What a stupid way to dumb down the state championships. 
When is GHSA going to figure out that you can't make regional cheerleading alignments mirror football alignments. If performance is somewhat the same as this year, the placement of the teams in 7 & 3 AAAA means that you'll leave 1/2 of the top 10 teams in the state sitting at home next year. A look at your scores for 5A & 4A vs. the new alignments should prove that easily.
Looking at region 3AAAA. . . .how many state contenders do you see there? Whitewater, McIntosh, Starr's Mill and Fayette Co. all within 20 minutes of those schools and they now have Union Grove, Ola, Upson Lee and Jones Co in their region. . . along with Northgate? Why aren't these Fayette Co, & Clayton Co. teams competing with more teams within their geographic area? What are the GHSA officials thinking? Same thing for Region 7. . what is the sense of putting the Hooch and John's Creek in with Woodland? Then look at Regions 4, 5, & 6 and their levels of competition/success at state. . . What's up with this?
Are we arranging regions so that teams that never seem to make it to state due to lack of performance ability get there at expense of those programs who year in and year out perform at the highest levels?
State Championships are supposed to be a competition to determine the best. Also, Regional competition are supposed to give the cream of the crop their tickets for the state competition. If you look at the regions, you'll see that we're going to distort the level of competition between the cream of the crop and those squads who would have not made state to begin with if our regions were balance properly. And remember, Regional wins don't guarantee a state winner. . . (ask Northgate where they placed at regionals in 2008). We could even have weaker regions have their cream stay home due to those infamous "judgement" calls on inversions that may or may not be there. If alignments remain the same, we will truly see not only a weak state championship next year, but a mass outcry as to the weak judging that has constantly been a complaint of those who attend competitions throughout the state year after year.
It's a well know fact that teams with access to all-star programs and tumbling facilities in the Metro Atlanta area and other "metropolitan" areas produce teams with more diversified performance components than many in more rural teams in the state. This doesn't belittle rural schools, it just confirms that to excel to the highest levels, you have an advantage when you have the ability to train more extensively. We should not have the teams that excel being handicapped by a dead wrong system. GHSA needs a MAJOR OVERHAUL in their processes to determine regional alignments in all sports. There is nothing that should mandate 1 sport being handcuffed by another just because of football's revenue base.
COACHES. . . You should all wearing out your emails to GHSA as a group through your coaching association to push through changes to keep our sport as competitive as it has grown to be. DEMAND changes to these regions.
GHSA. . . .Join the rest of us in the new century by deciding to quit trying put all the square pegs in to the oval football formula. Adjust these regions NOW!
SEAN. . . You're travel schedule should be easier at next year. . . you will be able to go back and forth between 3 & 7 AAAA to see the best in the state. . . because once you get to Columbus, you'll be missing 1/3 - 1/2 of the top teams in the state. At least you'll finally get to see all the good Columbus area teams vs. 1/2 of the truly good teams at state next year.
