The Cheerleading Worlds, or Cheerleading World Championships, colloquially known as "Worlds", is an annual international championship event for competitive cheerleading held in the United States hosted by the U.S. All Star Federation in partnership with the International All Star Federation (IASF) (the global organization of professionals and athletes involved in a club or All Star Cheer). Teams from around the world annual to receive a bid to go on and compete in Orlando, Florida, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports.
The event is typically held across a three-day span in April or May, featuring preliminary competitions, semi-finals and finals. Only level 5, 6 and 7 cheerleading teams with bids from regional and national competitions are eligible to participate, being offered a "paid" bid covering all expenses up to $25,000, or an "at-large" bid which does not cover any costs. Around 9,000 athletes from around 40 countries compete annually, with routines being judged on difficulty, execution, creativity and overall composition. The top teams from each round advance, with the winners in each of the 22 divisions receiving championship rings.
From 2007 onwards, The Dance Worlds began concurrently as a sub-event of The Cheerleading Worlds. Like the Cheerleading Worlds, this event is also an invite-only event hosted by the USASF in collaboration with the IASF, showcasing elite dancers from around the world in styles such as hip hop, jazz, pom, kick, contemporary and lyrical.
In 2025, 270 US dance teams and 116 international dance teams, made up of 2,593 dancers from 18 countries, participated in the Dance Worlds. Additionally, 277 US cheerleading teams and 237 international cheerleading teams, made up of 11,327 cheerleaders from 24 countries, participated in The Cheerleading Worlds.
Bids 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.
Partial-Paid Bids Partial-paid bids are also offered for cheerleading teams, awarding up to $325 per athlete and up to two coaches on a bid-winning team for a team's registration package, lodging, and/or transportation to Orlando to participate in the event.
Partial-paid bids are the only form of paid bid offered for dance teams for the Worlds event, also covering the cost of their registration packaging, accommodation and/or transportation to Orlando at a rate of $325 per athlete and up to two coaches, with a maximum of $5000 awarded per team.
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.
Bid-Qualifying Events More than 120 USASF/IASF member event producers across the United States, as well as event producers within 32 international countries, have the right to host bid qualifying events for both cheer and dance teams.
For the 2023–2024 season, there are 35 bid-qualifying events within the United States at which a team can win a bid to the 2024 Dance Worlds.
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. +USASF Cheerleading Worlds Divisions 2025LevelDivisionsTarget AgeBirth YearFemales/MalesNumber on Team6Limited Senior XSmall (LSXS)14 - 19yo1 June 2005-2011No males5 - 16 athletes6Senior XSmall (SXS)14 - 19yo1 June 2005-2011No males5 - 16 athletes6Limited Senior Small (LSS)14 - 19yo1 June 2005-2011No males17 - 22 athletes6Senior Small (SS)14 - 19yo1 June 2005-2011No males17 - 22 athletes6Senior Medium (SM)14 - 19yo1 June 2005-2011No males23 - 30 athletes6Senior Large (SL)14 - 19yo1 June 2005-2011No males31 - 38 athletes6Limited Senior XSmall Coed (LXSC)14 - 19yo1 June 2005-20111 - 2 males5 - 16 athletes6Senior XSmall Coed (SXSC)14 - 19yo1 June 2005-20111 - 2 males5 - 16 athletes6Limited Senior Small Coed (LSSC)14 - 19yo1 June 2005-20111 - 5 males5 - 22 athletes6Senior Small Coed (SSC)14 - 19yo1 June 2005-20111 - 5 males5 - 22 athletes6Senior Medium Coed (SMC)14 - 19yo1 June 2005-20111 - 8 males5 - 30 athletes6Senior Large Coed (SLC)14 - 19yo1 June 2005-20111 - 19 males5 - 38 athletes +IASF Cheerleading Worlds Divisions 2025LevelDivisionsTarget AgeBirth YearFemales/MalesNumber on Team5IASF U18 Level 5 (U18-5)14 - 18yrs2006 - 2011no males16 - 24 athletes5IASF U18 Level 5 Coed Small Coed (U18SC-5)14 - 18yrs2006 - 20111 - 4 males16 - 24 athletes5IASF Open 5 (IO-5)16+ yrs2009 or earlierno males16 - 24 athletes5IASF Open 5 Small Coed (IOSC-5)16+ yrs2009 or earlier1 - 4 males16 - 24 athletes5IASF Open 5 Large Coed (IOLC-5)16+ yrs2009 or earlier5 - 16 males16 - 24 athletes6IASF Open 6 (IO 6)16+ yrs2009 or earlierno males16 - 24 athletes6IASF Open 6 Small Coed (IOSC 6)16+ yrs2009 or earlier1 - 4 males16 - 24 athletes6IASF Open 6 Large Coed (IOLC 6)16+ yrs2009 or earlier5 - 16 males16 - 24 athletes6IASF U18 Level 6 Non Tumbling (U18NT-6)14 - 18yrs2006 - 2011no males16 - 30 athletes6IASF U18 Level 6 Non Tumbling Coed (U18NTC-6)14 - 18yrs2006 - 20111 - 20 males16 - 30 athletes6IASF Open 6 Non Tumbling (IONT 6)16+ yrs2009 or earlierno males16 - 30 athletes6IASF Open 6 Non Tumbling Coed (IONTC 6)16+ yrs2009 or earlier1 - 20 males16 - 30 athletes7IASF Open 7 (IO 7)17+ yrs2008 or earlierno males16 - 24 athletes7IASF Open 7 Small Coed (IOSC 7)17+ yrs2008 or earlier1 - 4 males16 - 24 athletes7IASF Open 7 Large Coed (IOLC 7)17+ yrs2008 or earlier5 - 16 males16 - 24 athletes7IASF Open 7 Non Tumbling (IONT 7)17+ yrs2008 or earlierno males16 - 30 athletes7IASF Open 7 Non Tumbling Coed (IONTC 7)17+ yrs2008 or earlier1 - 20 males16 - 30 athletes USASF teams will not be eligible to compete in any IASF level 5 division but will be allowed to enter in the IASF level 6 and 7 divisions.
It is known that for the 2024 event, the age grids will shift once again, with the minimum age for IASF open divisions levels 5 and 6 increasing to a minimum of 16 years old. 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: