The Cheerleading Worlds

Both The Cheerleading Worlds and The Dance Worlds are invite-only events, with teams required to win bids in order to qualify to compete. Three types of bids are available: "paid" and "at-large". Paid Bids Paid bids are only offered to cheerleading teams for the Cheerleading Worlds portion of the event. For cheerleading teams, a paid bid is designed to cover all competition expenses, including lodging, transportation and registration fees to compete, up to a maximum of $650 per athlete, and for up to two coaches. Paid bids for cheer teams are only awarded to the highest scoring teams at the largest and most prestigious competitions throughout the season leading up to the Cheerleading Worlds event. At-Large Bids At-large bids are the other type of bid available, working the same for both cheer and dance teams for these events. These bids are typically awarded to the teams who are eligible to compete at the Worlds events who are runners-up at bid-qualifying events, functioning as an invitation but requiring teams to pay for 100% of their own costs related to their participation at the event. Junior Team Bids (Dance) In 2010, the Dance Worlds introduced a junior division, in which the bid process functioned differently. Junior teams did not win their bids at events, but rather via a review of video submissions. For US teams, any junior team was welcomed to submit a video to be reviewed, however only six teams were selected to receive at-large bids to compete in this division. Bid Rules A team awarded a bid must compete at the Worlds event in the same division and team-makeup in which they performed in at the qualifying event where their bid was awarded. The only exception to this is teams competing within the limited division, which is set aside for gyms that only field one Worlds-eligible team. The number of athletes that compete on any Worlds team is not allowed to exceed the number of athletes that took the floor with the team at their bid-qualifying event. Cheer athletes within the same club are also limited to the number of teams in which they are eligible to compete and earn paid bids, with an athlete being bound to the second team they compete with that receives a paid bid. Teams are also limited in the number of athletes who previously earned paid bids who are allowed to compete for and be awarded paid bids on a second team. Substitutes and wild-card alternates are also limited, with the number varying by division and global location. Crossovers of athletes are not permitted between teams from the same club, between different clubs, or between cheer and dance teams from the same or different clubs. In other words, an athlete is only allowed to represent one team in either cheer or one club in dance when competing at Worlds. Also, there is a limit on the number of athletes per team that can compete at both the Summit (an end of year competition for levels 1-5) and The Cheerleading Worlds during the same competition season. This can be complicated for gyms as many level 6 worlds athletes also cross-compete with a level 4 or 5 Summit team at their gym. == Cheer Levels and Divisions ==

The levels and divisions that are offered have changed significantly since the first event in 2004, with the event seeing a large growth and expansion over the years. In 2025, the event will offer divisions in levels 5, 6 and 7 for international teams competing in IASF worlds divisions, while only offering level 6 divisions in USASF worlds divisions. Teams competing at the Cheerleading Worlds from the USA must follow the USASF age grid, eligibility, substitutions and alternate guidelines, which will have a known impact on the 2024 Cheerleading Worlds event as the minimum age for open teams saw a rise to a minimum of 18 years on the USASF age grid for the 2023–2024 season. == Dance Styles and Divisions ==

The categories/styles that have been offered across the competition include hip hop, jazz, pom, contemporary/lyrical, kick, open and junior. USASF divisions offered the opportunity for teams with a target age of 13 to 19 years from within the United States to compete, with IASF divisions offering the opportunity for junior teams aged between 11 and 16 years old and open teams aged 15+ years old to compete. USASF and IASF provide slightly differing descriptions of these styles, describing their expectations of routines entered within these categories: == 2004 ==

The first USASF World Cheerleading Championship was held on April 24, 2004. This event was an invite-only competition, with only two divisions - Senior All Girl Level 5 and Senior Coed Level 5 - and only 14 teams competing. This first event was held at a backstage sound stage at Disney MGM Studios (now Disney Hollywood Studios) at Walt Disney World that held a maximum of 500 spectators. At this point in time, the winners of each category received jackets, similar to NCA and UCA, instead of the rings currently received. Results == 2005 ==

The second Cheerleading Worlds event happened April 23–25, 2005. This year, the competition expanded to include both small and large divisions within the senior all-girl level 5 and senior coed level 5 categories, for a total of four divisions teams could be eligible within. This year saw the first international teams competing at worlds with New Zealand All Stars, however, there was not yet a split of international divisions from regular divisions. Results == 2006 ==

