What Is a Division in Cheerleading?

Quick answer: a division is a category teams are grouped into for competition - usually a combination of level, age group and sometimes team size or type - so that teams only compete against others in a genuinely comparable category.

What the Term Means

A single competition typically includes many divisions running throughout the day, each combining a numbered level, an age group, and sometimes other factors like team size (small or large) or team type (all-girl or coed). A team only competes against other teams in the exact same division.

Why Divisions Exist

Without divisions, a Level 5 team of 18-year-olds and a Level 1 team of 8-year-olds would be judged by the same standard, which wouldn't reflect a fair or meaningful comparison. Dividing teams by level, age and other factors keeps competition meaningful.

How Divisions Are Structured

Age groupings are defined by an age grid - the official chart of which athlete birth years are eligible for each age division - alongside the team's numbered level and its tier (Elite, Prep or Novice). Larger divisions are often split further by team size (for example Small, Medium and Large) and into all-girl and coed.

Reading a Division Name

Division names string these pieces together (the exact wording and order vary between events). A few typical examples:

• "Junior Level 2 Small" - the Junior age group, Level 2 skills, a small team, Elite tier (the tier is often left out of the name when it's Elite).
• "Senior Coed Level 6 Medium" - the Senior age group, a coed team, Level 6, medium-sized.
• "Prep Youth Level 1" - the Prep tier, Youth age group, Level 1.

Team Size Splits

Under the USASF Cheer Age Grid (2026–27), event producers split large divisions by team size. For example, at Levels 1–4.2 a division can be split into Small (5–22 athletes) and Medium (23–30 athletes); at Levels 5–6, Small (5–22) and Large (23–38), or Medium (23–30) and Large (31–38). Producers may also split divisions into Division I and Division II by program size, or into "Group A" and "Group B" when a division has 10 or more teams.

Scoring-System Differences

The exact structure of divisions - how age is calculated, what size categories exist, and how many total divisions there are - varies significantly between governing bodies and competition providers.

Related Terms

See Cheer Levels Explained for the skill-based part of a division, and What Happens at a Cheer Competition? for how divisions are used across a competition day.