DCCA Membership Meeting

November 22, 2015

Secretary’s Minutes

Meeting called to order on November 22, 2015 at 1:15 pm by Whitney Reed-Pierson.

In Attendance: 

Whitney Reed-Pierson – Smyrna High School

Jean Avery – Christiana School District

Danielle Dixon – Individual

Jack Speakman – St Marks High School

Rhiannon Salsman – Postlethwait Middle School

Ben Hawkins – Delaware Edge

Dianne Prost - Individual

Jen Carpenter – Polytech High School

Marie Speakman – St Marks High School

Alison Scheidly – St Marks High School

Kennedy Smith – St Marks High School

Charon Dagley – Dover High School

Samantha Welch – Dover High School

Shauntae Ford – Woodbridge PRIDE

Shawanda Garrison – Woodbridge PRIDE

Zakiya Armwood – Woodbridge High School

Kera Sampson – Woodbridge High School

Shaunay Duncan – Woodbridge PRIDE
Ann Gahan – MOTYFCL

Robin Smith – Campus Community

Michele Godwin – Capital Cheer Elite

Chelsea Thomson – Capital Cheer Elite

Bri Morris – Capital Cheer Elite

Maria Catalina – Padua Academy

Amy Hoff – Tri-State Athletics

Vetra Evans – Individual

1. Morelli – Sussex Central High School

New Business:

• Introduction of New Members:
  • All members introduced themselves, their organization, and their position on the board, if applicable.
• Score Sheet & Rubrics:
  • Danielle Dixon held a Rules & Regulations meeting on November 4, 2015 to review and propose the score sheets & rubrics for the 2015-2016 season. The suggested score sheets & rubrics were presented to the Board of Directors and were approved on November 18, 2015.
    • All Star, Rec, & All Star Prep follow the unified score sheets as found through USASF, Varsity, Epic, & Jam.
    • College & Game Day score sheets did not change.
    • The Pom & Jazz categories have been elimated. The Hip Hop score sheet has been updated to match the current NDA score sheet.
    • CYM/Elementary/Middle School/High School score sheets have made 2 small changes from last year. Difficulty was 4-9 points and technique was 1 point, this year difficulty will be 3-8 points and technique will be 2 points.
    • Safety deduction sheet was updated to match the current deduction sheet as found through Varsity, Epic, & Jam.
    • All score sheets & rubrics will be posted on the website on Monday and sent to the printer for the qualifier hosts.
  • 2016 Competition Schedule:
    • The competition schedule and all registration packets have been posted on the website.
    • Please submit paperwork and payments, in full, in a timely manner to help the hosts take care of paperwork before the event.
  • 2015-2016 General Membership Meeting Schedule:
    • All locations have been confirmed.
    • January 17, 2016 – Dover Public Library, Dover, 130pm
    • May 15, 2016 – Greene Turtle, Lewes, 12pm – nominations for board positions
    • August 7, 2016 – Coaches Conference, Dover Downs, Dover – voting for open board positions
  • Concussions:
    • Cheerleading is one of the top sports for concussions. Coaches should be aware of the symptoms. Send directly to the trainer if the cheerleader is showing the symptoms, or to the hospital if no trainer is available. All high schools should be doing impact testing to establish baselines for your athletes. If you aren’t sure, ask your AD. There is a facility in Middletown that has advanced concussion treatment, Gyrostim. More information will be emailed to the coaches.
  • Scholarship Packet:
    • Scholarship packet is available and due to Rhiannon Salsman by February 19^th. This year there will be 4 awards given and they will be scored solely on skill. Rhiannon has sent these packets to the schools. They will be judged on Saturday night before states by the states judges to avoid any impropriety.
    • We need to discuss at the next board meeting where Rec cheerleaders would apply for the scholarship. Would they apply in the all-star category or high school?
  • Sportsmanship:
    • Rhiannon Salsman presented the sportsmanship clause. Coaches need to remind their parents, spectators, & athletes that their behavior during events could result in a score sheet penalty or monetary penalty, and could even lead to their dismissal from DCCA.
    • Please be aware of your social media activity, as well. Always promote positive behavior from your organization, regardless of interactions with other organizations.
    • Some schools have a social media clause in their student handbook. If not, you may consider instituting a similar policy for your team and parents.
  • Good of the Cause: Any other suggestions/questions/concerns from the membership:
    • Amy Hoff asked about the qualifier packet and review policy for scoring. For this season, the judges decisions are final. There will not be any review of the score sheets or videos with the judges.
    • Amy suggested making score sheets available immediately after performances, instead of after awards, so coaches can review prior to awards.
    • The board and the Rules & Regs committee have discussed several different review processes and scoring issues. Unfortunately, a lot of the solutions, including video playback and audio recording, cost money and the board does not want to put additional requirements on the hosts. The qualifiers are fundraisers for that organization and are held to make a profit. All hosts do the best they can to find qualified judges, but sometimes mistakes are made.
    • If a host finds that a certain judge is scoring in the wrong ranges, or making other mistakes, please let the board know so that we can make sure they do not judge future events.
  • Board Meetings: Board meetings are open to the general membership. Meetings will be held the Third Wednesday of every month at Smyrna High School at 630pm. Please let Whitney Reed know if you are planning on attending so she can plan for dinner and give access to the building. The building is locked after hours. Anyone attending the meetings will need to park out front in front of the main entrance and call Whitney when they arrive. Upcoming Board Meetings: 12/15/15, 1/12/16, 2/16/16
  • Next General Membership Meeting: January 17, 2016 at the Dover Public Library in Dover. Lunch at 130pm, Meeting at 2pm.
  • Whitney Reed-Pierson motioned to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Danielle Dixon. Meeting was adjourned @ 2:20 pm.