I was lucky enough that my team placed second in our district this season, which is the highest we’ve placed in over a decade (this was super exciting)! We worked incredibly hard to earn this placement, and we competed with skills I would have never thought we could do. Though I’m proud of my team, I do have issues with the scoring system: it’s inconsistent, and it isn’t fair.
There’s a reason for this, though: it’s nearly impossible to come up with a scoring system for this type of competition cheer. In club cheerleading, there is a level system. The skills you compete with depend on the level your team is a part of. In high school cheer, however, this isn’t the case. Where I’m from, all of the high schools in my district compete in the same competitions under the same rubric, and I have an issue with it.
A few years ago, the highest scoring stunt was worth twice what it is now, and since then, the highest point bracket has become more difficult to reach. But honestly, that isn’t much better than making it easier. If the highest bracket is too easy to reach, the routines become very similar to those of the other teams, leaving little room for creativity. Conversely, if the highest bracket is too difficult to reach, that can leave huge disparities between teams.
What I mean is that high schools may have different levels of experience, which can give some schools natural advantages. This may not be an issue in some areas, but it is in mine and many others. While my high school doesn’t have many people with all-star or middle school cheerleading experience, a few other schools in our district do.
My school is a STEM-focused magnet school, and the student body is composed of students from 50+ middle/secondary schools. We are unable to recruit athletes from local middle schools like other teams, since our students come from so many different areas. Although we have athletes, most of them have little to no cheer/gymnastics experience. For other schools in our district, this same difference occurs based on the locations of the high schools. This, in turn, can limit the skill difficulty of certain teams.
In my opinion, difficulty should still count for a significant portion of the scoring, but it should be weighted less than technique. I believe this would help to increase competition among teams, especially those without many experienced athletes, and it would help teams prioritize safety and cleanliness in routines. Though this still isn't perfect, I believe this would be an improvement from the current system.
I love high school cheer, and even though the scoring system can be improved, I still look forward to seeing what comes in the next few years!