All Star Cheerleading

All Star Cheerleading is the competitive club portion of our sport. Athletes train at All Star gyms across the country to compete their 2 minutes and 30 seconds routines at local, national and international events. Canadian All Star teams have won numerous gold medals at the International All Star Federation (IASF) World Championships.

 

All Star cheerleaders range in age from three to adult, and various age groups and levels ensure that there is a team for everyone. Levels ensure safe progression for athletes as they learn increasingly complex skills, and allow athletes at all levels to compete against evenly matched teams. Age grids ensure athletes can develop socially and engage in age-appropriate learning and skill development.

 

Competitive athletes can spend several days a week training for their sport, and typically train year-round for a competition season that runs from approximately November – May. All Star teams can range in size from 5-36 athletes, typically averaging 15-20 athletes. All Star Clubs in Canada range from small gyms with few than 100 athletes, to large programs, with hundreds of athletes in multiples locations.  

 

The Cheer Canada All Star Committee advocates for these gyms and athletes and develops guidelines to grow the sport in our country, including setting age grids and developing divisions to grow cheerleading as a Sport For Life. 

Cheer Canada aligns with the IASF rule set for Cheer Canada All Star divisions. For rules pertaining to Prep or Novice divisions please see documents below.

http://www.iasfworlds.com/cheer-page/

Civil Division Category List (All Star) 2022-2023 (EN / FR)

The Cheer Canada Division List and Age Grid is based on the IASF Division List, with a few differences based on unique circumstances in Canada. Please find a list of the divisions to be available in Canada for the 2021-2022 Competitive Season in the document.  

AGE ELIGIBILITY  

The eligible age for an athlete is determined by the BIRTH YEARS column on the Age Grid. The age grid is based on the year of Worlds; so, this year’s Age Grid is based on 2022. Therefore, an athlete is age eligible if they are of the given age for that category at any time between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022.  

Note that the format “U followed-by-age” really means that age and younger. For example, U8 should be read as age 8 and younger. For the easiest understanding of athlete age eligibility, as stated above, use the BIRTH YEARS column.  

** Cheer Canada encourages all teams competing outside of Canada to consult with the appropriate event producers and governing authorities to ensure their team size and composition meets event specific requirements. **  

** IASF COVID-19 AGE GRID ADJUSTMENTS ** Please refer to the Appendix at the end of the document to review the adjustments that have been made to the age grid for one year (2021-2022 season). These IASF adjustments have been fully adopted by Cheer Canada and are reflected in [ red ] in the Age Grid.  

DIVISION SPLIT SUGGESTIONS  

Cheer Canada recommends to split the teams as equitably as possible while considering the following: 

● Similar size teams within the split 

● Similar number of teams in the split 

● Programs with multiple teams within an age division may compete against each other. Crossovers between these two teams in the same division are not permitted. 

** Event Producers may also split divisions into Coed and All Girl when applicable (i.e., 4.2). **  

Novice Rules (EN / FR)

Prep Rules (EN / FR)

Principle differences between Novice and Prep:
– Novice is intended as an introduction to cheerleading
– The routine is shorter at 1:30, with modified rules and therefore less hours of instruction is recommended
– The routine will be a performance and will not be judged against other teams
– Cheer Canada recommends that recreational teams do not travel out of province and schedule fewer performances
– Cheer Canada recommends athletes to perform in t-shirt and shorts or practice wear  

Principle differences between Prep and All Star:
– Prep is intended as a more affordable avenue to participate in competitive cheerleading
– The routine is shorter at 2:00 with no tosses and therefore less hours of instruction is recommended
– Cheer Canada recommends a shorter season (8 months or less) with no travel outside of the program’s province
– Cheer Canada recommends a simpler, less costly uniform