USA Cheer Privacy Policy

Safeguarding Our Members’ Privacy
Your privacy is very important to Usacheer.org (USA Cheer). This Privacy Policy spells out our commitment to respecting the privacy of Usacheer.org users. USA Cheer reserves the right to change this policy, and we will notify you of any changes.

Collection of Information
Collection of information is usually grouped into two categories: personally identifiable information and so-called ‘aggregate’ information. Personally identifiable information is any information in USA Cheer’s possession that is associated with a specific user of our site (such as a name or address) and information we collect about how individual visitors use our site (such as the fact that a visitor likes entertainment news or has purchased certain merchandise). It does not include aggregate information, which is general demographic information (such as the total number of visitors who are more than 35 years old).

Information from Affiliates and Non-Affiliated Third Parties
We may also obtain information about you, such as demographic information, from various third parties, such as business partners, marketers, researchers, analysts, and other parties that we may attribute to you based on your assignment to certain statistical groups. We use this information to supplement the information that we collect directly from you in order to derive your possible interests and to provide more relevant experiences for you with our brand and improve our products, analytics, and advertising.

Personally Identifiable Information
Usacheer.org uses personal information only for the following purposes:

1. To process requests and orders placed with advertisers, merchants and service providers;
2. To personalize content based on visitors’ interests, including making visitors aware of editorial features, advertisements, and commercial offerings that may be of interest;
3. To communicate with visitors;
4. To register a visitor for a contest or sweepstakes and to administer or make related offers from the same;
5. To serve visitors when they have questions or problems;
6. To perform normal business operations, such as billing, collection, and accounting; and
7. To investigate complaints and protect visitors, in compliance with the law.

Usacheer.org contains links to a variety of providers who offer content, services and e-commerce. Many of these links may be in “frames,” meaning that Usacheer.org’s navigation will still be visible as you move throughout the linked site(s). Usacheer.org may or may not have a formal relationship with the linked site. If we have a formal relationship, you are still covered under the Usacheer.org privacy policy. If we do not have a formal relationship with the site, you will know that you have left the Usacheer.org site (and thus are no longer covered by the Usacheer.org privacy policy) when the words ‘Return to Usacheer.org’ appear in the Usacheer.org ‘frame.’ When you see ‘Return to Usacheer.org,’ please be aware that you are no longer under the Usacheer.org privacy policy. You should review the linked site’s privacy policy before divulging any personal information, including your e-mail address, credit card number (for an e-commerce link), name, etc.

Your profile information (any demographic information you provide to Usacheer.org such as zip code, age, expected year of graduation and major) may be used to create personalized content, services, and marketing on Usacheer.org so that we can deliver information to you based on your interests and location. In addition, Usacheer.org may provide affiliates with non-personally identifiable profile information to generate aggregate reports and market research, for example, ‘30% of Usacheer.org visitors/members are Varsity cheerleaders in the Southeast’).

We use ‘cookies’ to deliver content specific to your interests and to save your password so that you do not have to re-enter it each time you visit the site. For more information on cookies and why we use them, please read our Usacheer.org Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) page.

Legal Bases for Use of Your Information
The legal bases for using your information as set out in this Privacy Policy are as follows:

  • Where use of your information is necessary to perform our obligations under a contract with you (for example, to comply with: the terms of service of our websites or a purchase you made)
  • Where use of your information is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of others (for example, to provide security for our website and applications; operate our business and our Services; make and receive payments; comply with legal requirements and defend our legal rights; prevent fraud and to know the customer to whom we are providing Services)
  • Where we have a reason to process the data in accordance with applicable laws
  • Where we have your consent to engage in a particular processing activity

Agreement, Interactive Features Guidelines and Policies
From time to time, we’ll make our visitorship list available to carefully selected outside organizations. We may also send approved commercial communications to visitors on behalf of outside parties. If you do not want your name, address, e-mail address or other personal information to be provided for such purposes, indicate your intent by going to Visitor Preferences and choosing to opt out.

Usacheer.org uses strict procedures and safeguards designed to protect the privacy of all personal information. All Usacheer.org employees with access to personal information are required to follow specific practices concerning its proper handling, as specifically authorized or as required by law.

