Memphis, Tenn. (January 12, 2012) – The National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) is recommending STUNT, the new sport format developed from cheerleading, as an emerging varsity women’s sport to their Athletic Director membership.   

USA Cheer, the governing body for cheerleading in the United States, created STUNT to help provide more opportunities for cheer athletes at the high school and college level. In its first season, 22 college cheerleading teams participated in STUNT. The University of Louisville nabbed the title of first-ever STUNT Champions.

A new competitive team sport that was derived from traditional cheerleading, STUNT removes the crowd-leading and focuses on the technical and athletic components, which include partner stunts, pyramids, basket tosses, jumps and tumbling skills. Originally designed to be considered for NCAA Emerging Sport status, STUNT has resonated with college level athletes.

“Because of the overwhelming popularity of cheerleading, we are confident STUNT will be able to increase the number of female athletes participating in sports at the high school level,” says Bruce Whitehead, Executive Director of the NIAAA. “And we are confident that our members will embrace this new sport with open arms.”

Bill Seely, Executive Director for USA Cheer agrees. “We are thrilled to have such an incredible partnership with the NIAAA. Athletic Directors are the heart and soul of this sport’s progress, and we’re encouraged to see STUNT embraced by Administrators and Athletic Directors To have the full support of the Athletic Directors and Administrators is a huge step for us in building cheer’s newest sport.”

About the NIAAA:
 The National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association preserves, enhances and promotes the educational values of interscholastic athletics through the professional development of its members in the areas of education, leadership, and service. The NIAAA’s commitment to leadership programs, resources and services support the athletic administrator’s efforts in providing quality athletic participation opportunities for students. The NIAAA promotes a positive working relationship with state athletic administrator and State and national athletic/activity associations in addition to developing strategic alliances with other education based agencies. For more information, please visit http://niaaa.org.

Memphis, Tenn. (January 10, 2012) – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) is  exploring STUNT, the new sport format developed from cheerleading, as an emerging varsity women’s sport.   

USA Cheer, the governing body for cheerleading in the United States, created STUNT as a way to heighten the cheerleading experience for female athletes. In its first season, 22 college cheerleading teams participated in STUNT. The University of Louisville nabbed the title of first-ever STUNT Champions.

A new competitive team sport that was derived from traditional cheerleading, STUNT removes the crowd-leading and focuses on the technical and athletic components, which include partner stunts, pyramids, basket tosses, jumps and tumbling skills. Originally designed to be considered for NCAA Emerging Sport status, STUNT has resonated with college level athletes.

“We applaud USA Cheer’s efforts to create an exciting and challenging athletic option for female athletes,” says Jamie Adams, NAIA Sport Manager. “The NAIA has been exploring the STUNT format, and presenting it to our institutions as another viable option for them to consider when declaring varsity sports.. We know that with cheer’s popularity, STUNT will be a popular option for athletes.”  Oklahoma City University of the NAIA will be competing in STUNT this spring to help introduce the new sport to other member institutions.

Bill Seely, Executive Director for USA Cheer agrees. “We recognize that that there are hundreds of thousands of female athletes considering their athletic options at the college level, and are confident that this format will be embraced. We are excited to work with the NAIA to ensure that STUNT is a successful option for their organization and, most importantly, with their athletes.”

A new competitive team sport that was derived from traditional cheerleading, STUNT removes the crowd-leading and focuses on the technical and athletic components. STUNT has a four-quarter format, which includes partner stunts, pyramids, basket tosses, jumps and tumbling skills. Originally designed to be considered for NCAA Emerging Sport status, STUNT has found fans at the high school level who realize the value of a viable new sport for female athletes at a younger age.

With Board Approval, the FHSAA will include STUNT as a division beginning with the 2012-2013 FHSAA Competitive Cheerleading season.  The sport of STUNT will then be monitored as it grows and if necessary will be restructured into its own season as deemed appropriate by the FHSAA Board of Directors.

“Competitive cheerleading has traditionally been a popular sport offered by the FHSAA, with thousands of participants every year,” says FHSAA Executive Director, Dr. Roger Dearing.  “We applaud USA Cheer for developing a format that remains true to cheerleading’s roots, while challenging athletes with a new level of competition.”

Bill Seely, Executive Director of USA Cheer, is pleased to welcome the state of Florida to STUNT. “With its high participation rate, Florida is an ideal environment for STUNT. Universities such as the University of Florida and the University of South Florida have already embraced STUNT, and it makes sense that the format will work for high school athletes as well.”

April 27-29, 2012

Disney's Coronado Springs Resort® Orlando, FL

Athletic Trainers and Cheerleading Coaches

View Disney's Safety Symposium Website

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Featured Speakers:

• Jeffrey R. Dugas, M.D. - Bio
  
• E. Lyle Cain, Jr., M.D. - Bio
  
• Tracy R. Ray, M.D. - Bio
  
• Dr. Dawn Comstock, PhD - Bio
  
• Karen Lew, MED, ATC, LAT - Bio
  
• Pete Manely, ATC - Bio
• Gerald S. George, PhD - Bio
  
• Jim Lord, Executive Director of AACCA -  Bio
  
• Bill Seely, Executive Director of USA Cheer - Bio
  
• Sherry Cooney - Team USA Coach - Bio
  
• Justin Carrier - Team USA Coach - Bio
  
• David McDowell - Team USA Coach - Bio

Last day to register is April 10th.

