MPA: Rams aren’t going Team believes scoring mistake foiled state berth

The Bangor High cheerleading team will likely be out of the Class A state championships despite what the coach and several parents claim to have been a scoring mistake at Saturday’s Eastern Maine Class A championships.

The Bangor group submitted several materials to the Maine Principals’ Association as coach Stephanie Crane contends the Rams were only given credit for six tumblers in their routine at the Augusta Civic Center although they actually had eight. Therefore, she added, Bangor was given the incorrect tumbling score which may have kept them from qualifying for the state finals on Feb. 10.

An MPA official said Monday afternoon the team has little recourse because of the guidelines in place.

“The bottom line is, there is no appeals process,” said Larry LaBrie, an MPA assistant executive director and the staff liaison to the MPA cheerleading committee. “They are not going.”

Guideline No. 11 of the 2007 tournament rules states the “decision of the officials will be FINAL and not subject to appeal.”

Crane said several Bangor parents met Sunday and will continue to appeal to the MPA, including a request that the Rams be a seventh team at the Class A competition. Only six teams from each region advance to states.

The Bangor group mailed Monday a letter and videotape of the team’s performance to the MPA in Augusta.

“We’re still going to fight it,” Crane said. “We’ll push it until Feb. 10 if we have to. … We’re pretty sure it’s not going to happen. We just want to call attention to the problem.”

Bangor isn’t asking to replace a team that has advanced, Crane emphasized, but to be added to the field.

The scoring mistake, Crane said, came about Saturday afternoon after the Eastern Maine Class A competition when the judges’ score sheets gave Bangor credit for six tumblers when the Rams claim they actually had eight.

The difference in two more tumblers can move a team into a different scoring level, which means more points. The difference might have put Bangor into the top six instead of seventh.

Crane said Bangor’s previous tumbling scores were in the higher range, from 4 to 7.9 points, to reflect the number of tumblers and the level of difficulty, including a tumbler who performs a back handspring with a full twist layout. The Rams scored 3s Saturday, which Crane said is in the level of cheerleaders performing a simpler forward roll.

Bangor scored 117.7 points Saturday. Brunswick, which finished sixth, scored a 120.9.

In two previous competitions this fall, the Rams weren’t lower than a 125.4.

Cheerleading coaches have about five minutes to examine the score sheets from the judges after the competition and question any scoring discrepancies. Crane said she was still looking over her sheet Saturday when the coaches, judges, and MPA officials filtered out of the room in which the group met.

She realized there was a mistake, Crane said, but by the time she found an MPA official, the scores were already being read by the announcer.

LaBrie said the cheerleading judge who marked the Rams as having six tumblers stood by the score and maintained there were six Bangor tumblers.

At least once in the recent history of the cheerleading state championships a team has been allowed to compete after a scoring mistake. In 1999, Ellsworth received a five-point deduction in a preliminary-round performance at the EM regionals because a cheerleader was thought to be wearing barrettes, which are illegal. The cheerleader was in fact wearing bobby pins, which are allowed.

Although they didn’t qualify for the finals because of the deduction, meet officials decided before the finals to allow the Eagles to compete in the finals. Ellsworth finished fifth – some of its team members had left the Bangor Auditorium early due to a forecast of bad weather – but the MPA’s cheerleading committee decided later in the week to let Ellsworth compete in the state meet.

Bangor High athletic director Steve Vanidestine spoke with LaBrie Monday. He also met with group of parents of Ram cheerleaders.

“It’s very disappointing for our girls,” Vanidestine said. “I told the parents I would do what I could do, but I don’t know how many avenues we have. It’s kind of unfortunate. … Sometimes [officials] miss something, whether it’s a call or something like this. It’s part of the game. If you’re dealing with sports, these things happen.”

Crane said the team is realistic and knows there is little chance the MPA will let the Rams perform at states.

“They know it was nothing they did in their performance and it was a mistake,” she said. “But we’ve told them not to get their hopes up.”