Cheerleading Associations and Competitions: USA Cheer, USASF, ICU, NCAA STUNT

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Every April, college cheerleaders in Daytona Beach finish their finals routine at the oceanfront bandshell and, if they win, sprint across the sand and straight into the Atlantic. A couple of weeks later, national teams from dozens of countries take the floor at the ICU World Championships in Florida, and all-star gyms chase a Worlds title on the same Disney complex. Behind all of that is a web of cheerleading associations, rule makers and event companies that can confuse even cheer parents. Here’s who does what, from your high school squad to the Olympic question, as of the 2026 season.

Who runs cheerleading: the quick map

Organization	What it does
USA Cheer	National governing body for sport cheering in the US (since 2007); school and college safety rules; STUNT; Team USA.
NFHS and state associations	High school spirit rules (NFHS) and state seasons and championships (each state association).
USASF	US All Star Federation: rules, levels and credentialing for all-star (club) cheer; runs The Cheerleading Worlds with IASF.
IASF	International All Star Federation: international all-star divisions.
ICU	International Cheer Union: world governing body, recognized by the IOC; runs the ICU World Championships for national teams.
Varsity Spirit (NCA, UCA) and other event producers	Camps, uniforms and competitions, including the big school and college nationals.
NCAA	STUNT and acrobatics and tumbling, both voted championship sports in 2026.

USA Cheer

USA Cheer was set up in 2007 as the national governing body for sport cheering. In 2018 it combined with the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA), the group founded in 1987 that wrote cheer’s first safety rules and coaching education. USA Cheer publishes school and college safety rules, works with the NFHS on high school rules, credentials coaches, created STUNT, and picks and sends the US National Team to the ICU World Championships. If you want to know whether a stunt is legal on a college sideline, its college rule book is the place to look.

High school: NFHS and your state association

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) writes the Spirit Rules Book for cheer and dance, updated each year with a focus on what it calls risk minimization, and offers online courses such as Coaching Cheer and Dance and a Cheer and Dance Safety Certification. It counts 181,023 high school spirit participants at 7,827 schools, the eighth most popular sport for girls. Your state association decides which rules apply, whether competitive cheer is a sanctioned sport and how the state championship works, so its website is the first stop for high school families.

All-star cheer: USASF, Varsity and the levels

The U.S. All Star Federation (USASF) was founded in 2003 by competition companies, including Varsity’s NCA and UCA, to create one set of safety rules and competition standards for club cheer. It writes the Level 1–7 rules and the age grid (Tiny, Mini, Youth, Junior, Senior and Open divisions), and sanctions events. Since the 2019–20 season, owners, coaches and staff must complete the U.S. Center for SafeSport Trained course to be eligible members, and adults in warm-up rooms at USASF-sanctioned events must pass a background screening. Parents can ask any gym whether its coaches are current USASF professional members.

Teams compete at events run by producers, the biggest being Varsity Spirit’s brands. Most events use the USASF rules but their own score sheets. Through the season, top teams earn bids to the season-ending championships.

IASF and The Cheerleading Worlds

In late 2006, USASF helped create the International All Star Federation (IASF) to bring all-star rules to other countries; the two split formally in 2016. Together they host The Cheerleading Worlds, held since 2004 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando over three days in April or May. Only Level 5, 6 and 7 teams that win a bid at a qualifying event can go, and a paid bid helps with the costs.

College cheer

College cheerleaders are usually part of the athletic department or spirit program, cheer at football and basketball games and follow USA Cheer’s college safety rules. Many also compete at one of two big championships: the UCA College Nationals at Walt Disney World (January 16–18 in 2026), with Division I and IA, open, game day and stunt divisions plus the University World Cup; and the NCA College Nationals in Daytona Beach (April 9–11 in 2026), with advanced and intermediate all-girl and coed divisions, game day and spirit rally divisions. Ask any college program which one it attends; that tells you a lot about its focus.

STUNT and acrobatics and tumbling: cheer-based NCAA sports

STUNT was developed by USA Cheer as a competitive, spring-season sport for women. Two teams meet head to head over four quarters of set routines in partner stunts, pyramids and tosses, and jumps and tumbling, with objective scoring. It joined the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program in 2023 (Divisions I and II) and 2024 (Division III), passed the benchmark of 40 schools meeting minimum requirements in its first year, and at the 2026 NCAA Convention all three divisions voted to make it a championship sport. The first NCAA STUNT championship, one National Collegiate Championship for all divisions, is projected for spring 2027. USA Cheer governs it in college, and some high schools field STUNT teams too.

Acrobatics and tumbling is a separate sport with cheer and gymnastics roots: meets have six events (such as acrobatics, pyramid, toss, tumbling and a team routine) and usually last 90–120 minutes. NCAA members also voted it a championship sport in 2026, with the first championship projected for spring 2027. For athletes, these sports mean scholarships and varsity status that sideline cheer often lacks, so ask schools exactly which program you’d be joining.

ICU, the World Games and the Olympic question

The International Cheer Union (ICU), founded in 2004 and based in Memphis, is the world governing body for cheer, with 126 member national federations. It has been a World Anti-Doping Agency code signatory since 2009. The International Olympic Committee gave it provisional recognition on December 6, 2016, and full recognition on July 20, 2021. Full recognition makes cheer eligible to apply for a place in the Olympic Games and other multi-sport games; it does not put cheer on the program. Cheer is not part of Los Angeles 2028.

Cheer did make its debut at the World Games in Chengdu, China, on August 15–16, 2025, with a mixed pom doubles event; the United States won gold. The 17th ICU World Cheerleading Championships, April 22–24, 2026, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, brought more than 5,000 athletes from 50 countries across 33 divisions, streamed on the Olympic Channel, and Team USA won both Premier All-Girl and Premier Coed.

How to check a program

• Coaches: are they credentialed (USA Cheer for school, USASF for all-star) and SafeSport trained?
• Rules: which rule book does the team follow, and at what level?
• Safety: is there an emergency action plan, an athletic trainer at practices or events, and a concussion policy? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends all three.
• Season: how many months, how many events, and how much travel?

What every team bag needs

Whatever organization your athlete competes under, the basics are the same: real cheer shoes, such as the Nfinity Vengeance (about $130), a big water bottle like the Nalgene Sustain 32 oz (about $16) for long competition days, and soft slides such as the OOFOS OOahh (about $60) for the walk back to the hotel. See our cheerleading gear guide and best recovery shoes.

Back to the cheerleading hub, or see cheerleading rules, youth cheerleading, game day and competition day and, for comparison, soccer leagues and associations.

Cheerleading organizations questions

What is the governing body for cheerleading in the US?

USA Cheer is the national governing body for sport cheering. High school rules come from the NFHS or USA Cheer, depending on the state, and all-star cheer follows USASF.

What’s the difference between USASF and IASF?

USASF governs all-star cheer in the United States. IASF, which USASF helped create in 2006, covers international all-star divisions. Together they host The Cheerleading Worlds.

Is cheerleading an NCAA sport?

Sideline cheer is not an NCAA championship sport. STUNT and acrobatics and tumbling, both built on cheer skills, were voted NCAA championship sports in 2026, with first championships projected for spring 2027.

Is cheerleading an Olympic sport?

No. The ICU has been fully recognized by the IOC since 2021, so cheer is eligible to be proposed, but it isn’t on the program for LA 2028. It debuted at the World Games in 2025.

How does an all-star team get to Worlds?

By winning a bid at a qualifying competition during the season. Only Level 5, 6 and 7 teams are eligible, and the event is held each spring in Orlando.