Usacheer.org complies in all respects with the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, as amended, (‘ECPA’). Subject to the subpoena, warrant, consent, and court order provisions of ECPA, we must provide visitor information and/or Internet communications to the proper authorities.

Aggregate Information
Usacheer.org tracks the total number of visitors to each of our pages in an aggregate form to allow us to update and improve our sites. Personally identifiable information is not extracted in this process. Usacheer.org may use or disclose aggregated (not personally identifiable) information for any purpose.

On a limited basis, we use ‘cookie’ technology. Cookies are pieces of information that an Internet site transfers to your hard drive for record-keeping purposes. Our servers then use these cookies to make your sessions easier by saving your preferences while you are on Usacheer.org pages. The use of cookies is an industry standard — you’ll find them almost everywhere on the Internet. Our cookie usage is single session-only information, and is not stored across multiple sessions. There are two cookies used throughout our site. The first cookie allows us to know who the Visitor is and that he or she properly authenticated into our network. This cookie information can be used to retrieve personal information needed during the Visitor session, for example, to build your customized pages. Personal user information is stored only temporarily in this cookie. Once this information is retrieved for this purpose, the visitor identity is not stored or used for any other purpose. The second cookie is an ‘advertising’ cookie which we use to keep track of the ads you have seen. Usacheer.org tracks which ads have been viewed, and we tie it to demographic data, but not to personally identifiable information. Remember, this describes cookie usage ONLY on Usacheer.org (and its affiliate) sites. We have no control over the use of cookies by other Internet sites and their owners.

E-Commerce
If you make a purchase from a store hosted by Usacheer.org (please note that this does NOT include linked e-commerce sites where the ‘Return to Usacheer.org’ phrase appears in the frame), you need to review the merchant’s privacy policy prior to providing them with your information. The information obtained during your visit to those stores and the information you give such as your credit card number and contact information is provided to the merchants. This is to enable transactions to take place and for the items to be shipped to you. However, these merchants, by contract, cannot use this information for any other purpose without your permission. For example, the merchant may ask if you would like to receive marketing information directly from them. If you choose to receive this information (by checking an ‘opt-in’ box at the point of purchase), you will receive marketing information directly from the merchant in the future until such time as you ask them directly to be taken off of their distribution list. While we encourage all of our merchant partners to adhere to a privacy policy, it is a good idea to read the merchant’s privacy policy yourself before agreeing to give them permission to use your personal information for marketing purposes. For example, their privacy policy may not prevent them from selling or sharing your personal information with other third parties. If you do not grant our merchant partners permission to contact you with marketing information (which will be signified by checking an ‘opt-out’ box at the point of purchase or by leaving an ‘opt-in’ box blank), the merchant is prohibited from contacting you directly, except to communicate customer service information regarding a specific purchase and cannot share or sell any of your information to third parties.

Data Retention
We keep your information for no longer than necessary for the purposes for which it is processed. The length of time for which we retain information depends on the purposes for which we collected and use it and/or as required to comply with applicable laws.

Security
We have implemented administrative, technical, and physical security measures to protect against the loss, misuse and/or alteration of your information. These safeguards vary based on the sensitivity of the information that we collect and store. However, we cannot and do not guarantee that these measures will prevent every unauthorized attempt to access, use, or disclose your information since despite our efforts, no Internet and/or other electronic transmissions can be completely secure.

Data Subject Rights
If you would like further information in relation to your legal rights under applicable law or would like to exercise any of them, please contact us using the information in the “Contact Information” section below at any time. Your local laws (e.g., in the EU) may permit you to request that we:

  • Provide access to and/or a copy of certain information we hold about you
  • Prevent the processing of your information for direct-marketing purposes (including any direct marketing processing based on profiling)
  • Update information which is out of date or incorrect
  • Delete certain information which we are holding about you
  • Restrict the way that we process and disclose certain of your information
  • Transfer your information to a third party provider of services
  • Revoke your consent for the processing of your information

We will consider all requests and provide our response within the time period stated by applicable law. Please note, however, that certain information may be exempt from such requests in some circumstances, which may include if we need to keep processing your information for our legitimate interests or to comply with a legal obligation. We may request you provide us with information necessary to confirm your identity before responding to your request.