The Cheerleading Worlds' third event occurred on April 21–24, 2006. This year's event introduced the split of international divisions, offering international open all-girl level 5 and international open coed level 5 divisions, making a total of 6 divisions. This also marked the first time that one gym program took home multiple titles within one year, with Cheer Athletics being the world champion across three divisions and GymTyme All Stars being the world champion across two divisions. Results == 2007 ==

The Cheerleading Worlds 2007 was held on April 20 to 23, 2007 at Walt Disney World, Florida. This year's event introduced junior divisions in cheerleading, as well as introducing the sub-event to run concurrently, the Dance Worlds. The first Dance Worlds was held on April 21–22, 2007 at Disney's MGM Studios, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. At this event, limited categories were offered, with senior dance offered in jazz, pom and hiphop for athletes 18 years and younger, and international open dance offered for dancers 14 years and older. Results == 2008 ==

The 2008 Worlds event was on April 26–28, 2008. This year marked the introduction of level 6 into the cheerleading divisions, being introduced in the international open category. This year also marked the beginning of limited/unlimited splits in divisions. The Dance Worlds divisions returned for a second year, being held at Disney's EPCOT in the World Showcase Pavilion. Results == 2009 ==

The 2009 Cheerleading and Dance Worlds were held on April 25 to 26, 2009. The Cheerleading Worlds divisions were held across the Disney Wild World of Sport's Milkhouse arena and Disney's Hollywood Studios' Indiana Jones Theatre, while the Dance Worlds divisions were held at the World Showplace Pavilion inside Disney's EPCOT, both at Walt Disney World. Preliminaries were held for all senior level 5 cheerleading divisions as well as all senior dance teams, with only 50% of teams progressing to the finals to compete for the championship. Preliminaries were also held for international division cheerleading and dance teams, with a maximum of three of the highest scoring teams per country advancing to finals. International division cheerleading score sheets were adjusted to reflect the predominant international skill capabilities at the time. IASF's Nation Cup was awarded at this event to the highest-scoring team from each country within the top 10 in international divisions, ranked by the average of all scores from all teams per country within a division. Dance athletes were now limited to performing in two categories, representing the same gym/studio. Crossovers between gym/studios were not allowed, and crossovers between cheer and dance teams from the same or other gyms/studios were also not permitted. If a team was found to breach these crossover rules, they were disqualified, responsible for repayment of funds received through any paid bid, and not eligible for any type of bid to either Cheerleading or Dance Worlds the following year. Results == 2010 ==

The 2010 Cheerleading and Dance Worlds were held between April 22 and 26, 2010 at Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. Cheerleading divisions were held on April 24 and 25, 2010 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, with preliminary rounds being held within the Disney Hollywood Studios theme park for the international divisions. Dance divisions were held at EPCOT's World Showcase Pavilion from April 22 to 26, 2010. This year saw the introduction of an international junior dance division for athletes 14 years and younger, competing in the open category where they may incorporate any one style or combination of styles. All styles within the category were judges against each other, with the emphasis placed on choreography, proper technical execution, visual effect, creativity, staging and team uniformity. Semi-finals were also held for this category, with three of the highest scoring teams from each country progressing to finals. Teams within this category did not win their bids at events, rather having the opportunity to submit a video where the top 3 teams were picked to represent their country at the 2010 Dance Worlds. The 2010 Dance Worlds event also saw a split within the Senior Hip Hop division, with a co-ed division being created for teams that contained 2 or more males. The 2010 event rules limited an athlete to performing a maximum of three times, representing the same studio/program/gym. Crossovers of participants from other studios/programs/gyms were not allowed, with crossovers between cheer and dance teams, regardless of whether it was the same or another studio, also not permitted. If a team was found to breach this rule, the team was disqualified, responsible for repaying the total cost of any funds received through a partial paid bid, and were not eligible for any type of bid for the Cheerleading or Dance Worlds the following year. Results == 2011 ==

