CHEER COLLECTIVE
Varsity Spirit
Varsity Spirit is the world's largest cheer and dance organization, operating under the Varsity Brands umbrella. Through its sub-brands — UCA, NCA, UDA, NDA, JAMfest, Cheersport, and more — Varsity touches nearly every corner of competitive cheerleading and dance, from summer camps to world championships.
BRAND ECOSYSTEM
Universal Cheerleaders Association
All levels — school, college & all-star
One of the oldest and largest cheer organizations in the world. UCA runs the iconic NCA/UCA High School Nationals at Disney and is the backbone of school cheer camps across the country.
National Cheerleaders Association
School, college & all-star
Founded alongside UCA, NCA operates school and college cheer camps and hosts major nationals events. NCA and UCA nationals at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas is the marquee school championship.
Universal Dance Association
School & college dance teams
UDA serves dance teams at every level with camps, nationals, and a full camp curriculum. UDA Nationals at Walt Disney World draws thousands of school and college dance competitors annually.
National Dance Alliance
School & college dance teams
NDA is the sister organization to NCA for dance, offering camps and the NDA Nationals at Dallas — one of the top school dance championships in the country.
JAMfest Cheer Super Nationals
All-star & rec cheer
JAMfest is a premier all-star event producer under the Varsity umbrella. JAMfest Super Nationals (typically held in Cincinnati, OH) is a top all-star event offering Summit and Worlds bid opportunities.
Cheersport Nationals
All-star cheer
Cheersport is one of the most prestigious all-star events in the country, held annually in Atlanta, GA (typically February). Offers paid bids to The Summit and The Cheerleading Worlds across all divisions.
SUMMER CAMPS
UCA, NCA, UDA & NDA Camps
Summer camps are a cornerstone of the school cheer and dance experience. Varsity runs hundreds of overnight and day camp sessions each summer across the country, with performance evaluations that award bids to nationals. For many squads, camp is where the season truly begins.
UCA Summer Cheer Camps
June – August (annually)
Register ↗UCA offers day camps, overnight camps, and college prep camps for school cheer squads. Squads earn bids to UCA Nationals through camp performance. On-site bids awarded to first-place finishers in camp competitions.
NCA Summer Cheer Camps
June – August (annually)
Register ↗NCA runs parallel camp programs alongside UCA, including school camps and college prep intensives. High-performing squads earn bids to NCA Nationals in Dallas.
UDA Summer Dance Camps
June – August (annually)
Register ↗UDA camps focus on jazz, pom, hip-hop, and kick technique for school and college dance teams. Evaluated camp performances earn bids to UDA College Nationals and UDA High School Nationals at Disney.
NDA Summer Dance Camps
June – August (annually)
Register ↗NDA camps run in tandem with NCA, often at the same venues as combo cheer/dance programs. Camps focus on team cohesion, technical fundamentals, and performance quality.
Camp Bid System
At UCA and NCA camps, squads compete in evaluated performances at the end of each camp session. First-place squads in their division earn a paid bid to nationals. Superior-rated squads may earn at-large consideration. Bid placements are tracked and published on the Varsity portal after each camp concludes.
MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Listed in chronological order by season. 2026-27 dates are approximate — Varsity typically publishes the official schedule each fall.
JAMfest Super Nationals
One of the first major all-star events of the competitive season, kicking off the bid season. Awarded paid bids to Worlds and Summit.
Strong turnout from Midwest and Southeast programs. One of the highest-valued bid events on the early-season calendar.
NCA All-Star Nationals
Major early-season all-star championship broadcast on CBS Sports Network. Offers paid and at-large bids to The Cheerleading Worlds.
One of the first nationally televised all-star events of the season. Strong field across all levels.
UCA/NDA College Nationals
The premier college cheer and dance championship, broadcast on ESPN. College Game Day divisions, partner stunt, and coed categories.
Held at Disney the same week as NCA Collegiate. Broadcast live on ESPN.
Cheersport Nationals
One of the largest and most competitive all-star events of the season. Held each February in Atlanta, Cheersport draws elite programs from across the country vying for Worlds and Summit bids.
Widely considered one of the toughest bid events on the calendar due to extremely deep competitive fields.
UCA/NCA High School Nationals
The flagship school cheer & dance championship. Draws thousands of squads from across the US across game day, performance cheer, and dance divisions.
Teams qualify via camp performance or NCA/UCA sanctioned qualifying event. Dance and cheer run concurrently.
The Cheerleading Worlds
The most prestigious all-star championship in the world. Competing at Worlds requires an earned bid (paid or at-large) from a qualifying event. Hosted inside ESPN Wide World of Sports.
Paid bids are awarded at sanctioned events throughout the season. At-large bids are awarded based on overall season scores.
The Summit
The national end-of-season championship for Youth, Junior, and Senior all-star divisions. A bid is required to compete. The D2 Summit runs concurrently for smaller gym programs.
Summit and D2 Summit run simultaneously at Disney the same week as Worlds.
D2 Summit
The Summit for smaller-gym programs. Separate divisions from The Summit but runs the same week at Disney.
D2 Summit is designed for programs that may not compete at the full Summit level. Great entry point for growing gyms.
SCORING
United Scoring System
All Varsity-family events use the United Scoring System — a unified rubric that ensures consistency from local qualifying events all the way through to Worlds. Teams competing in the Varsity ecosystem will see the same sheet structure regardless of which event producer they compete under.
PLATFORM
United Scoring System
USED AT
All Varsity-family events (UCA, NCA, JAMfest, Cheersport, Worlds, Summit)
JUDGE PANELS
3–5 judges per category depending on event level
CATEGORIES
Stunts, Pyramids, Tosses, Tumbling, Motion Technique, Building Performance, Jumps, Performance
DEDUCTIONS
Safety deductions, out-of-bounds, timing, uniform violations
SCORING SHEETS
Published per season on varsity.com/usa
UNIFORMS & FASHION
Varsity Fashions
Varsity also operates Varsity Fashions, one of the top uniform manufacturers in the sport. Teams competing at Varsity-brand events often source their uniforms, warm-ups, and bow sets through Varsity Fashions. Custom uniform orders typically require a 6–10 week lead time before competition season.