the Senior division. But I'm not going to turn down a kid who wants to cheer!). Have a great season!