Louisville Powers to First STUNT National Champion Title at Inaugural STUNT National Championship in Daytona Beach

Six collegiate teams competed in the first-ever STUNT National Championship; Next step for new sport is NCAA Emerging Sport Status application.

MEMPHIS, Tenn., April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Louisville emerged victorious at the inaugural STUNT National Championship this past weekend, with a score of 48 points followed by NC State with 32.  USA Cheer, the national governing body for all forms of cheerleading, hosted the first STUNT National Championship this past weekend in Daytona Beach, FL. The STUNT National Championship capped off the first season for the new sport, which will be applying for NCAA Emerging Sport Status this June.

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The six collegiate teams that competed in the final event of the season were Framingham State College, Georgia Southern University, Morgan State University, North Carolina State University, University of Louisville and Cal Poly. Full coverage of the event can be seen on http://collegestunt.org.

"STUNT was an excellent addition for the University of Louisville sports roster this year. We were thrilled to be a part of the inaugural National STUNT Championship and to take home the first National Champion title," says Misty Hodges, coach of the winning University of Louisville STUNT team. "Our school has been incredibly supportive and we hope this will indeed reach emerging sport status with the NCAA."

A new competitive team sport that has derived from traditional cheerleading, STUNT removes the crowd-leading and focuses on the technical and athletic components of cheer, which include the partner stunts, pyramids, basket tosses, jumps and tumbling skills. STUNT has been designed with the goal of being considered for NCAA Emerging Sport status and to ultimately satisfy Title IX's requirements for intercollegiate sport.

A total of 22 teams participated in the inaugural season of STUNT this year and plans are already underway for the 2012 season. The STUNT season began in January 2011, and culminated with the National Championship in Daytona Beach following the NCA Collegiate Cheerleading Championship. Additional teams that participated in games this season include Methodist University, Adams State College, California Baptist University, University of Central Oklahoma, Morehead State University, Oklahoma State University, Sam Houston State University, San Diego State University, Slippery Rock University, Stonehill College, Temple University, Texas A & M University, University of Georgia, University of Florida, University of North Carolina and West Virginia University.

USA Cheer plans to present STUNT to the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics this June to be considered an official NCAA emerging sport.  "The first STUNT season has been a huge success, well received by teams, schools and fans. The competitive spirit and fan support at the events is evidence that STUNT is becoming increasingly popular and important in communities across the country," said USA Cheer Executive Director, Bill Seely.

There are several additional schools considering the addition of STUNT to their sports rosters for 2012. STUNT provides new opportunities for the more than one million traditional and all star cheerleaders of high school age in the United States that are looking to utilize their talents and skills at the college level in a varsity sport format.

Cheerleaders, coaches, and parents can visit www.collegestunt.org  to learn more about STUNT, the College STUNT Association and its initiatives.

About the Format

STUNT follows a game format with four quarters, including a short half time. These quarters include Partner Stunts, Group Jumps & Tumbling, Pyramids & Tosses, and Team Performance. Players wear uniforms that identify them by number.

Within each quarter, teams perform skill sequences of varying levels of difficulty, technical execution and synchronization. The fourth quarter is the "Team Performance" which allows teams to incorporate their entire team's arsenal into a choreographed routine.  Two to six teams compete simultaneously in head-to-head competition.

About USA Cheer

The USA Federation for Sport Cheering is a not-for profit organization and is the national governing body for all disciplines of cheerleading. USA Cheer exists to serve the entire cheer community, including club cheering (All Star), traditional school based cheer programs and the new sport of "STUNT." USA Cheer has three primary objectives: help grow and develop interest and participation in Cheer throughout the United States; promote safety and safety education for cheer in the United States; and represent the United States of America in international cheer competitions.  

SOURCE USA Cheer