Varsity Brand Competition Companies by Sheila Noone
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 BUSINESS BUILDERS

Varsity Brand Competition Companies

by Sheila Noone

Varsity offers the widest selection of all competition companies. Between them, the companies under the Varsity umbrella share a collective 325 years of cheerleading experience. That’s three centuries’ worth of knowledge, networking and cheerleading know-how. What makes Varsity so special is that each of the different companies has retained its own personality, providing coaches with an opportunity to choose the organization that best suits the needs of their team.

In case you’ve never actually sat down and considered the story of each of the different cheerleading companies, here is a quick 411 on each.

Varsity Cheerleading

Competition Companies

National Cheerleaders Association

(NCA)—Founded by Lawrence “Herkie” Herkimer in 1948, NCA was first with so many of the elements that are crucial to cheerleading today: first camps, first regional competitions, first poms and first apparel company. To this day, Herkie is a visible member of the NCA family and beloved by cheer fans nationwide. Even in the relatively new world of all-star cheerleading, NCA was first with a dedicated competition in 1987. Today, the NCA All Star Championship is the most prestigious with more than 450 teams competing. NCA also runs the NCA Senior and Junior High School National Championship in Dallas, Texas and the NCA/NDA Collegiate Cheer and Dance National Championship in Daytona, Florida. NCA Championships are broadcast nationwide on the Fox Sports Network (FSN). http://nca.varsity.com/

Universal Cheerleaders Association

(UCA)—When UCA was founded in 1974 by Jeff Webb; he had the goal of adding a new level of athleticism to cheerleading. In 1980, UCA created the first actual national championship for cheerleaders, the National High School Cheerleading Championship (NHSCC), the only true “nationals” for high school, with more than 50 regional qualifiers nationwide. The 2009 NHSCC welcomed a record 400 teams. All of the UCA’s National Championships are broadcast on the ESPN networks. UCA’s other Nationals include the National College Cheerleading Championship and the National All Star Cheerleading Championship held at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. All UCA Nationals are aired nationwide on ESPN. http://uca.varsity.com/

United Spirit Association (USA)

USA was founded in 1950 by Robert Olmstead, who brought West Coast flair to cheerleading. Today, USA holds five different competition events catering to all age groups, experience and ability levels. These events include USA Junior Nation- als, USA All Star Cheer and Dance Nationals, USA Dance/Drill Nationals, USA High School Spirit Nationals, and USA Collegiate Nationals. All USA Nationals are held in Anaheim and Los Angeles, California. http://usacamps.com/competitions.html

National Dance Alliance (NDA)

NDA was founded in 1976 by NCA’s Lawrence Herkimer, and the first NDA National Championship was held in 1985 as the NCA Superstar Pom Pon/Songleaders National Championship. Today the NDA National Championship is held in Orlando, Florida at the Hard Rock Live at Universal Citywalk. http://nda.varsity.com/

Universal Dance Association

Founded in 1980 by Jeff Webb and Kris Shepherd, UDA offers the widest variety of dance competition dates and locations throughout the U.S. Dance teams can compete in up to two categories at these dance championships including Jazz, Hip Hop, Pom, and High Kick. UDA created the National Dance Team Championship (NDTC) in 1985, and it’s now the largest dance team event of its kind. It’s held in Orlando, Florida and aired nationally on ESPN and ESPN2. http://uda.varsity.com/

American Cheerleaders Association

(ACA), founded in 1997, holds their two-day ACA Cheer Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas where the experience is positive and upbeat and the staff is friendly. ACA cheerleading competitions are known for their fair scoring and great customer service. http://aca.varsity.com/nationals.aspx

Athletic Championships—Mike Martinez started the Athletic Championships in 2002, and it became the largest provider of two day cheer and dance national competitions. There is a no risk registration process with no late registration fees, no division change fees, and no cancellation fees. At these cheerleading competitions, cheerleaders get a choice of gifts and coaches receive a retro track jacket and attend free. http://athleticchampionships.varsity.com/

The American Championships

The American Championships were founded by Jim Thorp in 1991, and offer three different types of competitions: Regional events, State events, and National competitions. Events feature high-energy production, a first-class warm up area, a state-of-the-art judging system featuring video replay, jackets for all champions, and gifts for all competitors and coaches. http://ac.varsity.com/NationalEvents.aspx

All Star Challenge—All Star Challenge was founded in 2000 by Don Collins and is an all-star favorite. Featuring uniquely themed professional sets at each location, these competitions are upbeat and showy. The judging system features an instant system that replays each routine after its competition. Over 50 “Outstanding Achievement Awards” are given at these cheerleading competitions. http://allstarchallenge.varsity.com/

American Cheer Power—American Cheer Power was founded by Regina Symons in 1985 and now offers over 30 championships nationwide for teams and individuals with $60,000 in Cash Awards and Scholarships given away. There are three national championships in the south, northeast, and west through Cheer Power, along with an event that goes a step beyond nationals: The Tournament of Champions in the southeast. http://www.cheerpower.com/index.html

World Spirit Federation—World

Spirit Federation (WSF) was founded by

Scott Foster with the goal of providing

national competitions around the country.

WSF prides itself on their digital scoring

system which continues to set the standard

for judging in the cheerleading industry.

http://wsf.varsity.com/

Spirit Sports—Spirit Sports was founded

by well-known cheerleading coaches

James Speed and Shannon Smith to provide

a high-quality national championship

at a reasonable price. Spirit Sports now

runs two-day cheerleading national championships

across the country.

http://spiritsports.varsity.com/home.html

Spirit Xpress Cheerleading—Spirit

Xpress Cheerleading was founded in 1992

by Don Collins. This cheerleading organization

provides one day regional competitions

primarily in North Carolina. Competitions

are economically priced and offer

one performance only.

http://spiritxpress.varsity.com/

Spirit Cheer—Spirit Cheer was founded

in 1998 by Mike Pare. It began by creating

“NBA Fun Days” for cheerleaders awarding

the top team at the day’s competition

the honor of performing as the half time

entertainment for an NBA game. Today’s

Spirit Cheer is known for producing cost

effective and fun cheerleading events for

all ages and abilities around the country.

http://spiritcheer.varsity.com/

International All-Levels Championship—

The latest addition to the

Varsity family, the International All-Levels

was founded by a group of 31 All Star industry

leaders, including Varsity Brands.

This championship is the first cheerleading

championship to let teams of all levels

and sizes compete internationally.

Over 160 Qualifying Events determine the

teams competing at the All-Levels Championships

where ultimately, one Grand

Champion in each division is determined

in a final, virtual round of competition on

Varsity.com.

http://www.all-levels.com/Home.mvc/Index