By now you’ve probably heard about the drama that went down in the Champions Stadium Sunday night at Worlds 2016.
But, unless you were sitting in the arena that humid evening, it’s unlikely you really know everything that happened. As one of the most iconic moments in all-star cheerleading history, we felt the need to document it.
For the past few years, the large senior all girl and large senior coed division finals have been held in the Champions Stadium baseball field to accommodate a large crowd. But, every year something goes wrong. This year was no different.
Update May 5th, 2016: USASF has issued an apology letter and they will fine themselves
USASF will fine themselves $330 per cheerleader who competed in Champions Stadium Sunday evening. The funds will then be distributed to the gyms with directions to allocate the money as scholarships to continuing education for those athletes.
Some quick math:
There were 20 teams in the large divisions with approximately 36 athletes each, which equals about 720 athletes.
720 athletes * $330 = $237,600
Therefore, USASF will add approximately $237,600 to their scholarship fund. Love it, it’s a step in the right direction.
A timeline of the drama starts here…
The dramatics started early. People started lining up at Champions Stadium before 10:30am. They didn’t open doors until 7pm.
At 7pm they let everyone in and people were very excited.
Currently. ????pic.twitter.com/fcpf8zW4UY
— CheerTheory (@CheerTheory) April 24, 2016
USASF took their sweet time getting the show started… but hey, would it really be Worlds if it started on time?
WHO’S READY TO SEE LARGE SENIOR AND LARGE COED TEAR UP A BASEBALL FIELD?! #CheerDoesItBetter????????????????????⭐️
— CheerTheory (@CheerTheory) April 25, 2016
Large Senior Coed teams performed first and only one team truly hit, Stingray Allstars Steel. Cheer Athletics Cheetahs may or may not have hit, but we can’t confirm deductions. This is crucial to the story.
There were also several dance performances, because if an event is running behind schedule you should definitely add more to the agenda. Makes perfect sense.
Quickly after Large Coed started, the baseball field filled to capacity and no one waiting outside could get in.
Prisoners of the USASF. ???????? pic.twitter.com/YVffvEjjDl
— David Lengling (@DavidLengling) April 25, 2016
Athletes’ parents couldn’t even get in and things were getting heated.
The Large Senior All-Girl division performed next and this is where things start to get real juicy.
Flashback to Large Senior’s pre-lims on Saturday and almost every single team hit. This division was ready to rumble.
But then…. no one (except F5 and Flyers Obsession) hit. Stunts fell. Pyramids didn’t hit. And tumbling passes busted. The culprit: a wet and slippery competition floor.
This sounds like shade, but it’s not.
Remember how the competition started late? Stingray Allstars Orange competed at 11:34 pm.
USASF has official rules against teams competing past 11pm. WCSS, Panthers, Senior Elite, and Orange all competed after 11, which is problematic.
So then we waited for awards for a really long time.
But the drama was just starting. The person sitting next to me astutely noticed Courtney Pope walking around the baseball field trying to rally all the coaches…
Something is going down with all the coaches and USASF ????#WetFloor#WhyIsThisOutside
— CheerTheory (@CheerTheory) April 25, 2016
And then this iconic photo was shot. All of the top coaches from the country’s most prestigious gyms are seen huddled together with USASF reps intently discussing something.
Courtney is seen passionately arguing, presumably, about the competition’s slippery conditions.
How badly I would love to hear the current large senior conversation. ???? pic.twitter.com/ZmluP4hrGX
— David Lengling (@DavidLengling) April 25, 2016
It is later discovered that some coaches believed the competition’s performance conditions were unsuitable. Who would have thought that Florida would be humid and wet in late April?! Crazy.
The coaches talk for a really long time.
We later find out that USASF gave teams the option to re-compete Monday morning if there was a unanimous decision. There was not. We’re guessing the teams who hit weren’t so fond of recompeting. But, we’re only speculating.
Large coed awards are up first and they finished without any serious drama.
Large Senior teams are brought to the floor and the World isn’t ready for what’s about to happen.
A USASF rep announces Cheer Extreme Senior Elite in 10th place and a RIOT ensues.
Casual riot… ????????pic.twitter.com/mLi0oPk7yV
— David Lengling (@DavidLengling) April 25, 2016
People were booing and then started chanting “C. E. A.”
For those of you who don’t know, Courtney Pope, the individual who corraled all the coaches, is Senior Elite’s coach. She wanted every team to recompete the next day in more suitable competition conditions. In the event that her flagship team really did come in last, there would be hell to pay.
There was literally a meltdown both in the stadium and on Twitter. We happily contributed.
WORLDS IS MELTING DOWN. I REPEAT WORLDS IS MELTING DOWN.
— CheerTheory (@CheerTheory) April 25, 2016
After five full minutes, the announcer admits her mistake.
There were two Cheer Extreme teams in the Large Senior All-Girl division and the announcer read off the wrong one. Not great.
Then World Cup Shooting Stars are announced in 4th place and another mini-riot ensues.
But then Maryland Twisters F5 were announced in first, and we all celebrated.
The night ends and everyone is hyped. But, little did we know that the saga would continue the next day when Courtney Pope posted the following status on Facebook.
She has a point. The floor looks very wet in that picture.
AND THEN, on Wednesday 4/27/16, a video was uploaded to Cheer Extreme’s YouTube channel featuring several different athletes slipping on the mat and wiping their shoes before tumbling.
The caption hilariously says “Slippery when wet”. The shade is so heavy it hurts.
