Emerging Sport Hub
STUNT has received approval as an NCAA emerging sport for Division I, II, and III! An emerging sport is a women’s sport recognized by the NCAA that is intended to help schools provide more athletics opportunities for women and more sport-sponsorship options for the institutions, and also help that sport achieve NCAA championship status. This page will help provide resources and updates on the progress of our journey!
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Emerging Sport Questions and Answers
An emerging sport is a women’s sport recognized by the NCAA that is intended to help schools provide more athletics opportunities for women and more sport-sponsorship options for the institutions, and also help that sport achieve NCAA championship status.
An emerging sport for women is a sport that:
- Meets the definition of a sport.
- Is accepted and recognized by the NCAA (as approved by its divisional governance processes) as an emerging sport for women.
- Provides additional athletics opportunities to female student-athletes and demonstrates the NCAA’s commitment to gender equity among student-athletes.
Varsity STUNT programs should be in contact with their institution’s compliance director to ensure they are up to date with and following all NCAA regulations.
From the perspective of scholastic sports, a club sport is usually sponsored and led by students, with the student members making decisions regarding hiring, budget, travel, etc. Unlike intramural sports, club sports travel and play other university programs.
A varsity sport is funded under the athletics department, where the athletics department makes the hiring, budget, and travel decisions. Like other varsity sports, varsity STUNT programs have recruiting budgets and scholarships available based on their university’s criteria. Varsity programs can begin directly as a varsity program under athletics, or they may transition from a club sport to a varsity sport.
STUNT welcomes club and varsity programs!
The CWA’s endorsement of STUNT and the Division Management Council’s sponsorships of STUNT are a victory for Title IX and female athletes everywhere. Institutions can already count STUNT towards their Title IX requirements and help grow participation opportunities for female student athletes. However, the continued recognition of the competitive athletic nature of STUNT and the movement forward in the emerging sport process helps institutions commit to increased female athletic participation.
STUNT and Competitive Cheerleading are two different disciplines of “cheer” that both utilize technical skills in their sport, but there are differences. STUNT is the discipline that has been recommended by the CWA for Emerging Sport status.
| STUNT | Competitive Cheer | |
|---|---|---|
| Event | 45 -60 minute game | 2:30 minute routine |
| Two teams in head-to-head competition. | Single teams perform one at a time at an event with many teams in the same competition division. | |
| Scoring | Objective – Based on execution | Subjective/Objective – Based on routine choreography and execution |
| Format | 4 Quarter Format Based on Skills – Quarters consist of Partner Stunts, Pyramids and Tosses, Jumps and Tumbling. Routines are all compulsory. | Based on individual routine choreography. Includes crowd-leading, and dance elements as well as stunting, pyramids, tumbling, and jumps. |
| Season | Teams compete as an exclusively Spring sport. | Teams compete year-round. |
For more information, see the USA Cheer Position Paper on Title IX
The safety and well-being of the STUNT athlete is of primary importance, and is the first guiding principle of each STUNT committee.
STUNT involves athletes participating in partner stunts, pyramids, tosses, jumps, and tumbling. These skills include height, inversion, and rotation of the body as well as working in coordination with other athletes to perform these skills. Special care should be taken by supervisory staff ensure that skills are taught in a progressive manner, requiring proficiency before advancing to skills with higher difficulty.
The STUNT format, scoring system, and coaches’ education work together to promotes athlete safety and risk management.
For more information, be sure to fill out the interest form and follow the step-by-step “How to Start a STUNT Team.” For high school or club/youth rec teams, look for the “How to Start a STUNT Team” under your menu tab in the main menu.