Scoring Philosophy/Scoresheets
The All Star Challenge is where sport collides with theater, where athlete meets actor, and coach becomes director! It is our belief that All Star cheerleading and dance, perhaps more than any other sport, is judged not solely upon the sum of its parts, but on the overall entertainment value of superior technical athleticism combined with creative presentation. Achieving this balance is the All Star Challenge.
With that in mind, a scoring system was developed which rewards technical merit and athleticism while, at the same time, scoring with an emphasis on overall entertainment value. Teams are judged by a panel of ten judges over the course of the competition. No scores are dropped. The two performance totals are added together to obtain the team’s two-day total. The first day total is 1/2 and the second day total is 1/2 of the final score.
Score Manual
Score Sheet
To read the philosophy in its entirety please continue below:
The first day total is 1/2 and the second day total is 1/2 of the final score.
Scoring is divided in two parts, the technical score and the presentation score. The All Star Challenge does not assess penalty points for hands down, bobbles or falls on an infraction-by infraction basis. But be assured that the degree of perfection of these skills is measured in two separate categories by the five judges. The quality or technique of the performed skills is worth ten points. The five judges also have ten points with which to take deductions in execution for non-completed skills, major bobbles and falls. These technique and execution categories apply to the entire technical score. The presentation portion of the score sheet leaves the judges more latitude in using their extensive knowledge of the sport, as well as their diverse background, to score the performance. This diversity and latitude is essential in creating a non-biased and truly national scoring system. Dance teams are evaluated in a similar manner in jazz, funk, and pom categories.
By separating technical merit and presentation scores, judges focus on which skills are performed, the quality of the technique, the degree of perfection with which they are performed, and the overall impression or feeling that they are left with just as a routine ends.
Every All Star Challenge judge receives personal training on the point values assigned certain skills and the All Star Challenge method of evaluating and assigning scores to athletic skills. The scoring method used by the All Star Challenge is very thorough and evaluates the performance in many different ways. Due to the detail in the evaluation and to ensure each team the judging panel’s full attention, we have extended the time in between teams to eight minutes. Having three panels alternating gives the All Star Challenge panel more time to evaluate a team’s performance than any other competition company.
To obtain the highest scores at All Star Challenge, as evidenced by our criteria and points assigned, a team must not only perform well but also perform a routine which contains innovative and creative choreography. To encourage and recognize this innovation, All Star Challenge created specialty awards to recognize not only overall best choreography in a division, but to reward each element of a routine and single out the “Best in Show.” These awards are given in the following categories: Best Jumps, Best Dance - Cheer Division, Best Technical Dance, Best Pyramids, Best Partner Stunting, Best Uniform - Cheer Division, Best Uniform Dance, Best Music - Cheer Division, Best Music - Dance, Best Basket Tosses, and even Best Fans. An entire separate judges' panel is brought in to select only these awards. The specialty awards panel strives to narrow each category to several finalists, awarding the coveted crystal trophies after Round 2. The determination of these awards is entirely subjective and based on the personal experiences and background of the specialty panel. Judges are instructed that these awards are not to be handed out lightly, or in a way to make sure that every team goes home with a trophy, but may the best performance win.
Few cheerleading competitions score exactly alike, nor should they. We developed this scoring specifically for All Star cheer and dance and the particular nature of the performance, and we are constantly revising it as the sport evolves. As the only “All Star only” company that was created for the purpose of meeting the unique developing needs of the All Star industry, we believe that the end result generated by our innovative scoring will clearly show which team has best achieved the All Star Challenge!