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While USA Cheer was not ultimately granted Emerging Sport status at this time, we were given some clear instructions on our next steps in the process.  With only one year under our belt, we were encouraged by the response and feedback from the NCAA and are confident in our ability to provide the CWA with the information they have requested.   The NCAA’s Committee on Women’s Athletics (CWA) responded that they appreciate the efforts of USA Cheer to create an innovative sport with the mission of providing new opportunities for athletic competition for women. They also stated that they are interested in watching the sport’s growth beyond the first organized season.

In addition to having 22 teams participate in our inaugural season, we also have received interest from more than a dozen additional universities as well as several state high school associations.  USA Cheer also teamed up with the American Sports Medicine Institute to ensure that we are doing all we can to provide a safe environment for our athletes.

It is USA Cheer’s belief that we’ve been given a unique opportunity – to create a new and innovative sport that opens up important athletic opportunities for female athletes. In keeping with the CWA’s recommendations, and in the spirit of what we are trying to accomplish for young people, we have reached out to the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA) to begin discussions about the progress of the sport format and the potential of working together towards this common goal. 

As the authority on cheerleading, USA Cheer will continue its leadership role in uniting all of the key players in the cheerleading community under USA Cheer’s umbrella to support the growth of our newest sport.

--Bill Seely 

Memphis, Tenn. (June 16, 2011) – The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has endorsed STUNT, along with several individual state associations. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association and the Florida High School Athletic Association have all expressed an interest in considering STUNT in their states in the 2012 season.

A new competitive team sport that was derived from traditional cheerleading, STUNT removes the crowd-leading and focuses on the technical and athletic components, which include partner stunts, pyramids, basket tosses, jumps and tumbling skills. Originally designed to be considered for NCAA Emerging Sport status, STUNT has found fans at the high school level who realize the value of a viable new sport for female athletes at a younger age.

“ STUNT provides an exciting opportunity for female athletes to participate in a team sport that combines individual skills with team precision,” says Robert B. Gardner, Executive Director of the NFHS. “ The result provides enjoyment for the participants, coaches, and spectators.  This new sport is easily understood and fun.”

 “USA Cheer has created a great sport option for female athletes who are drawn to cheer,” says Dr. Roger Dearing, Executive Director of the Florida High School Athletic Association. “With the advent of STUNT, a new dimension is added to this competitive arena.  We will continue to see more opportunities for our young student-athletes to exhibit creative and innovative ways to show their natural talents in these STUNT Competitions.”

 “We believe the new sport of STUNT will assist the member schools and state associations like ours provide a viable sport that will significantly expand the number of young women participating in sports in Washington,” adds Mike Colbrese, the Executive Director for the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

Todd Nelson, of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, anticipates a positive reception to STUNT in New York. “The NYSPHSAA Executive Committee has instructed the office staff to work with the New York State Department of Education to recognize cheerleading as a sport,” he says. “Going forward, we think STUNT may help us expand the number of young people participating in sports, in particular, our female students.”

A: STUNT is a new sport for competition-only cheer squads that are seeking to meet the requirements of an NCAA emerging sport. It is called “STUNT” because it is descriptive of the athletic skills pulled from traditional cheerleading.  STUNT has also been tailored to meet Title IX requirements for intercollegiate sport by demonstrating clear differences from traditional cheerleading to offer exciting new opportunities for a wider range of participants. 

A: STUNT was developed by USA Cheer with collaboration from groups of Title IX experts  as well as well known coaches and experts in the All-Star and traditional cheerleading community.

A: STUNT is comprised of four quarters: 1) Partner Stunts, 2) Team Tumbling/Jumps, 3) Pyramids/Basket Tosses, and 4) Team Performance. Within each quarter, teams perform skill sequences of varying levels of difficulty, technical execution and synchronization. The fourth quarter is the “Team Performance” which allows teams to incorporate their entire team and arsenal into a 2 minute and 30 second routine.  Two or four teams compete at time in head-to-head competition.

A: Our first step in the process is securing STUNT as an NCAA Emerging Sport. Meeting that threshold will put STUNT closer to meeting the Office of Civil Rights requirements for Title IX. To ensure we address all of the specific criteria for sport OCR has established, we are working closely with Title IX experts and seeking assistance with OCR to ensure STUNT can count as viable Title IX sport as soon as possible.

A: In order to truly meet Title IX requirements, a new format was developed under the leadership of USA CHEER.  The STUNT format meets several criteria.

o   The new format required a new name, and a new different format from the 2.5 minute format to help make the necessary distinctions between traditional school cheerleading squads and new competition-only teams.

o   USA CHEER and industry partners have worked together to further define and build an emerging sport that provides even more opportunities for young athletes around the world.
 

