World and Summit Bids Explained
Aaahh, springtime! The birds are singing, the trees are blooming, and cheerleaders all over are chasing bids. It is difficult to spend any time in a cheerleading gym without hearing about bids for The Cheerleading Worlds and The Summit. Figuring out what all these conversations actually mean is enough to make a newcomer’s head spin!
What is The Cheerleading Worlds? What is The Summit? What is a bid and where can bids be found? These are questions commonly heard from those who are new to the sport of All Star Cheerleading. The Cheerleading Worlds and The Summit are two of the most prestigious competitions in the sport. A win at either competition means that a team is the best of the best. It’s no wonder both of these competitions are so high on the list of aspirations for most all star cheerleaders.
The Cheerleading Worlds is an annual event held by the USASF. Senior and Open level 5 and 6 teams from the United States and 40+ other countries have the opportunity to earn a bid to compete at Worlds. The first Cheerleading Worlds competition was held in 2004, and since its inception, it has been held in late April at Walt Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida.
The Summit is also an annual event, and it is held by Varsity All Star. It was first introduced in 2013, and is also held in late April at Walt Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida. This competition includes Youth, Junior, and Senior teams of all levels 1 through non-Worlds level 5, thus providing a Worlds type of experience for teams other than those that are eligible to compete at The Cheerleading Worlds.
Both competitions require teams to earn bids. A bid is an invitation to compete, and must be earned through competing at an event that offers them. There are 120+ event producers who offer bids to both The Cheerleading Worlds and The Summit. A team cannot compete at either competition without earning a bid.
Three types of bids are available to compete at The Cheerleading Worlds. The most desirable and most difficult to get is a full paid bid. A full paid bid is exactly what is implied in the name. Teams who receive these bids get the privilege of competing at Worlds with all of their expenses paid. These expenses include lodging, passes to the Disney Parks, and registration fees to compete at the event. Full paid bids are awarded to only the highest scoring teams at the largest and most prestigious competitions throughout the season.
The next type of bid to The Cheerleading Worlds is a partial paid bid. A partial paid bid does not include lodging, but includes passes to the Disney Parks and registration fees to compete at the event. A partial paid bid is also a prestigious bid to be awarded, and is the highest bid available at some competitions that offer bids.
Teams can also receive at large bids. An at large bid offers teams the opportunity to compete at The Cheerleading Worlds, however, teams must cover all of their own expenses. Teams in large divisions who are awarded at large bids must compete in a preliminary round to earn a place in the remainder of the competition. Only the top ten teams in each division may move on to semifinals.
Like The Cheerleading Worlds, there are three types of bids that can be earned to compete at The Summit. These bids are paid, at large, and wild card bids.
A paid bid to The Summit works the same as a paid bid to The Cheerleading Worlds. Expenses are paid for the team to compete, and it is not necessary for teams who earn these bids to compete in the preliminary round. Only the highest scoring teams at the largest and most prestigious events are awarded paid bids to The Summit, and getting one of these is a high honor.
At large bids, again, offer the opportunity for teams to compete at The Summit, but without any expenses paid. At The Summit, however, teams who earn at large bids do not have to compete in the preliminary round.
Wild card bids are new to The Summit, and were introduced just this season. Wild card bids are awarded at select one day competitions to the highest scoring teams. Teams that earn wild card bids must compete in a preliminary round to earn a spot in semifinals. Only the top teams in each division will earn the chance to move on.
All members of the champion team of each division of The Cheerleading Worlds and The Summit earn rings. Earning a ring is something that is highly valued in the world of all star cheerleading, and only a select few athletes achieve this honor in their all star careers.
Many all star programs consider it a main goal for their teams to achieve the honor of competing at The Cheerleading Worlds and The Summit. Bringing home wins at either of these competitions earns a large amount of notoriety to these programs and their athletes, and these athletes have the opportunity to make many happy memories with their teammates at these events.
Much luck to everyone this season who will be competing at either of these great events!
Resources
www.usasf.net
www.varsity.com
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I have to amend your quote from above, “A paid bid to The Summit works the same as a paid bid to The Cheerleading Worlds. Expenses are paid for the team to compete, and it is not necessary for teams who earn these bids to compete in the preliminary round. Only the highest scoring teams at the largest and most prestigious events are awarded paid bids to The Summit, and getting one of these is a high honor.” Our team has won in their OVERALL Level twice now at TWO separate Summit sanctioned events and have not received a bid. In BOTH cases, the BID went to a team that didn’t even place 1st in their level. So, this should really be amended, as it does NOT at all reflect how bids are awarded. As a matter of fact, the Summit’s own webpage states this; “Q: How will the bid distribution process work? A: Bids to The Summit, both Paid and At-Large, shall be awarded at the sole discretion of each Varsity Brand Event Producer. While the following guidelines must be taken in to consideration, ultimately Brands may award bids to whomever they choose. 1. Generally, bids will be awarded to First Place teams. 2. Bids will be awarded evenly, to the extent possible, across levels. Ex: An event with 3 paid bids is encouraged not to award two paid bids in the same level.” (Source: http://register.varsity.com/VAS/The%20Summit%20FAQ.pdf) One may think this makes NO sense to awards bids to such a prestigious event by awarding them to “whomever they choose.” What is the point for teams to compete then in qualifying events knowing that winning means NOTHING?
