Quick answer: our level, skill and division pages are checked against the official USASF All Star Cheer Rules and Age Grid for the current season; our competition pages against the event producers' own published guides; and our history pages against the sources cited at the foot of each article.
Rules, Levels and Divisions
- USASF All Star Cheer Rules, 2026–27 (updated 18 May 2026) - the level-by-level rules for tumbling, stunts, pyramids, dismounts and tosses, plus the Prep, Novice and international division differences. Used for every page in our levels section and the level notes on our stunt and tumbling pages. Available from usasf.net/rules.
- USASF Cheer Age Grid, 2026–27 - age divisions, tiers (Elite, Prep, Novice) and how divisions are combined or split. Used for our age grid and division pages.
- USASF All Star Cheer Rules, 2025–26 - the previous season's edition, used to confirm which rules changed between seasons.
The USASF rulebooks are copyright-protected and may not be reproduced, so we summarise them in our own words and link to the official source rather than quoting them at length.
Scoring and Deductions
- Varsity All Star deduction system - the shared categories of athlete falls, building bobbles and building falls used at many All Star events. See What Is a Deduction?.
- The USASF All Star Cheer Rules (above) for routine time limits and how timing is measured. See What Is a Time Deduction?.
Because point values differ between event producers and change each season, we explain categories and concepts rather than quoting point values.
Competitions
- The Summit Championship Information Guide, 2026 (Varsity Spirit) - Summit divisions, bid types and rounds. See What Is Summit?.
- The Cheerleading Worlds - division and bid information published by the USASF, summarised on Wikipedia. See What Is Worlds?.
History
History articles list their specific sources at the foot of each page. The main ones are:
- International Cheer Union - About the ICU - ICU founding and IOC recognition dates;
- USA Cheer - History of Cheerleading and Varsity - History of Cheerleading - early cheerleading at Princeton and Minnesota, and women's participation;
- Ohio State University Libraries - Of Pompons and Human Pyramids and Wikipedia's Cheerleading uniform article - the history of uniforms, skirts and shoes;
- Wikipedia articles on Cheerleading, Varsity Spirit, the U.S. All Star Federation and the International Cheer Union, used to cross-check dates and as a route to their own cited sources.
Where sources disagree on a date or detail, we say so or give the most widely cited version, rather than presenting one figure as certain.
What We Avoid Relying On
- Unofficial forums or social media as a primary source for rules or scoring
- Single-gym or single-team terminology presented as universal
- Outdated rules documents, without checking for a current edition
Rules-Sensitive Pages
Pages covering levels, divisions, scoring and legal skills show which rules edition they were checked against, and when. See our rules and scoring policy for more detail, and let us know if you spot anything out of date.