The 2011 Cheerleading and Dance Worlds were held between April 28 and May 2, 2011, at Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. The cheerleading divisions were held on April 30 and May 1, 2011, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, 2011 marked the removal of the junior international cheerleading divisions from eligible worlds divisions. Dance semi-finals were held for all senior divisions, international divisions and junior dance divisions on Saturday 30 April 2011. Within the senior divisions, 50% of the teams progressed from the semi-finals to the finals. For the international and junior dance divisions, a maximum of 3 of the highest-scoring teams from each country progressed from the semi-finals to the finals. IASF awarded the Nations Cup within international divisions to the highest scoring teams from each country from the top 5 countries, with the top 5 countries determined by the average score of all teams from each country. Results == 2012 ==

The 2012 Cheerleading and Dance Worlds event was held April 27 to April 29, 2012, at the Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando Florida. Cheerleading divisions were held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, while dance divisions were once again held at EPCOT's World Showcase Pavilion. This year's event included preliminary divisions for all cheerleading teams in the senior coed divisions, and teams with at large bids in the senior all-girl cheerleading divisions as well as US worlds trials for all US teams entered in international cheerleading divisions. A preliminary round was held for U.S. based dance teams entered in the International Open Coed Hip Hop division, titled U.S. Worlds Trials. The top 10 U.S. teams in the U.S. Worlds Trials progressed to the Worlds International Open Coed Hip Hop division's semi-final round, with all teams from non U.S. countries. All dance teams in the international categories then competed in semi finals, with the three highest scoring teams from each country progressing to compete in the finals. All dance teams accepted into the junior dance category competed in a semi-finals round, with the three highest scoring teams from each country progressing to finals. All senior dance categories also had semi-finals, with a minimum of 50% of the teams from each of the senior dance divisions progressing to finals. IASF's Nations Cup was once again awarded, however this year saw the placements based on each country's highest team in the division instead of being based on an average score of all teams for each country within the division. This event marked a change in the way age was determined for international categories governed by the IASF, switching to the ICU "year of the competition" model in which the age of the athlete was determined based on their date of birth falling during the year of the competition. This meant that an athlete who was 13, but turned 14 before December 31, 2012, was eligible to compete at the 2012 Cheerleading and Dance Worlds in the international open categories that had a minimum age of 14. Results == 2013 ==

The 2013 Cheerleading and Dance Worlds were held April 27 to 29, 2013 at Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Florida. Cheerleading teams competed at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, while dance teams competed at EPCOT's World Showcase Pavilion. Cheerleading preliminaries were held for at large bid winners within the senior all-girl divisions, all teams within the senior coed divisions and all US teams within the international divisions. Dance semi-finals were held for the senior divisions on the Saturday and Sunday, with a minimum of 50% of the teams from each division progressing to their division final, held over the Sunday and Monday of competition. Junior teams also had a semi-final, with a maximum of 3 of the highest scoring teams from each country progressing from semi-finals to finals. The U.S. teams entering the International Open Coed Hip Hop were required to participate in preliminary U.S. Worlds Trials, in which the top 10 teams would progress to the Worlds International Open Coed Hip Hop division semi-finals round with all teams from non-U.S. countries. Within the international divisions, a maximum of 3 of the highest scoring teams from each country progressed from semi-finals to finals in the international divisions. Dance athletes were allowed to perform up to three times representing the same program, however was not allowed to represent other programs or cross over to a cheer team competing at the Cheerleading Worlds. This year's event introduced new dance divisions, offering a coed split in the international open jazz and pom categories, as well as a male only division in the international open hip hop division. Results == 2014 ==

The 2014 Cheerleading and Dance Worlds were held April 26–28, 2014 at Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. The Cheerleading Worlds divisions were held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, while the Dance Worlds divisions were held at EPCOT's World Showplace Pavilion. Cheerleading division preliminaries were held for winners of at-large bids within the senior divisions, with senior coed divisions split into groups A and B and the top 10 from each preliminary round progressing to semi-finals. Preliminaries were also held for all US cheerleading teams within the international open divisions, with the top 10 advancing to compete in international open semi-finals. Preliminaries for the US international open teams, known as world trials, had their preliminaries held at Epcot's World Showcase pavilion. Dance semi-finals were held for the senior divisions, with a minimum of 50% of the teams from each division progressing to their division final. Junior teams also had a semi-final, with a maximum of 3 of the highest scoring teams from each country progressing from semi-finals to finals. The U.S. dance teams entering the International Open Coed Hip Hop were required to participate in preliminary U.S. Worlds Trials, in which the top 10 teams would progress to the Worlds International Open Coed Hip Hop division semi-finals round with all teams from non-U.S. countries. Within all international dance divisions, a maximum of 3 of the highest scoring teams from each country progressed from semi-finals to finals in the international divisions. At this event, an athlete was allowed to perform up to three times representing the same dance program, however was not allowed to represent other dance programs or cross over to a cheer team competing at the Cheerleading Worlds. Results == 2015 ==

