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Cheer's New Sport "STUNT" to Vie for NCAA Emerging Sport This Summer
Collegiate teams have agreed participate
in STUNT competition for 2011 season.
Memphis, Tenn. (November 2010) – USA Cheer, the national governing body (NGB) for all forms of cheerleading, is pleased to announce that the inaugural season of STUNT will be held in spring season 2011. STUNT, a new competition sport which has been designed with a goal to be considered for NCAA Emerging Sport status, as well as tailored to follow Title IX’s requirements for intercollegiate sport, launched in September and has already attracted significant interest from university cheer teams. One of the criteria to qualify as an emerging sport requires there must be 20 or more varsity teams and/or competitive teams that currently exist on college campuses in that sport. Securing the requisite teams for the inaugural 2011 STUNT season ensures that USA Cheer will have sufficient participation to meet this criteria. “The college community is quickly embracing STUNT,” says Bill Seely, Executive Director of USA Cheer. “The STUNT format is dynamic and challenging, and uses the skill set of cheerleading in an entirely new and exciting way. We are extremely gratified by the positive reaction STUNT has received, and look forward to showcasing the talent of the STUNT athletes.” There are several additional schools considering the addition of STUNT to their sports rosters in the next few months. STUNT provides opportunities for the more than 800,000 cheerleaders of high school age in the United States that are looking for an athletic opportunity at the college level. Note: This press release is a corrected version to provide clarity. The previous version used the word “committed” which created confusion between schools that have agreed to participate in the STUNT program this spring verses the longer term vision of emerging sport status. Those schools listed as a participant in Stunt merely means that either a club or varsity program affiliated with that university will be participating in Stunt during our inaugural 2011 season. It in no way indicates or suggests that those schools have committed to adopting Stunt as a varsity sport at this time. About USA Cheer The USA Federation for Sport Cheering is a not-for profit organization and is the national governing body for all disciplines of cheerleading. USA Cheer exists to serve the entire cheer community, including club cheering (All Star), traditional school based cheer programs and the new sport of “STUNT.” USA Cheer has three primary objectives: help grow and develop interest and participation in Cheer throughout the United States; promote safety and safety education for cheer in the United States; and represent the United States of America in international cheer competitions. Description of STUNT Each STUNT game will comprise four quarters in the following categories: Partner Stunts, Jumps and Group Tumbling, Tosses and Pyramids, and Team Routine. Within each quarter, teams will perform skill sequences of varying levels of difficulty, technical execution and synchronization. Anyone who follows sports will be able to follow Stunt. Teams compete simultaneously, and the head-to-head format simplifies the scoring process, allowing fans to track the results of the competition as each round is completed. Because of the new format, teams will have records and national rankings, which will determine their post season play, much like other sports. In addition, post season play can be tracked by the fans, much like “March Madness.” For more information on STUNT, visit http://usacheer.net. About NCAA Emerging Sport Status NCAA Emerging Sport Status is a sport recognized by the NCAA that is intended to provide additional athletics opportunities to female student-athletes. To qualify, a sport must, among other things, involve physical exertion with the purpose of competition within a collegiate structure, have standardized rules with a scoring system ratified by a governing body and have regularly scheduled competitions. About Title IX Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions where the federal government provides financial assistance. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in athletics in the offering of participation opportunities, athletic benefits and resources, and scholarships. For more information, contact Sheila Noone at 901-251-5959. 
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