AMEN!!’ And as long as it’s at the sole discretion of the Varsity Brand Event Producer, his will NEVER be respected as a sport as much as it is deserved to be by the athletes who work so hard for it . This is NOT equivalent to a superboel ring like it was once described to me… It’s infortunate and as much as my daughter has gained from cheer, she has lost a lot of respect for the officials and the politics played not allowing her to gain a well deserved Worlds or Summit Ring! It’s very sad and unfortunate, but all other children in my family will play sports where outscoting the other team eats them the championship deserved or take the loss fair and square. Many life lessons learned and a lot of $ spent on this activity! We do ha e the Cheersprt jacket and the NCA jacket and honestly those are the rings that count!
I agree, this has happened twice this weekend for my daughter’s team. They were told that since they tied with another team as the highest Senior team both of the tied teams were not eligible for the Wild Card. So it went to the 2nd highest scoring team. Then on Sunday (it was rescheduled due to weather) they were the highest scoring team of the entire competition and still snubbed for the Senior Wild Card to Summit. Giving the EP the freedom to “whomever they choose” opens the door to some major ethics issues.
I agree, our team one 1st place and received a bid for the D2 summit and they weren’t even chosen from the gym another team that won 2nd place is going. If that team wins the bid then they should be able to go
Sorry for typos.
Just when you thought reality TV could not get any lower you find out there is a subculture that could not even get on reality TV ie….cheers scam. Never have I ever seen a more backbiting backstabbing loathing narcissistic group of SOBs than those in all-star cheer. I’m now convinced I can sell paper bags full of magic cheer dog shit for hundreds of dollars a bag and the parents would buy it why why you might ask? Because I’ve seen parents take their kids to hypnotist convinced if they got rid of their child’s natural fear they would be so much better and the money these people spend is ridiculous. I am waiting for the bottom of reality tv to hit bottom so I can sell the rights to psycho cheer moms from hell at least I might make 10 bucks
Someone sounds reallllly bitter. Sounds like you wasted a lot of money and did not get a good return on your investment.
Haters are going to hate…That’s all they’ve got.
Mom of a D2 Summit Champion.
Yeah, D2…
Spoken like a true douche parent that lives through their child’s accomplishments.
There is nothing wrong about a child cheering at a D2 gym. Both my daughters do and it’s because I can’t commit to driving them 1 hour each way to get to a larger gym!
Keep in mind, any event that is “regional” or “national and not promoted by your local community is first and foremost a MONEY MAKER! so all rational theory is out the window!
OH,,,, censorship
This just happened cea relight angels got a paid bid to summit and my daughter team has a higher score and we got nothing. This isn’t fair.
~ “A full paid bid is exactly what is implied in the name. Teams who receive these bids get the privilege of competing at Worlds with all of their expenses paid. These expenses include lodging, passes to the Disney Parks, and registration fees to compete at the event.”
Can you please elaborate on who gets their lodging, passes, and registration fees paid for? Is it only the team itself or do family members of the athlete also get free tickets, lodging, and registration paid? I would assume that it is only the team itself, which would mean all the cheerleaders stay in hotel rooms together, maybe with a coach or chaperone for each room. And only the athletes and coaches/gym owners would get free tickets and the rest of the athlete’s family would still have to buy tickets and pay registration fees.
Yes. Only the athletes & coaches stay on the property at ALL STARS. My daughters team won a fullpaid bid last year &went on to win. It was a magical experience for all of us!
D2 cheerleader here. I can’t believe adults are having this argument over a sport that your kids love, and you should be happy for them. Notacheertymezombiedad you are acting like a child wanting a piece of candy his mom won’t give him.
A Real Parent, you’re acting like me when I was 8. My team is going to Summit, and I can’t believe adults are having an argument a 5 year old would have. I’m honestly concerned for your kids judgment the way you might influence them with your foul language.
If a cheer team receives an at large bid is it possible for them to get a paid bid at another bid competition?
Can a Canadian team receive a worlds at large bid at level S6 all girl but then compete at worlds as a level 5? (Age range 12-18)
Edit : their age range is 11-18