USASF Professional Responsibility Code 2019-2020 9.0 | Page 5

All Star Cheer and Dance can be many things to many people. By legal definition All Star Cheer and Dance is not considered an official sport. Therefore, those affiliated with All Star Cheer and Dance operate businesses that offer as their product “competitive cheer and dance” to their clients. For the athlete it is a sport, for the Program Owners and Event Producers it is a business. For some people it is a way to get physical exercise, to participate in a unique hobby, and a recreational activity with all the social aspects to it; seeing friends each week and making new ones. To many it is an avenue for personal development teaching team dynamics and lifelong lessons through the highs and lows of competition. Any time you create an environment with winners, losers, titles and prize money, you can expect that environment to become vigorously competitive. When the participants are contending to achieve the highest recognition on the National or Worlds level, everything becomes much more intense. This intensity extends far beyond the brief time the athlete is competing. It extends to include all the activities of All Star Cheer and Dance: training, coaching, parents, teams, Program Owners, and all the expenses required to compete at a higher level. All Star Cheer and Dance can become very serious business when it reaches this level. It requires not only a time and training commitment but a financial commitment as well. Athletes (and parents) must invest money into the required facilities, entry fees for competitions, travel expenses for out of town events, competition dues and fees for more frequent and advanced training by the coach. Coaches and owners also invest a lot of time and energy into training these more advanced athletes as well as continually developing other athletes to enhance and improve the entire program. As an All Star Program grows and becomes more competitive, by necessity, they rise to the level of a business operation. How that business is conducted becomes very important. Many questions must be asked of oneself, “Is it business first, or does the sport come first?” “Is the bottom line of winning and success, more important than how that is achieved?” “Do personal relationships and loyalties between coaches, athletes and their families take second place to achieving success?” This is where personal ethics come into play. There is a huge distinction between “legal” and “ethical”. “Legal” is a matter of law. “Ethics” are a code of conduct based on personal values and beliefs. Therefore, someone may do something which is “legal” yet “unethical”. Not surprisingly, these opposing values have caused, and will always cause, a measure of conflict. The USASF is the governing authority for All Star Cheer and Dance which has clearly defined the rules and regulations for competition. The USASF Disciplinary Committee oversees any violation of the PRC and The Connection provides the members who serve on the Disciplinary Committee to preserve and protect the integrity of the rules. However, there has not been a clear definition of the ethical standards applicable to the business side of All Star Cheer and Dance. GENERAL PRINCIPLE GUIDELINES There are instances when people, including our members, will attempt to justify what could be considered questionable business practices as being proper since they are doing nothing “illegal”. However, if accepted ethical standards are being violated, it creates discord in the All Star community. Such practices lead down a slippery slope to soiled reputations, disunity, distrust, broken relationships, not to mention emotionally and financially injured people. In order to encourage ethical business practices, the All Star community must define what we collectively believe to be ethical standards. 5