Our Commitment to Safety

Our Commitment to Safety

Our commitment to the safety of today’s athletes—who will carry on this tradition—is fundamental to Varsity Spirit’s mission and the future of cheer and dance. Together, we will continue to champion safety and security to best protect the youth who participate in this sport.

As a reminder, here are some of the protocols we have in place as we keep athlete safety top of mind:

• Require all Varsity Spirit employees to complete our “Athlete Safety” training course. This new training course builds upon the foundation of our previous Maltreatment of Children training and incorporates important elements from our new Participant Protection Policy, emphasizing a more comprehensive approach to safety.
• Require annual background checks for all Varsity Spirit staff, not just those involved in events, and require event vendors to adhere to background checks through a vendor certification process.
• Provide training covering cyberbullying, hazing, human trafficking and imbalances of power to all camp instructional staff and event staff.
• Require USA Cheer Membership for all school coaches wishing to access the warmup area, backstage, or coaches’ box at our school camps and competitions. Being a member mandates that coaches undergo a background check, complete athlete protection and concussion awareness training, and adhere to a member code of conduct.
• Adhere to the United States All-Star Federation (USASF) requirements for All-Star competitions. USASF requires background screening for anyone age 18 years or older who accompanies a team into a warm up or backstage area at USASF Sanctioned Competitions.
• Event Safety Manager on-site at events to assist with any safety and well-being responsibilities and retain the services of outside security consultants to review the safety and security practices for Varsity Brands and Varsity Spirit events.
• Prohibited Items at events to maximize athlete and spectator safety. We have established a list of items that are deemed unacceptable and a potential safety hazard or security concern, such as weapons, firearms, pepper spray/ mace, air horns, laser pointers, etc. For the full list of items prohibited at Varsity Spirit events, visit our Safety page on Varsity.com.

 Thank you for your continued support in keeping all athletes safe!