The U.S. All Star Federation (USASF) is the governing body for all star

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

and dance in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The USASF was founded in December 2003 by cheerleading competition sponsors

National Cheerleaders Association The US National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) was established as a way to bring cheerleaders together to learn new skills. Since 1951, the NCA has held summer camps, and is credited with the invention of the herkie jump, the pom pom, the spirit st ...

, Universal Cheerleaders Association, Cheersport, and America's Best to develop a standard set of safety rules and competition regulations and conduct the Cheerleading Worlds.

History

The first organization to call themselves "All-Stars" and go to competitions were the Q94 Rockers from

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, founded in 1982 by Hilda McDaniel. All-star teams competing prior to 1987 were placed into the same divisions as teams that represented schools and sports leagues. In 1986, National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) decided to address this situation by creating a separate division for these teams lacking a sponsoring school or athletic association, calling it the 'All-Star Division' and debuting it at their 1987 competitions. As interest in these "all-star" teams grew, various organizations and competitions were formed, often with their own sets of rules and potentially lax and/or dangerous safety standards. The USASF was formed in 2003 as a governing body for "all-star" cheerleading, funded by Varsity Spirit. The main objective was to create a standard set of rules for judging that are to be followed by all competitions sanctioned by the Federation. At the same time, cheerleading coaches from all over the country organized themselves for the same rulemaking purpose, calling themselves the National All Star Cheerleading Coaches Congress (NACCC). In 2005, the NACCC was absorbed by the USASF and became their rule-making body. In late-2006, USASF facilitated the creation of the International All Star Federation (IASF), the first international governing body for cheerleading. In 2008 a decision was made to begin a biannual process, making the 2009-10 season and the 2010-11 season the first two-year rules cycle. In September 2022, a federal lawsuit was filed in Memphis alleging the USASF,

Varsity Brands Varsity Brands, Inc. is an American apparel company owned by Bain Capital. It is primarily focused on academic apparel and memorabilia, with its operations split among three major subsidiaries, including Herff Jones—a manufacturer of products suc ...

and Varsity Spirit, and others were negligent in allowing predatory behavior from coaches and gyms, violating the

SafeSport The United States Center for SafeSport is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 2017 under the auspices of the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017. SafeSport is tasked with a ...

Act of 2017.

Cheerleading World Championship

The foremost competition for All Star Cheer is the annual

World Cheerleading Championships The International Cheer Union (ICU) is the worldwide sports governing body of cheerleading (also known as "Cheer"). It was founded in 2004, and is recognized by SportAccord / Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), and is ...

, also known as Cheerleading Worlds, held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. The USASF hosted the first Cheerleading Worlds on April 24, 2004. In 2007, over 100 teams from 15 different countries competed in the event. Teams must earn a “bid” to get to attend the world championships.

References

{{Reflist American cheerleading organizations