USASF Athlete Requirements 2014-2015

The US All Star Federation (USASF), a not for profit organization, was founded in 2003 with the core principle of making all-star a safer sport by establishing fair and consistent rules and competition standards.

The USASF mission is as follows:

To support and enrich the lives of our All Star athletes and members. We provide consistent rules, strive for a safe environment for our athletes, drive competitive excellence, and promote a positive image for the sport.

The USASF is focused on athletes first. They credential coaches, certify safety judges, sanction events and maintain safety guidelines; all to provide the safest possible environment for cheer and dance athletes to train and compete.

A new, comprehensive and streamlined Athlete Membership program begins with the 2014-15 membership season that will support the key programs of the USASF and our focus on athlete safety, including:

• Confirming qualified coaches through credentialing and posting passing results of youth sport standard background checks.
• Ensuring that competitions meet best safety practices through event sanctioning.
• Administering safety guidelines that protect athletes at every age and ability level.
• Providing accident and catastrophic insurance coverage at USASF Sanctioned Events and in member gyms. A full summary of this policy, along with eligibility and definitions, can be found at: http://www.usasf.net/members/gym_studios/cat_ins_plan/
• Promoting a positive image for All Star.

The annual Athlete Membership fee is $30 for all athletes.

The Athlete Membership is required for all athletes to compete at USASF sanctioned events. It will help ensure that all athletes have proper documentation on file for safety and age verification purposes, as well as regulate and provide a safe competition environment, and insurance coverage should a need arise. This membership requirement is an important step in fulfilling the overall mission of the USASF with the best interest of the athletes in mind, first and foremost.

Next we will show a comparison of similar membership fees to various Youth Sports organizations.

While the USASF’s Athlete Membership fee is new to the world of all-star cheerleading, this is not new to youth sports in general at all.  When examined, this $30 provides the member athlete access to a $2,000,000 catastrophic insurance policy covering injury during participation in a USASF-sanctioned event and at a USASF sanctioned gym. 

When comparing this to other youth sports organizations, it was found that not only was this a comparable action, but it was something that not all youth sports organizations offer their members as a benefit.  The table below shows comparisons and notes about each youth sports organization examined.

United States All Star Federation (USASF):  Sport – all-star cheerleading and dance; Annual Fee:  $30; What is Covered:  Athlete Identification, Eligible to participate in SANCTIONED events hosted by USASF Member Event Producers, $50,000 Excess Accident Medical Insurance NOTE: Coverage only applies to: USASF Sanctioned Competitions/On-site Practices & Supervised Practices/Instruction in Member Gyms, $2 Million Catastrophic Accident Insurance NOTE: Coverage only applies to: USASF Sanctioned Competitions/On-site Practices & Supervised Practices/Instruction in Member Gyms, Eligible to apply for USASF Scholarships, Eligible to participate in The Cheerleading Worlds or The Dance Worlds, Annual Magazine: Worlds Commemorative Issue presented by Inside Cheerleading Magazine (must provide current home mailing address in athlete profile to receive); Number of Members:  Est. 100,000 + athletes.

Little League International:  Sport – baseball and softball; Annual Fee:  $15; What is Covered:  Injury insurance (amount not specified); Number of Members:  2.6 million in all 50 states and in 75 countries.

USA Hockey:  Sport – hockey; Annual Fee:  $40; What is Covered:  Offers membership in an organization that sends athletes to Olympics, etc., Subscription to USA Hockey Magazine, and “World-class insurance coverage to provide peace-of-mind for all involved in the sport.” (does not specify insurance unless individual registers); Number of Members:  306,000 in 2013.

Youth Basketball of America (YBOA):  Sport – basketball; Annual Fee:  $10; What is Covered:  No insurance is offered; each sanctioned league of organization has to carry own liability insurance; Number of Members:  Close to 1 million.

Pop Warner Football:  Sport – football; Annual Fee:  $0; What is Covered:  No insurance offered to its members; Number of Members:  Over 425,000 in 44 states.

US Youth Soccer Association (USYSA):  Sport – soccer; Annual Fee:  $0; What is Covered:  No insurance offered to its members; Number of Members:  Over 3 million participants in all 50 states.

In examining “pool insurance policies”, the cost is dependent on the number of members in the pool.  Those getting the catastrophic insurance are benefitting by paying a fee for the premium of the policy.  This is how Worker’s Comp Insurance works if the business is too small to have its own policy – they go into a “pool” to afford the insurance, and the premium is dependent on the number of businesses in the pool. 

Resources

www.usasf.net
www.littleleague.org
www.usahockey.com
www.yboa.org
www.usyouthsoccer.org
www.popwarner.com