Ask the Judges Week Four
Coaches, parents and athletes email us ( mchicsisters@aol.com ) questions you have always wanted to ask the judges. Each week we will send out a question to our M-CHIC Judges Advisory Panel and we will post their responses. To see a list of the members of our Judges Advisory Panel, click here.
This week's question:
Last year, my team performed what you would consider a very typical/traditional MHSAA round 1, with pretty average jumps. This year, we've opted for a more unique/creative round 1 and our jumps are sincerely, honestly, much better, as are our vocals, motions, and floor mobility. However, we are not scoring as well in general impression. Many coaches have said that our cheer is "very cute, I love it!", and I suspect that "cute" is the problem. When you compare the tapes and score sheets, the message seems quite clear: style conformity is rewarded, and creativity is not.
So my question is, do judges really prefer to see routines that are "creative" and "unique", or does the "creativity" have to fall within certain limits? (For example, creative ripple patterns are generally accepted, but not creative ripple motions, or unique vocals are good, but unique words are not well-received.)
Thank you very much!!
Answers from the Judges:
Judge #1:
When I think about athletes in general (and cheerleaders in particular), words that come to my mind are strength, power, technique, precision, endurance, confidence, skill, etc. In my opinion, you are right about “cute” being appropriate in today’s competitions. It seems to be a bit out-dated in the highly technical sport of competitive cheer and may be the reason for your lower scores in general impression.
Creativity, however, is a different matter entirely: the way the team moves from one formation to another, begins or ends a skill, transitions from one skill to another, adds something unique to a skill that no other team does, etc. These are elements that help raise your general impression score. Your cheer doesn’t necessarily have to be packed with a ton of difficulty to be creative; it just needs to have some component that makes it stand out from the rest of the teams. Not knowing what a team is going to do next makes the cheer exciting and fun to watch—and fun to score!
I hope that helps!
Judge #2:
"Creative" and "unique" are often in the eye of the beholder. That which is actually perceived that way will probably be rewarded in general impression, but if those same efforts are seen as tacky, "cutesie", or just plain annoying, that same category may take a hit. If a coach is fairly certain that her innovations will not be seen in that latter group, then she should go for it. If the creativity is in the form of a demonstrated skill or movement, there is probably less risk than if that creativity is in the form of vocals or motions that are not skill-based.
Judge # 3
I think that teams do not need to be cookie cutter copies of each other, differences make competitions fun to watch.
With that said, if you depart from the norm you are taking a risk. For some the risk pays off, for others not so much.
If you are trying cutsie vocals, they can come across as annoying or sickeningly sweet. Most teams are trying to portray themselves as tough, talented athletes, not cute little girls. So I would caution you against trying to be "cute" with your word choice. Instead, try going for clever, strong, powerful, and confident.
With unique motions, I don't think you are taking AS big of a risk. However, it is IMPERATIVE that your team does the motions exactly the same way and that your timing is on - be tight and punch hard especially with unique motions. Again, motions should be strong, and not too cutsie or dancey. Unique motions done poorly can really drop your general impression, those done well can enhance your score and possibly start a new trend :-)
Judge #4
Your team can have its own style, but they have to have the skills to back it up. If you are doing something different but do not execute motions and jumps well, your GI score will go down and people will dismiss your team as not very good. Some of the best teams in the state do things that are different and started new ways of thinking in cheerleading (Chesanings facials, Rochester's round three difficulty, Comstock Parks creative stunts, EK's Backhandspring prep, Chippewa Hills mat entrance)- but they were accepted because they had the talent to go out on a limb and not fall off. If you want unique to work for your team and not against it, you have to demonstrate a mastery of the basic and advanced skills first.
