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Cheerleading in Canada

Cheerleading in Canada is a sport that is rising in popularity among the youth in co-curricular programs. The sport has grown from the sidelines to a competitive activity throughout the world and in particular Canada. Cheerleading has a few streams in Canadian sports. It is available at the middle-school, high-school, collegiate and best known for all-star. There are multiple regional, provincial and national championship opportunities for all athletes participating in cheerleading. Canada does not have a provincial teams, just a national program referred to as CCU or Team Canada. Their first year as a National team was in 2009 when they represented Canada at the International Cheer Union World Cheerleading Championships International Cheer Union (ICU).

Canada as a competitive sport:

There is no official governing body for Canadian Cheerleading. The rules and guidelines for cheerleading used in Canada are the ones set out by the USASF. However, there are many organizations in Canada that put on competitions and have separate and individual rules and scoresheets for each competition. Cheer Evolution is the largest cheerleading and dance organization for Canada. They hold many competitions as well as provide a competition for bids to Worlds. There are other organizations such as the Ontario Cheerleading Federation (Ontario), Power Cheerleading Association (Ontario), Kicks Athletics (Quebec) and the International Cheer Alliance (Vancouver). There are over forty recognized competitive gym clubs with numerous teams that compete at competitions across Canada.

Canada at the World Championships of Cheerleading (USASF/ICU):

There are two world championship competitions that Canada participates in. There is the ICU World Championships where the National Teams compete against each other and then there are the Club team World Championships. These club teams are referred to as "All-star" teams who compete at the USASF World Championships of Cheerleading. This is where teams must have earned a bid from their own country to attend. National team members who compete at the ICU Worlds can also compete with their "All-Star Club" teams. Although athletes can compete in both International Cheer Union (ICU) and USASF, crossovers between teams at each individual competition are not permitted. Teams compete against the other teams from their countries on the first day of competition and the top three teams from each country in each division continue to Finals. At the end of finals, the top team scoring the highest for their country earns the "Nations Cup". Canada has multiple teams across their country that compete in the USASF Cheerleading Worlds Championship.

The International Cheer Union (ICU) is built of 103 countries that compete against each other in four divisions; Coed Premier, All-girl Premier, Coed Elite and All-girl Elite. Canada has a national team ran by the Canadian Cheer Union (CCU). Their Coed Elite Level 5 Team and their All-girl Elite Level 5 team are 4-time world champions. They are found from all over the country. In 2013, they have added two more teams to their roster. A new division that will compete head-to-head with the United States: in both the All-girl and Coed Premier Level 6 divisions. Members tryout and are selected on the basis of their skills and potential to succeed. Athletes are selected from all over. Canada's national program has grown to be one of the most successful programs.