Editing Cheerleading (section)

==Types of teams in the United States today==

[[File:University of Memphis Coed Cheerleaders.jpg|thumb|[[University of Memphis]] cheerleaders performing a Co-ed double Cupie]]

===School-sponsored===
Most American elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and colleges have organized cheerleading squads. Some colleges even offer cheerleading scholarships for students. A school cheerleading team may compete locally, regionally, or nationally, but their main purpose is typically to cheer for sporting events and encourage audience participation.  Cheerleading is quickly becoming a year-round activity, starting with tryouts during the spring semester of the preceding school year. Teams may attend organized summer cheerleading camps and practices to improve skills and create routines for competition.

In addition to supporting their schools' football or other sports teams, student cheerleaders may compete with recreational-style routine at competitions year-round.

====Elementary school====
In far more recent years, it has become more common for elementary schools to have an organized cheerleading team.  This is a great way to get younger children introduced to the sport and used to being crowd leaders.  Also, with young children learning so much so quickly, tumbling can come very easy to a child in elementary school.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Soard |first1=Lori |title=Elementary School Cheerleading |url=https://cheerleading.lovetoknow.com/about-cheerleading/elementary-school-cheerleading |website=LoveToKnow |access-date=2021-04-01 |archive-date=2020-08-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815144603/https://cheerleading.lovetoknow.com/about-cheerleading/elementary-school-cheerleading |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Middle school====
[[Middle school]] cheerleading evolved shortly after high school squads were created and is set at the district level. In middle school, cheerleading squads serve the same purpose, but often follow a modified set of rules from high school squads with possible additional rules.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lord|first=Jim|title=Junior High Cheer|url=https://www.usacheer.org/junior-high-cheer|access-date=2021-12-14|website=USA Cheer|language=en-US}}</ref> Squads can cheer for basketball teams, football teams, and other sports teams in their school. Squads may also perform at pep rallies and compete against other local schools from the area.  Cheerleading in middle school sometimes can be a two-season activity: fall and winter. However, many middle school cheer squads will go year-round like high school squads. Middle school cheerleaders use the same cheerleading movements as their older counterparts, yet may perform less extreme stunts and tumbling elements, depending on the rules in their area.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}}.

====High school====
[[File:Mercer Island High School Cheerleaders.jpg|thumb|High school cheeerleaders from [[Mercer Island High School]] in [[Mercer Island, Washington]] in December 2005]]
In high school, there are usually two squads per school: [[varsity team|varsity]] and a [[junior varsity team|junior varsity]].  High school cheerleading contains aspects of school spirit as well as competition. These squads have become part of a year-round cycle. Starting with tryouts in the spring, year-round practice, cheering on teams in the [[Autumn|fall]] and [[winter]], and participating in cheerleading competitions. Most squads practice at least three days a week for about two hours each practice during the summer.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}} Many teams also attend separate tumbling sessions outside of practice. During the school year, cheerleading is usually practiced five- to six-days-a-week. During competition season, it often becomes seven days with practice twice a day sometimes. The school spirit aspect of cheerleading involves cheering, supporting, and "hyping up" the crowd at football games, basketball games, and even at wrestling meets. Along with this, cheerleaders usually perform at pep rallies, and bring school spirit to other students. In May 2009, the [[National Federation of State High School Associations]] released the results of their first true high school participation study. They estimated that the number of high school cheerleaders from public high schools is around 394,700.<ref>[http://www.nfhs.org/web/2009/05/survey_indicates_nearly_400000.aspx NFHS.org] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090608110413/http://www.nfhs.org/web/2009/05/survey_indicates_nearly_400000.aspx |date=June 8, 2009 }}</ref>

There are different cheerleading organizations that put on competitions; some of the major ones include state and regional competitions. Many high schools will often host cheerleading competitions, bringing in IHSA judges. The regional competitions are qualifiers for national competitions, such as the UCA (Universal Cheerleaders Association) in [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]], [[Florida]], every year.<ref>Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) 2008. 7 December 2008. [http://uca.varsity.com Varsity.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818141533/http://uca.varsity.com/ |date=2010-08-18 }}</ref> Many teams have a professional choreographer that choreographs their routine in order to ensure they are not breaking rules or regulations and to give the squad creative elements.

