All-American & Special Events

The NCA All-American Program is one of the most popular programs in the history of cheerleading. An individual award given to those who display superior technical skills, leadership, and strong personal values. Over the years, the NCA All-American has evolved and changed with the times, but it will always remain the most popular and prestigious individual cheerleading recognition in America.

The All-American program continues to award 3 levels of All-American stature.

LEVEL 1: THE ALL-AMERICAN NOMINATION

Award: All-American Nominee Ribbon and Nominee Certificate

1. Instructors may nominate in the following areas:

• JUMPS – The cheerleader has superior skills in his/her jump technique. The individual must display strong form, above level jumps and a wide variety of jumps.
• MOTIONS – Must demonstrate strong motion technique with every motion while learning and performing.
• TUMBLING – The standard to be nominated is a back-handspring series. They must have good technique and solid skills.
• STUNTING – Must have strong skills as either a base or a top person. Nomination is based on technique, skill level and involvement in the stunt group.
• DANCE – Must demonstrates strong dance skills, displaying superior technique and excellent memory skills.
• LEADERSHIP – The cheerleader exhibits superior leadership qualities on his/her team.

2. Nomination takes place starting at the beginning of camp and concluding at noon prior to the scheduled All-American Tryouts.

3. All-American nominees will have the opportunity to tryout the last day of camp. They will perform three stamina jumps, an entrance that can include tumbling and the NCA All-American Cheer.

4. All-American nominees should receive a personalized All-American Nominee ribbon when they are nominated. Regardless if individuals decide to tryout or not, all nominees will receive a certificate and are eligible for Varsity Special Events.

LEVEL 2: THE ALL-AMERICAN TEAM

Award: All-American Team Certificate and All-American Team Patch (Resident & Commuter Camps Only)

1. All-American Tryout is optional and anyone that received a nomination is eligible to participate.

2. The individuals that qualify for the All-American Team will be recognized during the Final Awards Ceremony on the last day of camp. They will be presented with an All-American Team certificate and patch.

LEVEL 3: TOP ALL-AMERICAN AWARD

Number: Only 1 individual per camp will be awarded (Resident & Commuter Camps Only)

Award: NCA Top All-American Medallion and Top All-American Certificate

1. The highest score from the All-American Tryout will receive the Top All-American Award.

2. Top All-American will be announced after the All-American Team and will receive a medallion and certificate.

How To Properly Score – This is followed by all NCA Staff as it is the national standard for NCA.

JUMPS

• Low: 1
• Below Level: 2
• Level: 3
• Hyper: 4
• Extremely Hyper: 5
• 0.5 Deductions: Improper placement, feet apart on landing, flexed feet, etc.

ENTRANCE/TUMBLING/ENTHUSIASM

• Ordinary Spirit w/ NO tumbling: 1
• Genuine Spirit and/or Beginner tumbling: 2
• RHS: 3
• RHTuck/Layout: 3 – 4
• Added Front tumbling/Whip Pass /RHFull: 4 – 5
• 0.5 Deductions: NO genuine spirit, poor execution (ex. legs apart in HS, no set for flipping skill, pike down lay/full

MOTION TECHNIQUE

• Poor placement and not sharp: 1
• Decent placement and sharpness: 2
• Very good placement but not sharp: 3
• Very sharp, hard hitting motions with exact placement: 4
• EXTREMELY sharp, perfect placement (VERY RARE TO GIVE THIS SCORE): 5

MEMORY

• Everyone starts at 5
• Deduct 0.5 or 1 point for each mistake.
• Deduct 1 point each time for starting over if before middle (after Toe Touch is past the middle).
• Deduct 2 points if past middle of cheer.
• When starting over you can void past mistakes ONLY.

SPIRIT/VOICE/PROJECTION/EXPRESSION

• Extremely reserved and quiet with little to no confidence: 1
• Reserved and clear but not loud and no emotion towards performance: 2
• Good enough to get by and were loud and clear but no emotion towards performance: 3
• Smile from ear to ear, care and emotion displayed, could hear them in a crowded room clearly, genuinely excited to be trying out: 4
• You cannot use words to describe how much confidence and genuine spirit they displayed: 5

OVERALL IMPRESSION/APPEARANCE/POISE

• Didn’t meet requirements of a majority of the categories: 1
• Below average performance in a majority of the categories: 2
• Performed well in that they scored a 3 or 4 in every category: 3
• Performed as if it were a real game, they genuinely wanted and deserved to be an All-American: 4
• They received a 4 or 5 in every category and they made you want to run out and do the cheer with them: 5