The 2015 Cheerleading and Dance Worlds were held April 25–27, 2015 at Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Florida. The cheerleading divisions were once again held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex while the dance divisions continued to be held at EPCOT's World Showplace Pavilion. Cheerleading preliminaries were held for at-large bid winners in the senior small and senior medium divisions for both all-girl and coed teams. The senior small cheerleading divisions had preliminary group splits, with 10 teams advancing from each group to the semi-finals. International open preliminary world trials were held for both US and Canadian cheerleading teams this year due to the number of teams being entered into international open all-girl level 5 and international open coed level 5 from Canada the previous year. No US worlds trials were held for the international open all-girl 6 cheerleading division due to there being less than 11 US teams that had entered the division in 2014, automatically advancing all US teams to semi-finals. Dance semi-finals were held for all senior dance divisions, with a minimum of 50% of the teams from each division progressing to their division final. Junior dance teams also had a semi-final, with a maximum of 3 of the highest scoring teams from each country progressing from semi-finals to finals. The U.S. teams entering the International Open Coed Hip Hop were required to participate in preliminary U.S. Worlds Trials, in which the top 10 teams would progress to the Worlds International Open Coed Hip Hop division semi-finals round with all teams from non-U.S. countries. Within all international divisions, a maximum of 3 of the highest scoring teams from each country progressed from semi-finals to finals in the international divisions. New divisions were introduced in dance year, as the senior hip hop and senior coed hip hop divisions were split by team size into small and large divisions. Small teams were limited to having 4 - 14 dancers, with large teams being limited to having 15 or more dancers. Results == 2016 ==

The 2016 Cheerleading and Dance Worlds were held April 23–25, 2016 at Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. Cheerleading divisions were held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. while dance divisions were held at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort and Convention Center. Preliminaries were held for at-large bid winners in the senior small and senior medium divisions for both all-girl and coed cheerleading teams. The senior small and senior small coed cheerleading preliminaries saw a group A and group B split due to high numbers, with 10 teams from each group advancing to semi-finals. US world trials cheerleading preliminaries were held for all US teams entered in international open all-girl 5 and international coed level 5 divisions this year, with all US teams in other International divisions automatically advancing to semi-finals. Canadian world trials cheerleading preliminaries were held for all Canadian teams competing in international open coed 5, with all Canadian teams from other international divisions automatically advancing to semi-finals. Dance preliminary rounds were held for the small senior hip hop division, with all senior divisions having semi-finals and finals. Between each round, 50% of teams were cut. Dance preliminaries were also held for all U.S. teams entering in the international open coed hip hop division, known as the U.S. World Trials. The top 10 teams from this round progressed to the semi-finals to compete against all other teams within the division. All international open divisions as well as the international junior dance division held semi-finals, in which only the top 3 scoring teams from each country progressed to the finals. This year saw an alteration in the crossover rules, with an athlete now allowed to perform up to four times in dance divisions representing the same program. However, the rules not allowing crossovers between programs or between cheer and dance teams remained in place, with a breach of these rules leading to the consequence of disqualification, repayment of any paid bid funds and ineligibility to receive bids for the following year's event. Results == 2017 ==