Your Marketing Choices
If you have provided contact information through the Services and decide that you do not want USA Cheer to use that information for marketing purposes, you can opt-out of future use at any time by: (i) going to the link provided at the bottom of any email you receive and opting out of receiving future marketing information from the specific business division that sent you such marketing email; (ii) by sending us an email at info@usacheer.org; or (iii) through your account settings. Please note that you may not be able to opt out of emails about your transactions and relationship with us, such as emails regarding your account, requests or inquiries, and purchases of products and/or services.

International Users
The information discussed in this Policy is processed in the United States by USA Cheer, whose principal office in the United States is located at 13101 Preston Road Ste 110-306, Dallas, TX, 75240. Your information will be processed in the United States for the purposes described herein. As described above, we also may subcontract the processing of your data to, or otherwise share your data with, other members within the USA Cheer group or our service providers in countries other than your country of residence, including the United States, in accordance with applicable law. Such third parties may be engaged in, among other things, the provision of Services to you, the processing of transactions and/or the provision of support services. By providing us with your information, you acknowledge any such transfer, storage or use.

If we provide any information about you to third party information processors, we will take appropriate measures to ensure such companies protect your information adequately in accordance with this Privacy Policy. These measures include signing Standard Contractual Clauses in accordance with EU and other data protection laws to govern the transfers of such data. For more information about these transfer mechanisms, please contact us as detailed in the “Contact Information” section below.

If applicable, you may make a complaint to the data protection supervisory authority in the country where you reside. Alternatively you may seek a remedy through local courts if you believe your rights have been breached.

California’s Shine the Light Law/Your California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, you are entitled once a year, free of charge, to request and obtain certain information about the categories of personal information, if any, that we disclosed to third parties for their direct marketing purposes in the preceding calendar year. Our disclosure requirements apply only if we share our consumers’ personal information with third parties for them to directly market their own products to those consumers, instead of assisting us with our own business. To request the above information, please e-mail us at: info@usacheer.org, with the subject line “California Shine the Light.”

A Special Note Concerning Privacy and Children Online

Although the Internet offers a wealth of information and exciting opportunities to explore, some of its content may not be suitable for children. Understandably, as the popularity of the Internet has grown, so have concerns among parents. Usacheer.org believes that parents should supervise their children’s online activities and suggests that they consider using parental control tools such as Cyber Patrol, and software manufacturers that help provide a child-friendly online environment.

Please instruct your children not to give us their name, address or e-mail address, or provide any personal information to anyone without your permission. It may also be wise to carefully note all the people with whom your child frequently corresponds over the Internet or on any online service.

We do not knowingly process data of EU residents under the age of 16 without parental consent. If we become aware that we have collected data from an EU resident under the age of 16 without parental consent, we will take reasonable steps to delete it as soon as possible. We also comply with other age restrictions and requirements in accordance with applicable local laws.

Chat, Newsgroups, Bulletin Boards and Kids
Chat, newsgroups, and bulletin boards offer children and parents alike the unique opportunity to make friends and talk to people all over the world. Please remember, though, that these interactive features are just like other public places where strangers meet. If you allow your children to access interactive features, please remind them of the dangers involved when corresponding or communicating with strangers or new acquaintances on the Internet (especially in Chat and Newsgroups, as well as when using e-mail).

We strongly recommend that you supervise your children’s activities on these areas as you would in any public area. You should help your children understand that people they do not know will be reading their notes. They should be careful when choosing what to post (particularly information about themselves), as well as when choosing the people with whom they correspond. Also, only you, as a parent, can establish which topics and individual notes are appropriate for your family, just as you would for television programs or movies.

Children and teenagers get a lot of benefit from being online, but they can also be targets of crime and exploitation in this as in any other environment. Trusting, curious, and anxious to explore this new world and the relationships it brings, children and teenagers need parental supervision and common sense advice to ensure that their experiences in ‘cyberspace’ are happy, healthy, and productive.