A: STUNT has taken all the athletic skill elements that have developed in cheerleading and put them into an objective, head-to-head competitive format that can be easily understood and followed by the coaches, athletes and spectators.  The role of the coach and the coaching strategy has been integrated into the game format in order to allow each team to maximize their ability to be successful.  The STUNT format is designed to be fast, entertaining, exciting, unpredictable, and understandable while still incorporating the traditional elements of a cheer competition.  The 4th quarter of a STUNT competition consists of a more traditional performance commonly recognized as cheer.  The competition format and scoring is more simplified than that of a traditional cheer competition.

A. STUNT is a Spring sport, with a required eight regulation games per season and a final tournament in Daytona Beach in April, which is recognized as one of college cheerleading’s most prestigious competition and championship event.

A. We are hopeful that at least one discipline of cheer will ultimately become an Olympic sport.  The creation of USA Cheer as a governing body and seeking NCAA emerging sport status for STUNT are additional steps to get there.

A. Yes. STUNT is a spring season sport, so if it doesn’t conflict with a traditional team’s season, they can participate. Once it achieves Emerging Sport Status, athletes would have to choose the type of team they wish to try out for.

A. Once STUNT becomes an NCAA Emerging Sport, teams will have to choose which discipline they compete in. 

Dallas, Texas will be home base for the 2010-2011 Team USA athletes

Memphis, Tenn. (October 2010) USA Cheer has announced the coaching staff and training facility for Team USA's 2010-2011's season.

Sherry Cooney will return as head coach for the all girl team for Team USA, with Tony Nash as the assistant coach. Cooney has National Championships as an athlete and coach.  She has coached teams at George Mason University and the University of West Georgia, and is also a certifier for the safety organization, AACCA.  Nash, former coach for the National Champion Morehead State University team, is the current coach of the all girl team at Indiana University, and is joining the Team USA coaching staff for his third year.

David McDowell will be the head coach for the coed team for the second year in a row after leading the team to a world championship in 2010. McDowell, a former National Champion at the University of Kentucky, has more than 10 years of coaching experience and is the current coach at the University of Alabama. LeRoy McCullough, coach for Oklahoma State University's spirit squads, who won two National Championships under his leadership, will serve as assistant coach.

Choreography responsibilities for the teams will be shared by Brad Habermel and Justin Carrier. Habermel, a former University of Louisville cheerleader is co-owner of Cheer Athletics, and has choreographed routines for teams all over the world, as well as bowl games and the served on the 1996 Olympics Opening Ceremonies choreography team.  Carrier cheered at University of North Texas and has choreographed routines for dozens of championship high school, all star and college teams. He was recently inducted into the USASF Hall of Fame for his contributions to the all star cheerleading community.

"We are excited to be working with this first class team of coaches," says Bill Seely, Executive Director of USA Cheer, the governing body of cheerleading in the United States. "They are some of the best coaches our sport has to offer in training and fostering well rounded athletes from every segment of cheerleading."

The training headquarters for Team USA this year will be at Champion Cheer, owned by Jennifer Graham and James Johnson. "The entire Champion Cheer family is so excited to host Team USA," says Graham. "Training side by side with the best cheerleaders in the nation will be a true inspiration for our athletes. We are honored to support Team USA as they go for the gold!"

Team USA will compete against teams from more than 60 other countries from around the world in April 2011 at the ICU World Championships in Orlando, Florida.  Over the last two years, Team USA has taken home 11 gold medals and one silver. Cheerleaders interested in trying out for the team can visit the USA Cheer website at http://usacheer.net for more information.

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.  

For more information, contact Sheila Noone at 901-251-5959.

The US teams dominated the 2010 World Cup. Do you think you have what it takes to make one of the “Dream Teams?" If so, USA Cheer would like to invite you to try out for a spot and an opportunity to represent your country in the ICU World Championship.

• Applicants must be at least 18 years of age by January 1, 2011.
• Online application must be submitted online by December 1, 2010*
• Applicants selected to go through the tryout phase must attend a tryout either January 7, 2011 in Dallas, Texas or January 17, 2011 in Orlando, Florida.
• Applicants must be able to attend all mandatory Team USA meetings, if selected for Team USA. Mandatory team practices are scheduled for April 17-30, 2011.

Selection Process

Coed Tryout: The coed team will be selected from the best individuals.

All Girl Tryout: This year we will be selecting the top seven stunt groups who audition (groups of 4) and 2 alternates to fill the All Girl team. Individuals are allowed to tryout, but most of the team will be filled by the stunt groups.

• Phase I: Application Process- Applications will be evaluated by the USA Cheer Selection Committee in December. Applicants will be notified via email if they will advance to the second phase of the tryout process.
• Phase II: Tryout Process- Applicants invited to the tryout process will attend the live tryout. Dates and locations are the following:
  
• January 7, 2011 (Friday) 6 PM to 9 PM at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.
  
• January 17, 2011 (Monday) 9 AM to 12 PM at the Disney Milkhouse in Orlando, Florida.
• Phase III: Team USA- Team USA will be announced January 21, 2011.