The 2017 Cheerleading and Dance Worlds was held from April 29 to May 1, 2017, at Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. Cheerleading divisions continued to be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex while this marked the second year that dance divisions were held at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort and Convention Center. Cheerleading preliminaries were held in the senior small and senior medium division for both all-girl and coed teams with at large bids in these divisions. Once again, the senior small and senior small co-ed divisions saw a group A and B split with the top 10 from each group advancing to semi finals. US worlds trial cheerleading preliminaries were held in the international open small coed 5 and international large coed 5 divisions, with Canadian worlds trial cheerleading preliminaries being held in the international open all-girl 5 category. The top 10 from each country's worlds trial advanced to the worlds international semi-finals. Dance preliminaries were held for all U.S. teams entering in the international open hip hop and international open coed hip hop divisions. These preliminaries were named the U.S. World Trials. Preliminaries were also required for all U.S. dance teams entering the senior hip hop category. The top 10 teams from these rounds progressed to division semi-finals to compete against all other non-U.S. teams within these divisions. Semi-finals were held for all senior dance divisions, international open divisions and junior dance divisions. A minimum of 50% of the senior teams progressed from semi-finals to finals, where as only the top three teams from each countries advanced in the international open and junior dance divisions. Athletes competing at The Dance Worlds were limited to competing in a maximum of four dance routines representing the same dance program. Athletes were not allowed to crossover between dance programs/studios/gyms or between cheerleading and dance teams/studios/gyms. If a team was found to have breached the cross over rules, they would be disqualified from both this year's event as well as disqualified from receiving a bid for the following year, as well as having to repay any funds received through any paid bid. This was the first year that contemporary/lyrical was offered as its own defined dance division, offered in both the senior and open age divisions. Results == 2018 ==

The Cheerleading and Dance Worlds 2018 took place at Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida, between April 28 and 30, 2018. Cheerleading divisions were held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, with dance divisions being held at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort and Convention Center. In 2018, senior extra small all-girl level 5 and senior extra small coed level 5 divisions were now eligible for worlds, with some stipulations. These stipulations included that a program could only have one extra small team, either all-girl or coed, and that if a program received a bid in either senior extra small all-girl or senior extra small coed, the program may not compete in any other division or alternatively, the extra small division team must compete in the senior small division. Results == 2019 ==

The 2019 Cheerleading and Dance Worlds was held 27–29 April 2019 at Walt Disney World. This year saw the introduction of a range of new US only cheerleading divisions, including senior open level 5, senior open small coed level 5 and senior open large coed level 5 divisions. A relaxation was also made in the US only senior extra small all-girl and senior extra small coed divisions, allowing for any program regardless of number of worlds teams to field a team in this division. Dance divisions also saw a shakeup, with a split occurring between small and large teams in the senior contemporary/lyrical division, as well as a division split between elite and premier hip hop teams in open hip hop and open coed hip hop. Kick was also introduced for the first time as a dance style category. Preliminaries were held for at-large bid winners in the senior extra small and senior small categories for both all-girl and coed teams. Results == 2020 ==

The 2020 Cheerleading and Dance Worlds were originally scheduled to take place April 24–27, 2020. As part of the intended scheduled competition, USASF and IASF had adjusted division levels, with level 5 restricted becoming level 5, level 5 becoming level 6 and level 6 becoming level 7. IASF had intended to add level 5 divisions to the event as a result, including International Open All-Girl Level 5, International Open Small Coed Level 5, and International Open Large Coed Level 5. They also planned to add International Open All-Girl Non-Tumbling Level 7 and International Open Non-Tumbling Coed Level 7. The new level 5 and non-tumbling level 7 divisions were restricted to only non-U.S. based teams. Before announcing the cancellation, USASF had sent an email to gym owners and coaches exploring the possibility of postponing the event until the last week of June 2020, which ultimately did not go ahead. IASF did not cancel their divisions outright for the year at the time of the USASF cancellation, instead postponing with the hope of running a September event in conjunction with the ICU World Championships. However, by May 2020, it became apparent that would not be viable, leading to IASF director, Les Stella, issuing an official notice of cancellation. At the time, they also announced they would be extending the junior division ages a year, in order for any 2020 IASF junior-aged athlete to be eligible to compete in 2021. Controversy broke out surrounding the USASF cancellation due to the news being leaked before a public announcement. USASF sent a confidential email to gym/studio owners and coaches the night before a planned public announcement, explaining their cancellation decision, with the intent of allowing gym owners and coaches to disseminate that information among their worlds athletes and families before the public was aware. The owner of the cheer news updates site, "Cheer Updates", DJ Yeager, was a cheer coach who also received this email, publishing the news to his Cheer Updates site shortly after receiving the email, before USASF had made their public announcement. This was the first that some athletes and families had heard of the cancellation, as their programs had not yet informed them, causing wide-scale controversy and confusion in the time before USASF made their announcement. == 2021 ==