How Parents Can Reduce the Risks
Take advantage of Cyber Patrol. Also, to further restrict your child’s access to discussions, forums, or bulletin boards that contain inappropriate material, some Internet sites and private bulletin boards have systems in place for parents to block out parts of the sites that they feel are inappropriate for their children. If you are concerned, you should contact the site find out how you can add these restrictions to any accounts that your children can access.
The Internet and some private bulletin boards contain areas designed specifically for adults who wish to post, view, or read sexually explicit material. Most private bulletin board operators who post such material limit access only to people who attest that they are adults but, like any other safeguards, be aware that there are always going to be cases where adults fail to enforce them or children find ways around them.

The best way to ensure that your children are having positive online experiences is to stay in touch with what they are doing. One way to do this is to spend time with your children while they’re online. Have them show you what they do and ask them to teach you how to access the sites. While children and teenagers need a certain amount of privacy, they also need parental involvement and supervision in their daily lives. The same general parenting skills that apply to the ‘real world’ also apply while online.

If you have cause for concern about your children’s online activities, talk to them. Also seek out the advice and counsel of other computer users in your area and become familiar with literature on Cyber Patrol and other filtering devices. Open communication with your children, utilization of such computer resources, and getting online yourself will help you obtain the full benefits of these devices and alert you to any potential problem that may occur with their use.

Guidelines for Parents
By taking responsibility for their children’s online computer use, parents can greatly minimize the potential risks.

Make it a family rule to:
1. Never give out identifying information – home address, school name, or telephone number – in a public message such as chat or bulletin boards, and be sure you are dealing with someone that both you and your child know and trust before giving it out via e-mail. Think carefully before revealing any personal information such as age, marital status, or financial information. Consider using a pseudonym or unlisting your child’s name from Internet sites in which they participate.
2. Consider keeping the computer in a family room rather than the child’s bedroom. Be sure to make this a family activity. Get to know their ‘online friends’ just as you get to know all of their other friends.
3. Get to know the internet sites your child uses. If you don’t know how to get to them, get your child to show you. Find out what types of information it offers and whether there are ways for parents to block out objectionable material.
4. Never allow a child to arrange a face-to-face meeting with another computer user without parental permission. If a meeting is arranged, make the first one in a public spot, and be sure to accompany your child.
5. Never respond to messages or bulletin board items that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent, threatening, or make you feel uncomfortable. Encourage your children to tell you if they encounter such messages. If you or your child receives a message that is harassing, or of a sexual nature, or threatening, alert the appropriate law enforcement agency.
6. Should you become aware of the transmission, use, or viewing of child pornography while online, immediately report this Federal Bureau of Investigation and to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by calling 1-800-843-5678.
7. Remember that people online may not be who they seem. Because you can’t see or even hear the person, it is easy for someone to misrepresent him – or herself. Thus, someone indicating that ‘she’ is a ’12-year-old girl’ could really be a 40-year-old man.
8. Remember that everything you read online may not be true. Any offer that’s ‘too good to be true’ probably is. Be very careful about any offers that involve your coming to a meeting or having someone visit your house.
9. Set reasonable rules and guidelines for computer use by your children. Discuss these rules and post them near the computer as a reminder. Remember to monitor their compliance with these rules, especially when it comes to the amount of time your children spend on the computer. A child or teenager’s excessive use of the interactive features of the Internet, especially late at night, may be a clue that there is a potential problem.
Because some of the content on the Internet consists of material that is adult-oriented or otherwise objectionable to some people, the results of your search may automatically and unintentionally generate links or references to objectionable material. Usacheer.org has no control over, and can make no claim that such surprises will not occur. Computerized search technology does not give you search results limited to only the hits that you were seeking. There may be extraneous hits as well.

Usacheer.org recommends that to avoid any such surprises, you take advantage of the access controls that Usacheer.org offers, as we discuss above, and be diligent in your supervision of any children you allow to use Usacheer.org Internet.

Contact Information
For answers to specific concerns regarding privacy that are not addressed here, see our About Us and Reporting Violations sites. These sites provide information on whom and how to contact us at Usacheer.org.