Content placed in this side section will only be visible on this page.What is All Star Cheer?
If you watch the first couple of episodes of Netflix cheer, you’re going to get a great lesson on what that is, but All Star cheer is really the “show” and athleticism. All Star cheer is where you’re going to get the big huge glittery bows and high production.
All Star cheer is where you see most “cheerlebrities” as well. People like Gabi Butler and Ryan Cummings have made a name for themselves as a result of being involved in All Star cheer.
USASF stands for United States All Star Federation. It is fitting that the word “cheerleading” is not present. While All
Star does stem from the sport of cheerleading, it is not identical. These are the four main components of an All Star
cheer routine:
•Stunts
•Tumbling
•Jumps
•Dance
The sole purpose of a recreational, high school, or college cheerleading squad is usually to cheer for an athletic
event, commonly football or basketball. Competing is an additional, sometimes even secondary, role of the cheerleaders. The primary purpose of All Star is to train and to compete against other training facilities. All Star does not cheer for another sport.
The History of All Star Cheer
The very first All Star cheer team was coached by Hilda McDaniel, called the Q94 Rockers from Richmond, Virgina, back in 1982. All Star cheer as we know it today started with the first two All Star Cheer gyms in 1994: Cheer Athletics and Top Gun All Stars, which are both thriving with multiple locations today. Other notable All Star cheer programs are Stingray All Stars, California All Stars, and thousands of other gyms across the U.S. All Star cheer is making its way around the world, too, with budding programs in the UK, Australia, and even South Korea.
What are the divisions in All Star Cheer?
Divisions in All Star cheer look different now than they did in 1994 and they look different now than they did nine months ago. This sport is always changing!
There are basically four divisions in All Star cheer:
CheerAbilities
Novice
Prep
Elite
The CheerAbilities division will absolutely warm your heart, and they get a standing ovation every single time. CheerAbilities teams are ages six and up and perform at Levels 1 and 2. CheerAbilities teams are made up of athletes who are differently abled or who have challenges. It’s just the most fun to watch. It’s heartwarming to see some of those athletes get out on the floor and have their time to shine when the world tells them they’re different.
The Novice division has only been around the last few years. This is going to be your lowest commitment level in terms of finances and time. They usually only compete at 1 or 2 competitions per season.
The Prep division is a little bit more of a commitment. Prep cheer is a little bit more competitive, and athletes are competing more levels. Prep consists of the Tiny, Mini, Youth, Junior, and Senior age groups, at varying skill levels.
Boys and girls can both compete in the Novice and the Prep divisions, but they usually only compete a few times a year and they don’t compete in “post season” events.
The Elite division is going to be the main makeup of the cheer competitions that you see.
Cheerleading as a whole is trying to integrate and be more inclusive of cheer teams across the globe, so the International division has been introduced as a sub-division in Elite All Star Cheer. Listen to the episode to learn more about the International division!
As a whole, the Elite division is made up of Levels 1 through 7 and those are divided out into the following age groups: Tiny, Mini, Youth, Junior, and Senior.
What do the levels mean in All Star cheer?
The levels are somewhat simple, and are mostly defined by tumbling skill levels. The level will also play into what kind of stunting a team is allowed to do at a competition.
When All Star was an infant of a sport, there were no levels. Team A competed against team B, because there were
minimal rules and vastly fewer teams. Now there could be as many as 1,500 teams at an event! Levels are necessary to differentiate skill level in all aspects of All Star, mostly pertaining to tumbling and stunting.
Below are the levels and a BRIEF example of some tumbling and stunting skills you may see in that level:
- Level 1: cartwheels, round-offs, forward and backward rolls, front and back walkovers, knee or waist level single
leg stunt, two-footed prep, straight cradle
- Level 2: back handspring, front handspring, Level 1 tumbling connected to a handspring, prep level single leg
stunts, extended two-footed stunts, half-twisting mounts, barrel rolls, begin basket tosses
- Level 3: running tucks, standing series backhandsprings, jumps connected to standing backhandspring, full
twisting mounts to prep, full twisting dismounts, extended single leg stunts
- Level 4- standing tucks, running layouts, full twisting mounts to extended two-footed stunts, double twisting dismounts from two-footed stunts, release moves to extended single leg stunt.
- Level 5: standing tumbling to full/double, running tumbling to full/double, full, 1.5, and double twisting mounts,
double twisting dismount from extended single leg, all advanced release moves
- Level 6: tumbling is comparable to level 5, free-flipping mounts, flipping tosses, 2.5 high pyramids (an athlete
holding an athlete who is holding another athlete).
What’s the difference between a D1 All Star cheer gym and a D2 All Star cheer gym?
The difference between a D1 All Star cheer gym and a D2 All Star cheer gym comes down to the number of athletes. You can classify yourself as a D1 or a D2 cheer gym if you have 125 athletes or less, but you cannot be a D2 All Star cheer gym if you have over 125 athletes. This helps break out divisions at larger competitions, and gives the smaller programs a chance to really compete.
All Star Cheer Post Season Events
A “post season” All Star cheer event is one where you usually have to get invited by competing at one of the qualifying regular season events. The All Star cheer season is usually 11 months long, but “regular season” competitions are usually done by mid-April. After that, there are a few post season events:
The Summit
The D2 Summit
Regional Summits
All Star Worlds
The Cheerleading Worlds
The One
What’s the difference in all these cheer events?
Different cheer competitions across the country are owned by different companies. Varsity Spirit owns a large majority of competitions across the U.S. including The Summit events and The Cheerleading Worlds. Chances are that if you’re competing at at an event, it’s a Varsity-owned competition.