Attendance Policy

Season 7

July 2024 – July 2025

Competitive Cheer Teams

 Please read through this attendance policy carefully. This section applies to competitive teams only.  We have high expectations for our competitive cheer teams. Cheerleading is a demanding sport and therefore commitment is highly important. As a team sport, even one athlete missing can greatly impact a training session. Therefore, we want to ensure athletes understand their commitment to the team, and that every athlete must attend all training sessions. If every member in a team of 16 misses one session, then the team will not have a full team practice before their first performance.

We operate a 3 strike policy – if you have 3 or more strikes you will risk losing your place on the team.This year we will be tracking attendance and if you miss a competitive training session you will be contacted.

Attendance – Team Training

  • Athletes may not miss 3 or more training sessions throughout the season; these may not be consecutive
  • An athlete’s space on a team will be reviewed if 3 or more sessions are missed. Reviews will be carried out by the team coach, head coach and programme manager. Athletes will be informed of the outcome of the review as soon as possible. Athletes under review may be withdrawn from the team. 
  • All absences will be recorded as a strike. We may make exceptions in exceptional circumstances. Exceptional circumstances will be reviewed on an individual basis and the club’s decision is final.
  • Exceptional circumstances may include family emergencies, serious illness and graded school exams. Letters from the school must be provided when requesting an excused absence for school activities and must demonstrate that the school activity is compulsory. 
  • If athletes attendance is not in the spirit/nature of the teams commitment level we reserve the right to not permit an absence or remove them from the team or choreography
  • All known absences must be communicated to the club at the start of the season, or as early as possible. We require a minimum of 4 weeks notice.
  • Athletes may not miss ANY competitive team training sessions in the ‘Red Zone’ (the 2 weeks of training leading up to a competition). Please note if the competition falls close to a holiday, these compulsory training sessions may be prior to the holiday break
  • Absences should not be posted in team Whatsapp chats, they must be communicated to your team coach and emailed to hello@ultimate-cheer.co.uk

In the case of illness/unexpected absence we require a minimum of 12 hours notice (unless there is an exceptional circumstance). If this is not adhered to, the athlete will receive a strike. Athletes MUST NOT attend training if they are deemed contagious.

  • Ultimate Cheer competitive athletes are not allowed to train or compete on other cheerleading competition teams (exception: school and university teams – please let us know if you are on a school/university team)

Attendance – Additional Classes

  • All U18’s are required to attend a weekly tumble class (exceptions may be granted in some cases and should be discussed with hello@ultimate-cheer.co.uk)
  • All Flyers and Jack Attack members are required to attend a weekly Jumps and Flexibility Class
  • Whilst we do not apply our 3 strikes policy to these classes, high attendance is still expected. Athletes with low attendance at required additional classes may risk losing their place on their competitive team. The Team Coach, Head Coach and Programme Manager will review athletes with low attendance at these classes and decide if they will retain their place on the team.
  • Flyers who do not regularly attend Jumps and Flexibility classes may be moved to a different position or lose their place on the team. 

Lateness 

Punctuality for class is also important within cheerleading. We need to ensure all athletes warm up properly to ensure a safe training session and season at UC. We use a late strike policy – if you/your athlete is late for a training session then they will receive a late strike. 3 late strikes will equal 1 absence strike. 

If lateness continues to be an issue then the club retains the right to remove the athlete from the team.

Non Competitive Teams

We do not employ the above strike system for non-competitive teams or development classes, however we encourage high attendance to ensure that athletes are progressing with their skills. Lateness should also be avoided to ensure classes are not disrupted.