Guess what? Another lawsuit đŤ¨
New Varsity lawsuit, Andyâs channel is back & have you seen these AI-generated uniforms?
Thatâs right, we made it 2 weeks without a new Varsity lawsuit⌠We'll tell you all about the newest lawsuit and all the other interesting news from the week - just like always! đ
In todayâs newsletter:
New lawsuit against Varsity, USASF & others
Andy Simonâs YouTube channel is back
Gym showcase dates
AI-generated cheer uniforms
Latest results & upcoming competitions
& more!
New lawsuit against Varsity, USASF & others
Another week, another lawsuit⌠(See our coverage of previous ones here) Whoâs surprised?
Who filed the lawsuit? the âOpen Cheer & Dance Championship Seriesâ (owner of the Open Championship Series), âThe Open Cheer and Danceâ (hosts the annual Allstar World Championship) & âDeep South Cheerâ.
Who is it against? Varsity, the USASF, IASF, ICU & USA Cheer. Learn more about those organizations here: The USASF, IASF & ICU - What Are They and Whatâs the Difference?
Why? They're accusing these companies/organizations, especially Varsity, of having a monopoly on cheerleading and using unfair tactics to maintain their power.
What tactics, you ask? The lawsuit states things like:
âVarsity controls the All Star Cheer industry.â (âŚ) âOver several decades, Varsity acquired about 90% of All Star Cheer competitions by buying up any actual or potential rivals that could possibly threaten its dominance in the All Star competition market.â
âIn addition, to further gain control, Varsity gave cash rebates to All Star gyms based on how many Varsity competitions they attended and how much apparel they bought. Varsity also used exclusionary contracts with All Star gyms.â
âWhile the USASF and IASF hold themselves out as independent ânot for profitâ corporations designed to help all their members, USASF and IASF favor Varsity and have taken actions to help Varsity controls the majority of competitions awarding bids to championship competitions.â
âIn an effort to destroy the Open Seriesâ and Open Cheerâs All Star competitions
and championships, Defendants (âŚ) agreed to boycott (a) the Allstar World Championship; (b) Open Cheer and the Open Series (because of their affiliation with the Allstar World Championship); and (c) any other event producer that produces qualifying events for the Allstar World Championship, such as Deep South.â
âTo further the boycott, the governing bodies began threatening their members and consumers with punitive measures if they chose to do business with Open Series and Open Cheer. For example, USASF began sending letters to event producer members of the organization that chose to do business with Open Cheer, threatening to kick any event producer out of the USASF if it did not stop doing business with Open Cheer. If an event producer continued trying do business with both Varsity and Open Cheer, then there would be severe consequences. An event producer would lose its ability to award bids to major championships and be unable to fairly compete against other event producers.â
And a lot more, which you can find by reading the full lawsuit document here.
Andy Simonâs YouTube channel is back
Back in June this year, the popular YouTube channel was deleted after the USASF made copyright claims, which we wrote about in this newsletter.
We have amazing news because the channel is now back!
Under some specific conditions though:
Did you know we have interviewed Andy? Learn about his experience at Cheer Athletics, behind the scenes of YouTube & much more by clicking here.
Gym showcase dates
Showcase season is almost here đ See our list of dates + add more ones here: 2023-2024 Cheerleading Season Showcase Dates
đď¸ OTHER NEWS & LINKS
AI-generated uniforms have taken over Twitter đ¤ Here are some popular ones!
Which one is your favorite?
What Is the Large Senior Curse in Cheerleading? (Old + New One)
A journey into the world of cheerleading curses!
VIDEO: 3 minutes of jaw-dropping cheerleading partner stunts
Partner stunts are...insane!
Did we miss something important or fun (from anywhere in the world)? Reply to this email & we'll include it next time!
đ COMPETITIONS
LATEST RESULTS & BIDS:
AASCF NSW Spring Carnival (Australia) & ICU Cheerleading World Cup (Seoul, South Korea).
UPCOMING COMPETITIONS:
Spirit Championships Best of the Bay (Florida), AASCF QLD Spring Carnival (Australia), JAMfest Japan - Fall (Japan) & UCA Colorado Regional (Colorado).
We can't cover all competitions - for more recent results and bids, we suggest CheerTheory & Varsity TV (not sponsored).
đŚ TEAM OF THE WEEK: Peak Sharks
IOC5 â Cheer Sport Sharks Newfoundland â Newfoundland (Canada)
Achievements: They received an At large bid to Worlds last season
Fun fact: We only have 2 rookies on the team this season
Goal for the season: To make finals at Worlds!
We want to feature your team! Click here to fill out the form & be featured in a future newsletter.
đ POLL OF THE WEEK:
Have more thoughts about this? Share in the comments below!
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