DCI partnering with Varsity Performing Arts to launch "SoundSport Scholastic" events

[N.E. Brigand]

2 minutes ago, N.E. Brigand said:

On another note, this passage from that Houston Press story amusingly echoes some discussions we've had about drum corps:

"In 2010, Webb was called to Connecticut to testify as an expert witness during Biediger v. Quinnipiac University, a landmark court case in the debate over whether cheerleading is a sport. He testified, definitively, that it is not a sport, which is exactly what the court ruled in the end. 

That may be surprising to the hundreds of thousands of registered athletes participating in Varsity’s competitions, some of which are televised on CBS Sports Network and ESPN."

From the same piece:

"Webb was not made available for comment, but Varsity’s public relations director, Sheila Noone, responded to the Houston Press. 'The legal definition of whether cheerleading is a sport in U.S. schools is up to the Department of Justice, but Varsity believes that cheerleading is more than a sport,' Noone wrote in an email.

Webb’s 2010 testimony, however, implies that Varsity actually views cheerleading as less than a sport. He testified that Varsity’s competitions were established only for 'promotion of his cheerleading supply business.' In one competition, Webb admitted, teams received more points if they used more Varsity merchandise as props."

[Jurassic Lancer]

54 minutes ago, garfield said:

Drum corps doesn't bill itself as the "varsity" team.  It's the "Major League".

Is that a branding hiccup or a serious disconnect in the missions of the two.

Who knows: Is Varsity in college programs as well?

Well, yes, they are. You still haven’t watched Netflix’s, “Cheer,” have you?

[N.E. Brigand]

5 minutes ago, N.E. Brigand said:

Ah, well, I stand corrected! Thanks. I'd never heard of them before this discussion, and the only link I've seen here offering any hisory of the company implies they moved into cheering after that sport was well established ("In 2004, Varsity bought the National Cheerleaders Association"). But digging into some of the links in that piece, I see that the company's founder, Jeff Webb, who had cheered in college, worked for the the NCA apparently beginning in the late 1960s and then started his own rival league in 1974, which bcame Varsity. And Varsity bought in 2004 was the NCA's "parent company, National Spirit Group."

Now I'm trying to imagine a world in which DCI or Music for All are owned by for-profit companies.

More echoes of drum corps in that Houston Press story:

"There is also no required background check during the cheerleading association’s certification process. Despite court records and local news reports documenting more than a dozen cases of cheerleading coaches convicted of sexual abuse across the country since 2008, Varsity and  the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches do not ban coaches for criminal misconduct or publish a list of coaches who are banned from the sport, unlike other national sports governing bodies such as U.S.A. Gymnastics.  

If such a list existed for cheerleading, Rick DeSpain would be on it. DeSpain is a registered sex offender who owns an elite competitive cheerleading gym in Virginia. In 2008, DeSpain was convicted of sexual battery and assault after three girls he coached at the Virginia Wild gym came forward with allegations of inappropriate touching. According to the Virginia Wild website, DeSpain, who renewed his status as a sex offender in January, is still the gym’s owner, and is a certified coach through the U.S. All Star Federation, another nonprofit funded by Varsity that is the main governing body for competitive cheerleading among all-star gyms. Meanwhile, Varsity-run competitions continue to extend invitations to Virginia Wild teams."

[N.E. Brigand]

Huh:

"For the high school level, the National Federation of State High School Associations recommends its cheerleading safety rulebook but is not involved with oversight, something it leaves up to individual states and school districts. Lord’s safety organization works with them to write that rulebook, and Varsity is their largest corporate partner. SEC records show Varsity paid the not-for-profit National Federation a total of more than $1.8 million dollars from 2003 to 2007. 

National Federation officials said they could not reveal specifics of the current contract, which was recently extended through 2021.

But Director of Sports and Activities in Spirit Susan Knoblauch said that in return for its financial support, Varsity gets visibility and access to high schools as vendors through meetings and conferences, and direct access to the National Federation’s database of contact information for more than 18,000 schools. The National Federation also allows high schools to participate in Varsity competitions and includes information about them in its rulebook."

Emphasis added.

Edited August 29, 2020 by N.E. Brigand

[Jurassic Lancer]

2 hours ago, Jurassic Lancer said:

Well, yes, they are. You still haven’t watched Netflix’s, “Cheer,” have you?

In the final episode of “Cheer,” Varsity is introduced as the sponsoring organization of the Cheerleading Nationals in Daytona. Varsity would not allow Netflix cameras to record Navarro College’s finals performance (or behind the scenes) for the docuseries but did allow Netflix to record the performance on their smartphones.

And then there is this:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cinemablend.com/television/2489174/why-netflixs-cheer-could-lose-navarro-college-for-season-2

Edited August 29, 2020 by Jurassic Lancer

[cixelsyd]

1 hour ago, N.E. Brigand said:

More echoes of drum corps in that Houston Press story:

"There is also no required background check during the cheerleading association’s certification process. Despite court records and local news reports documenting more than a dozen cases of cheerleading coaches convicted of sexual abuse across the country since 2008, Varsity and  the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches do not ban coaches for criminal misconduct or publish a list of coaches who are banned from the sport, unlike other national sports governing bodies such as U.S.A. Gymnastics.  

If such a list existed for cheerleading, Rick DeSpain would be on it. DeSpain is a registered sex offender who owns an elite competitive cheerleading gym in Virginia. In 2008, DeSpain was convicted of sexual battery and assault after three girls he coached at the Virginia Wild gym came forward with allegations of inappropriate touching. According to the Virginia Wild website, DeSpain, who renewed his status as a sex offender in January, is still the gym’s owner, and is a certified coach through the U.S. All Star Federation, another nonprofit funded by Varsity that is the main governing body for competitive cheerleading among all-star gyms. Meanwhile, Varsity-run competitions continue to extend invitations to Virginia Wild teams."

Wonder what current marching members will think of DCI partnering with such an operation... 

[Jeff Ream]

4 hours ago, garfield said:

Which is why I asked Does Varsity know music?

 

based on complaints i have found online they know what music you'll use to score well

[Jeff Ream]

4 hours ago, garfield said:

What if they dictate what you wear because they sponsored The Top Corps with sweet (read: free) deals?

 

their owner admitted groups wearing Varsity wear score better. it's called monopoly......corner every piece of the market you can and use scoring as a way to make it happen

[Jeff Ream]

3 hours ago, garfield said:

Drum corps doesn't bill itself as the "varsity" team.  It's the "Major League".

Is that a branding hiccup or a serious disconnect in the missions of the two.

Who knows: Is Varsity in college programs as well?  Because of the average age of SS/DLB kids compared to the DCI "Major League", it's easier to see why SS/DLB would attract Varsity and drum corps would not.

But heck, what do I know?

apparently they are

Edited August 29, 2020 by Jeff Ream

[garfield]

So Varsity goes from elementary to college.  
 

sounds like a match made in heaven for DCI.

I’d say the real challenge is in getting Varsity to care enough!