===College===
[[File:Flick-Gator Cheerleaders.jpg|thumb|Cheerleaders from the [[University of Florida]] in [[Gainesville, Florida]] perform a high splits pyramid during a [[Florida Gators football]] game in January 2009]]

Most American universities have a cheerleading squad to cheer for football, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, and soccer. Most college squads tend to be larger coed teams, although in recent years; all-girl squads and smaller college squads have increased rapidly. Cheerleading is not recognized by NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA as athletics; therefore, there are few to no scholarships offered to athletes wanting to pursue cheerleading at the collegiate level. However, some community colleges and universities offer scholarships directly from the program or sponsorship funds. Some colleges offer scholarships for an athlete's talents, academic excellence, and/or involvement in community events.

College squads perform more difficult stunts which include multi-level pyramids, as well as flipping and twisting basket tosses.

Not only do college cheerleaders cheer on the other sports at their university, many teams at universities compete with other schools at either UCA College Nationals or [[National Cheerleaders Association|NCA]] College Nationals. This requires the teams to choreograph a 2-minute and 30 second routine that includes elements of jumps, tumbling, stunting, basket tosses, pyramids, and a crowd involvement section. Winning one of these competitions is a very prestigious accomplishment, and is seen as another national title for most schools.

===Youth leagues and athletic associations===
[[File:YouthCheerleadingPompons.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|left|Youth cheerleaders during a football [[halftime show]]. Youth cheer—[[Secondary school|high school]] ages and younger—make up the vast majority of cheerleaders and cheer teams.]]

Organizations that sponsor youth cheer teams usually sponsor either youth league [[American football|football]] or [[basketball]] teams as well. This allows for the two, under the same sponsor, to be intermingled. Both teams have the same mascot name and the cheerleaders will perform at their football or basketball games. Examples of such sponsors include [[Pop Warner Little Scholars|Pop Warner]], [[American Youth Football]], and the [[YMCA]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=301593|title=Cheerleading|website=Livebinders.com|access-date=19 November 2017|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201034111/http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=301593|url-status=live}}</ref> The purpose of these squads is primarily to support their associated football or basketball players, but some teams do compete at local or regional competitions. The Pop Warner Association even hosts a national championship each December for teams in their program who qualify.

===All-star or club cheerleading===
{{more citations needed section|date=November 2016}}

"All-star" or club cheerleading differs from school or sideline cheerleading because all-star teams focus solely on performing a competition routine and not on leading cheers for other sports teams. All-star cheerleaders are members of a privately owned gym or club which they typically pay dues or tuition to, similar to a gymnastics gym.

During the early 1980s, cheerleading squads not associated with a school or sports league, whose main objective was competition, began to emerge. The first organization to call themselves all-stars were the Q94 Rockers from [[Richmond, Virginia]], founded in 1982.<ref name="ACFeb2007">{{Cite journal | last = Smith | first = Jennifer Renèe | title = The All-Star Chronicles | journal = American Cheerleader | volume = 13 | issue = 1 | pages = 40–42 |date=February 2007 }}</ref>  All-star teams competing prior to 1987 were placed into the same divisions as teams that represented schools and sports leagues. In 1986, the [[National Cheerleaders Association]] (NCA) addressed this situation by creating a separate division for teams lacking a sponsoring school or athletic association, calling it the All-Star Division and debuting it at their 1987 competitions. As the popularity of this type of team grew, more and more of them were formed, attending competitions sponsored by many different organizations and companies, each using its own set of rules, regulations, and divisions. This situation became a concern to coaches and gym owners, as the inconsistencies caused coaches to keep their routines in a constant state of flux, detracting from time that could be better utilized for developing skills and providing personal attention to their athletes. More importantly, because the various companies were constantly vying for a competitive edge, safety standards had become more and more lax. In some cases, unqualified coaches and inexperienced squads were attempting dangerous stunts as a result of these expanded sets of rules.<ref name="varsity2004">{{cite web | title = The Cheerleading Worlds Administered by the USASF | publisher = Varsity Brands, Inc. | url =http://www.varsity.com/index.asp?article=1514 | access-date = 2007-09-20 | url-status = dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090203090219/http://www.varsity.com/index.asp?article=1514 | archive-date = 2009-02-03 }}</ref>

[[The United States All Star Federation]] (USASF) was formed in 2003 by the competition companies to act as the national governing body for all star cheerleading and to create a standard set of rules and judging criteria to be followed by all competitions sanctioned by the Federation. Eager to grow the sport and create more opportunities for high-level teams, The USASF hosted the first [[Cheerleading Worlds]] on April 24, 2004.<ref name="varsity2004"/> At the same time, cheerleading coaches from all over the country organized themselves for the same rule making purpose, calling themselves the National All Star Cheerleading Coaches Congress (NACCC). In 2005, the NACCC was absorbed by the USASF to become their rule making body.<ref name="ACFeb2007"/> In late 2006, the [[U.S. All Star Federation|USASF]] facilitated the creation of the International All-Star Federation (IASF), which now governs club cheerleading worldwide.

