At The Mat, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn and love the sport of cheerleading. The process of training should be fun! However, practices are hard work and hard work is not always fun. The following expectations must be followed in order to get the most out of your experience and be the best you can be. Team Placements Team Placements for the MatPack All-Stars will be held on May 14th and 15th from 6-7:30. Announcements will be made no later than 8:00 AM on the 16th. The cost of tryouts is $25. You will receive a special MatPack t-shirt that will be worn on Commitment Day and throughout the year for some practices and community events. You must pay on the first day of tryouts in order to be eligible for a team. Coaching staff will evaluate each athlete on tumbling difficulty and execution, athleticism, showmanship, willingness to accept instruction, stunting position and jump technique. Commitment Day is Thursday, May 17th from 5:30-7:30. This is where so many exciting things happen and you finalize your decision to become part of our family. We will be doing practice wear fittings, as well. It is at this time you will receive and turn in your Financial Agreement and Credit Card Authorization Forms and the I Understand form. You will also be making your Commitment Fee payment on this day. All families are required to keep a current credit card on file during the duration of the season. As long as your invoice is paid in full by the 15th of each month, the credit card is never run. Failure to show up to commitment day will result in you forfeiting your spot on the 2018-2019 All-star Cheer Teams and that spot will be filled by the next name. If you absolutely are unable to make commitment day but would like to accept your spot, please email the gym at office@meetmeatthemat.com PRIOR to Commitment Day. Ages and Levels We will decide our teams based on ages, levels, and the number of the athletes that come to tryouts. These ages and divisions are set by USASF and we cannot make ANY exceptions, even if we want. The age of the competitor as of August 31, 2018 will be the age used for competition purposes throughout the 2018-2019 season for all divisions. Tiny: 3-6 years old Mini: 5-8 years old Youth: 6-11 years old Junior: 8-14 years old Senior: 11-18 years old The age of the competitor as of August 31, 2017 will be the age used for competition purposes throughout the 2017-2018 season for all divisions. Levels are determined by skill. See the MatPack Menu attached for a better idea of those skills.
Financial Commitment Unfortunately, this sport is expensive. Although it s absolutely worth it, it is expensive. New for 2018: We will have ALL-INCLUSIVE pricing this season. It will be very helpful to you for budgeting and fundraising purposes. You know exactly what you re going to pay every month and you know exactly when it is due. Monthly fees include: Gym Dues 1 Regular Tumbling Class All Open Gyms Competition Fees Choreography Camp Competition Music Coaches Fees The monthly fee does not include: USASF Membership Fee ($30) Post-Season Competition Fees (Summit, US Finals) if bids are received Uniform Costs (EXCEPTION: MINIS AND TINYS) Until final competition dates and fees are released and choreography camps are confirmed, this is just an estimate. I feel that it is a very close estimate, however. TINY TEAMS Monthly All-Inclusive Price-- $85 Uniform cost is included. MINI TEAMS Monthly All-Inclusive Price-- $105 Uniform cost is included. YOUTH, JUNIOR, & SENIOR TEAMS Monthly All-Inclusive Price-- $150 Uniform Costs-- $260 Uniform Accessories-- $260 Uniform and Accessories may be paid in full or divided among 5 months, May-September. If you plan on buying a new uniform, your payment will be $104 per month for 5 months. If you are planning on trying to buy a used uniform, your payment will be $52 per month until the sale. YOUR UNIFORM MUST BE PAID IN FULL BY SEPTEMBER 1ST OR YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO COMPETE IN THE FIRST COMPETITION. If you cheered the previous year or bought used items from a former cheerleader, you will only have to pay the monthly all-inclusive price.
There will be a commitment fee in order to reserve your spot on the team. This fee covers some of the things we have to pay for almost immediately (Practice wear, camp, music ) This will include your JUNE Pack Pass. After paying the commitment fee, you will not begin monthly payments until July. Tiny-- $150 Mini-- $200 Youth, Juniors, Seniors-- $300 There will be a fundraising committee in charge of running and organizing fundraisers. If you actively participate in fundraisers, you can very easily cover most or all of your expenses. Practices All-Star cheerleading requires a great deal of commitment from every athlete, parent and coach. Athletes are expected to attend EVERY team practice. Practices may be changed or added at any time during the competitive season. It is your responsibility to keep up with changes in times and days. Tardiness is defined as five (5) or more minutes late to practice. You should arrive early enough to be completely prepared to go on the floor at your scheduled practice time. If your child is late, they will be required to stay after practice for extra conditioning. Starting August 1st, excessive tardiness will jeopardize an athlete s position on the team. Each team practices 2-3 times per week, with the exception of the Mini and Tiny team. They will practice 1-2 times per week. The coaching staff reserves the right to alter practice hours if necessary and reserves the right to close practices at any time for any reason. Closed practice allows the coaches and athletes to focus on their routine without distractions from observers. Closed practice means that no parent, affiliate, sibling, associate, and family of that child may be inside of the facility at any time during the duration of practice. Each athlete must follow the practice dress code. Assigned practice clothes must be worn at all practices. Your coach will tell you what practice wear you should wear at each practice. This helps your coach see the team as one unit. Practice Dress Code NO JEWELRY! Hair must be worn in a high ponytail with practice bow. Fingernails must be kept athletic short. Cheer Shoes Mandatory Camps Skills Camp: June 16th from 9:00 AM-3:00 PM with a 1 hour lunch break Precision. Unity. Repetition. Execution. The score sheet is so heavily focused on technique that our team of experts created a camp for that very reason. P.U.R.E. Technique camps are designed to build confidence and technique in your athletes that you can continue to build on throughout the season.
Our schedule for the day includes stunt technique, basket technique, jump technique, and motion technique. You MUST be at skills camp in order to be on the team. This is very important. If this date is a problem, see Coach Mal ASAP. Choreography Camp: Week of July 16th requested. Will confirm ASAP. Competitions Because USASF and Varsity have not released the dates for 2018-2019 season yet, we do not have a final competition schedule. We will finalize the list ASAP. At competitions, you are representing our company as a whole and bad sportsmanship will not be tolerated. Competition etiquette has always been a pet peeve of mine and while wearing MatPack colors, I ask that you always follow that etiquette.