Everything You Want to Know About Bids

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The All Star Cheer world is full of conversations about bids. Just about everyone wants a “bid” to something. But what is a bid? What is a bid event? How do you get a bid? Why is it important? Is it important? We’re talking through all of it today. Hit “play” in the podcast above to hear my (nonexpert) explanation.

WHAT IS A BID?

 A bid is an offer or invitation to compete at an elite cheer event, usually at the end of the season. We call most bid events, post-season events. Technically the All Star cheer season ends sometime in April, and these post-season events happen in late April or early May. Most of these events serve as a grand finale to your team’s season, but you have to be invited via a “bid” to compete in any of these events.

WHAT IS A BID EVENT?

So what are the bid events? Especially as our sport gets older and diversifies, there are always end-of-season bid events being added, and new opportunities to feel special at this “grand finale.” As of now, all the bid events are as follows:

• The Cheerleading Worlds
• The Summit/International Summit
• The D2 Summit
• The Regional Summit
• The Youth Summit
• The One
• The All Star World Championship
• The US Finals – honorable mention. Anyone can register for this event, but teams can earn the chance for a “Golden Ticket,” which pays their registration fees.

If you tune into the podcast episode above, you will hear me explain the differences between The Summit, The Youth Summit, the D2 Summit, and The Regional Summit! Yup – they’re all different.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BIDS?

There are many types of bids for many different events. It really depends on which brand, or “circuit” you’re competing in. There are Varisy-hosted events, events associated with The Open Championship Series, WSA, etc.

Let’s start with the types of bids your team can get to The Summit:

• Wild Card: a Wild Card Bid qualifies you to compete in the preliminary round of The Summit. Only teams with a Wild Card bid compete in this round.
• At Large: The At Large Bid qualifies you to skip prelims and compete in the semi-final round.
• Partial Paid: This means you get the chance to compete in the semi-final round and the host organization will pay for a portion of each athlete’s registration fee.
• Paid Bid: The most prestigious type of bid, and the most difficult to earn, the Paid Bid means that your team’s registration fees will be covered by the host organization.

There are all kinds of asterisks and qualifying things associated, especially with paid bids and crossovers but those are the different types of bids that you can get to The Summit.

If you’re trying to get a bid to The Cheerleading Worlds, that’s a little different because they don’t have a wild card round, so there are no Wild Card bids. There are only At Large, Partial Paid, and Paid bids for The Cheerleading Worlds. The rounds work similarly in that there’s a semi-final round and a finals round, but there is no preliminary round.

Most of the other bid events I listed fall in line with those types of bids.

CAN YOU COMPETE AT MULTIPLE BID EVENTS?

In short, yes you can. Team and athletes can compete at multiple bid events depending on their division, but it’s important to remember that most of these happen in Florida during the same time of the year, so competing at multiple events requires a long-term stay in Florida.

HOW DO YOU GET A BID?

Okay, I have to add this caveat: this process has changed so many times over the years, especially for The Summit. Simply put, your best bet to get a bid is to win your division. The best way to get a paid bid is to get the highest score in the competition. There are so many variables to this, especially as you get later into the season, but here is a list of competitions, the types of bids being awarded at each one, and how Varsity plans to award the bids.

HOW DO YOU GET A BID TO THE CHEERLEADING WORLDS?

The Cheerleading Worlds is an event reserved for Senior level 6 and up. I don’t wanna call them easier to get, but there are fewer divisions competing for those bids. For events like The Summit and The All Star World Championship, every team in levels one through five, and some level six teams are competing for bids. Right now, there are only 14 divisions in The Cheerleading Worlds competition. Fewer worlds bids are given, but the goal of being a Worlds team is to get to go to The Cheerleading Worlds.

HOW DO YOU GET A BID TO THE ALL STAR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP?

To get a bid to the All Star World Championship (different from The Cheerleading Worlds), you have to attend, be bid eligible, and declare your bid at one of their events. These bid events include Revolution, Redline, Rockstar, the Gold Rush series, Celebrity Championships, and others.

ARE BID EVENTS IMPORTANT?

I have been to Summit several times with my daughter and her teams over the years. I’ve also been to The One and The Cheerleading Worlds. Being at each one is special and carries its own experience. But I do not believe that a post-season bid event should be the end-all-be-all for teams on level 1-5. I think that w we are doing our kids a disservice and we are missing out on the journey if all we do is chase bids.

It’s so important to enjoy the journey. I want to make sure that for all the time, all the effort, and all the money that we as a family are spending on cheer, that every competition and every moment is being enjoyed, and that we celebrate every step along the way.

Now, do I think that it’s different for those trying to make it to The Cheerleading Worlds, for those senior level six and UP teams? Yes, I do. I think that if you’re gonna be on a World’s team, you gotta go for the World’s bid. You’ve got to get the experience to compete at Worlds. It doesn’t mean that you don’t enjoy those other events along the way, because what are you even doing if you don’t enjoy competing at events throughout the season?

Many times, though, Worlds is the last “hurrah” for athletes, and I think they deserve that experience.

So that’s my bid soap box. It’s not the end all be all, but that’s how it works. That’s what people are talking about when they’re talking about bids. That’s why some cheer moms have a list of teams who already have Summit bids at competitions. If you are in the running for a bid, I wish you all the luck. I am here cheering you on and supporting you and hope to see you at a post-season event this season!

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Here are all the sources I pulled from for this episode!

http://www.iasfworlds.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/REVISED-2022_2023-IASF-CHEER-AGE-GRID-.pdf

https://usasfmain.s3.amazonaws.com/Rules/USASF_Cheer_AgeGrid_22-23.pdf

https://cheertheory.com/summit-bids/

https://cheertheory.com/the-cheerleading-worlds-2022-bid-winners/

https://www.varsity.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/VAS_Summit_InfoGuide_23.pdf

https://theallstarworldchampionship.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ASWC-Information-Packet.pdf