Saturday, February 05, 2011

Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk: Cheer is here

Rather STUNT is here.
USA Cheering's season of STUNT began last week with a competition at University of Louisville featuring teams from the host institution as well as West Virginia University, and Moorehead State.
You might recall a certain schism in the cheering world that occurred after the announcement of the Quinnipiac University cheerleading decision last summer. USA Cheer, a for-profit entity that, to date, has controlled the majority of...well...all things cheerleading (competitions at all levels, apparel, gear, camps) in the US for decades. USA Cheer announced it was creating a sport called STUNT with the aim of meeting NCAA standards for an emerging sport and Title IX standards for what constitutes a sport.
They are seemingly in competition with a group comprised of university administrators seeking the same end goals. This group, the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association, has partnered with USA Gymnastics in an attempt to give competitive cheerleading sport status at colleges and universities.
Anyway STUNT has scheduled about 10 contest over the course of its season (the establishment of a season is part of the requirements) that lasts from January until April.
The first competition was deemed a success by its organizers:

"This competition was a huge success for USA Cheer and STUNT, the competitive morale and immense team spirit at the event was evidence that STUNT is becoming increasingly more popular and important in communities across the country," said USA Cheer Executive Director, Bill Seely.

The first link above explains the format of the competitions and how STUNT (not sure why the all-caps thing) is different from traditional cheer.