[[File:JamFEST_Cheer_and_Dance_2009.jpg|right|thumb|Competitive cheer - Paramount Cheerleaders doing a scale]]

All-star cheerleading, as sanctioned by the USASF, involves a squad of 5–36 females and males. All-star cheerleaders are placed into divisions, which are grouped based upon age, size of the team, gender of participants, and ability level. The age groups vary from under 4 years of age to 18 years and over. The squad prepares year-round for many different competition appearances, but they actually perform only for up to {{frac|2|1|2}} minutes during their team's routine. The numbers of competitions a team participates in varies from team to team, but generally, most teams tend to participate in six to ten competitions a year. These competitions include locals or regionals, which normally take place in school gymnasiums or local venues, nationals, hosted in large venues all around the U.S., and the Cheerleading Worlds, which takes place at [[Walt Disney World]] in [[Orlando, Florida]]. During a competition routine, a squad performs carefully choreographed stunting, tumbling, jumping, and dancing to their own custom music. Teams create their routines to an eight-count system and apply that to the music so that the team members execute the elements with precise timing and synchronization.

All-star cheerleaders compete at competitions hosted by private event production companies, the foremost of these being Varsity Spirit. Varsity Spirit is the parent company for many subsidiaries including The National Cheerleader's Association, The Universal Cheerleader's Association, AmeriCheer, Allstar Challenge, and JamFest, among others. Each separate company or subsidiary typically hosts their own local and national level competitions. This means that many gyms within the same area could be state and national champions for the same year and never have competed against each other. Currently, there is no system in place that awards only one state or national title.

Judges at a competition watch closely for illegal skills from the group or any individual member. Here, an illegal skill is something that is not allowed in that division due to difficulty or safety restrictions. They look out for deductions, or things that go wrong, such as a dropped stunt or a tumbler who does not stick a landing. More generally, judges look at the difficulty and execution of jumps, stunts and tumbling, synchronization, creativity, the sharpness of the motions, showmanship, and overall routine execution.

If a level 6 or 7 team places high enough at selected [[U.S. All Star Federation|USASF/IASF]] sanctioned national competitions, they could earn a place at the [[U.S. All Star Federation|Cheerleading Worlds]] and compete against teams from all over the world, as well as receive money for placing.<ref name="nw20007"/> For elite level cheerleaders, The Cheerleading Worlds is the highest level of competition to which they can aspire, and winning a world championship title is an incredible honor.

===Professional===
[[File:Pro Bowl 2006 cheerleaders.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|NFL Cheerleaders at the [[2006 Pro Bowl]].]]

Professional cheerleaders and dancers cheer for sports such as [[football]], [[basketball]], [[baseball]], [[wrestling]], [[hockey]], [[association football]], [[rugby football]], [[lacrosse]], and [[cricket]]. There are only a small handful of professional cheerleading leagues around the world; some professional leagues include the [[National Basketball Association Cheerleading|NBA Cheerleading League]], the [[National Football League Cheerleading|NFL Cheerleading League]], the [[CFL]] Cheerleading League, the [[MLS]] Cheerleading League, the [[MLB]] Cheerleading League, and the [[National Hockey League|NHL]] Ice Girls. Although professional cheerleading leagues exist in multiple countries, there are no [[Olympic Games|Olympic teams]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Cheer teams to provide crowd support only at winter olympics |website=usacheer.org |url=https://www.usacheer.org/winter-olympics |date=2018-01-23|access-date=2018-02-14|archive-date=2018-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215083623/https://www.usacheer.org/winter-olympics|url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition to cheering at games and competing, professional cheerleaders often do a lot of [[philanthropy]] and [[Charitable trust|charity work]], [[model (person)|modeling]], [[Motivational speaker|motivational speaking]], [[reality television|television performances]], and [[advertising]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}