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We remain committed to fair and consistent scoring. Our goal is to evolve and provide the tools needed to all school teams this season for a clear understanding of divisions, rules, and scoring. To achieve this, we will follow the four guiding principles of transparency, fairness, integrity, and safety.
Criteria for Selecting Judges
Judges selected for one of our regional events should meet these standards:
In addition to the regional event standards these additional criteria will be used when selecting our National Championship Judges.
Judge Selection – Example Conflicts of Interest
Providing accurate, fair, and unbiased feedback for our customers is one of our top priorities. With that said, our selected panel of judges must have no affiliation with teams in a division they are scheduled to judge.
Example of potential Conflicts of Interest:
For Nationals/Championship events
Scoring Review Process (See Attached)
Click here for the USA Scoring Review Process.
Legality Review Process
United Spirit Association offers a service to help teams with legality and safety questions. Teams will be able to email skills in throughout the year to receive a legality or safety response. This service will help teams get a response with a video attached back to use in situations where the skill may be in question.
Teams are not required, but encouraged, to submit a safety video.
To email a video, the following must be included:
Videos that do not follow the above rules will not receive a response.
If you know that your video does not meet all the requirements above, please refilm/resubmit the video. Only videos that meet the above requirements will be reviewed.
Please send all videos to USARules@varsity.com.
Please note: Performing the skill at a prior event does not ensure that a skill is legal nor that it would have warranted a legality warning. Only submitting the skill will make the skill eligible for a warning. USA can only guarantee this process will be accepted at USA-branded events. This would not include other Varsity-branded and state association events.
Click here for a complete list of changes for the 2023-2024 USA Cheer High School Rules.
Judges Directory
Coming soon!
View our 2023-2024 Spirit Scoresheets and Scoring Range Documents
Routines at all USA competitions must follow the 2023-2024 NFHS Rules Book, 2023-2024 USA High School Teams Show Cheer and Group Stunt Division Limitations, 2023-2024 USA Song/Pom/Pep Flag Safety Rules and/or the 2023-2024 USA Song/Pom Division Limitations. To order a copy of the current NFHS Rules book please visit https://www.usacheer.org/high-school-cheer#_order.
Submitting a video is the only way to review a routine for potential safety violations.
For all legality, division limitations, or questions regarding specific performance elements, you may email a video that contains the skill in question.
All emailed videos must include the following:
Cheerleading videos can be emailed to USARules@varsity.com.
Song/Pom and Pep Flag videos can be emailed to USADanceRules@varsity.com.
Note that submission of a routine and/or its elements does not preclude a team from being assessed a penalty while at a specific USA competition, as performances from the video submission may differ from those executed on the competition floor. Submission of a routine does not guarantee that it can be reviewed.
All division limitations can be found in the 2023-2024 USA Spirit Competition Information Packet which you may download above.
For specific cheerleading stunt and safety questions that pertain to the 2023-2024 NFHS Rules Book, or to the 2023-2024 High School Teams Show Cheer and Group Stunt Division Limitations please email USARules@varsity.com.
For specific song/pom or pep flag/short flag safety questions that only pertain to the USA Song/Pom/Pep Flag Safety Rules, or to the 2023-2024 Song/Pom Division Limitations please email USADanceRules@varsity.com.
Music
Note music guidelines are being followed at all USA and Varsity Brands events. Competition music must be properly licensed and a team must be able to provide a printed copy of proof of licensing during registration at the event they are attending. This proof will be reviewed at registration. For further details visit www.varsity.com/music.
2023-2024 USA Dance Competition Divisions (Click to View)
For Dance Program related questions, please contact: USADanceRules@varsity.com
To register for USA Dance Competitions, please contact: Nicole Cestone USA State Director ncestone@varsity.com 949-324-1973
View our 2023-2024 Jr. Spirit Scoresheets and Scoring Range Documents
Routines at all USA competitions must follow the 2023-2024 NFHS Rules Book, 2023-2024 USA High School Teams Show Cheer and Group Stunt Division Limitations, 2023-2024 USA Song/Pom/Pep Flag Safety Rules and/or the 2023-2024 USA Song/Pom Division Limitations.
All division limitations can be found in the 2023-2024 USA Jr. Spirit Competition Information Packet which you may download above.
For specific cheerleading stunt and safety questions that pertain to the 2023-2024 NFHS Rules Book, or to the 2023-2024 Jr. High School Teams Show Cheer and Group Stunt Division Limitations please email USARules@varsity.com.
For specific song/pom or pep flag/short flag safety questions that only pertain to the USA Song/Pom Safety Rules, or to the 2023-2024 Song/Pom Division Limitations please email USADanceRules@varsity.com.
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