The following are the updates, changes, and information for the 2026-2027 school year.
Addition of Virtual Individual Competition to allow unlimited entries.
Addition of All-Conference Award.
Rubrics and Scoresheets have been updated and are now more detailed to aid in choreography and routine planning.
Game Day score sheet has changed slightly.
Running Tumbling is now allowed in the Time Out Division.
The All-Around score sheet is now out of 50 points total.
Class Division Updates:
Class A will now be Class AA and Class B will now be Class A/B.
This is based on a teams basketball classification.
Division Number Changes:
Class AA - Small - up to 10 athletes; Medium - 11 - 15 athletes; and Large 16 - 24 athletes.
Class A/B - Small up to 11 athletes and Large 12 - 24 athletes.
Addition of Grand Champion:
One Grand Champion will be awarded for Class AA and one Grand Champion will be awarded for Class A/B.
Teams must compete in Time Out, Game Day and Performance in order to qualify.
Teams must also stay in the same size division to be considered.
Team Events will now be first at all NDCCA competitions. There will be a new "Hype" Parade of Athletes at the beginning of State Competition. All competitions will continue to have the traditional Parade of Athletes at the end of each competition.
Live streams will be available for all competitions and will be available to purchase.
The amount available for scholarships and grants has been increased from $2000 yearly to $5000 yearly for each.
The 2027 NDCCA Coaches Convention will take place on June 11th and 12th in Minot, ND - Guest Speaker will be Judge Mimi!!!!
2026-2027 NDCCA Cheer Competitions
NDCCA is hosting 4 competitions during 2026-2027 cheer season!
Virtual Individual Competition | Online Submission | Beginning August 30, 2026
Eastern Regionals | Red River High School, Grand Forks, ND | December 5, 2026
Western Regionals | Williston Middle School, Williston, ND | December 12, 2026
NDCCA State Competition | Bismarck Event Center | January 30, 2027
Competitive Cheerleading in North Dakota was started by the NDCCA with the hope of giving cheerleaders a place to showcase their abilities and to perform in front of a crowd assembled specifically for them. Cheerleaders give so much of themselves to their school, team, and community that NDCCA wanted to provide a forum where CHEERLEADERS would be the focus of the attention and appreciated for all the hard work they have done throughout their cheering season.
Part of the NDCCA’s philosophy is to provide support and education for high school cheerleaders and coaches. The competition is meant to serve as a “classroom”, where cheerleaders and coaches can watch other teams from North Dakota to grow and learn. The competition has definitely reached its goal and has seen dramatic growth and evolvement since its formation.
Congratulations to all the competitors at the competitions, for a job well done during the 2025 - 2026 season. NDCCA is excited to watch and learn from your teams at these competitions. Good luck!
NDCCA Cheer Competition Divisions:
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Performance Routine - Class AA (Varsity and JV only) and Class A/B (Varsity and JV only)
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Time Out Cheer - Class AA and Class A/B - Varsity, JV, and Middle School
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Game Day - Class AA and Class A/B - Varsity, JV and Middle School
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Stunt Group - Class AA (Varsity and JV only) and Class A/B (Varsity and JV only)
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All Around Cheerleader - Class AA (Varsity and JV only) and Class A/B (Varsity and JV only)
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Top Sideline Cheerleader - Class AA (Varsity and JV only) and Class A/B (Varsity and JV only)
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Jump Off - Class AA and Class A/B - Varsity, JV and Middle School
Spectator information:
Ticket Costs for Regional Competitions: $15 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets must be purchased online (including online ticket fess).
Ticket Costs for State Competition: $25 for adults and $17 for students. Tickets must be purchased online (including online ticket fess).
NO flash photography at any time during competition.
No spectator(s) shall be on the floor during any routines, in the practice area, or in any team rooms or hallways. Only permitted personnel are allowed in these areas.
Spectators will not be allowed to enter or exit the gym during a performance.
Competition clothing will be available onsite for purchase.
You can find the NDCCA Competition Rules on the Competition Rules webpage.
Check out the past NDCCA Competition Results on the Competition Results webpage.
Competition Registration
Virtual Individuals - August 30, 2026 - Virtual Submission
Deadline to register for the Virtual Individual Competition is September 19, 2026. Registrations received September 19, 2026 at 5:00pm WILL NOT be accepted.
1. Complete the NDCCA Virtual Individual Registration Form via the link below
2. Virtual Individual Registration and Submission will open on August 30, 2026 and will close at 5:00pm on September 19, 2026.
3. No submissions will be accepted after September 19, 2026 at 5:00pm.
4. Judging will take place beginning on September 21, 2026. All judges will judge each entry virtually and will only be allowed to view each submission one time.
5. Submissions - please make sure that you submit a clear video of your athlete for each division. i.e. if competing in both Top Sideline and Jump Off, coach must submit two videos.
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Videos for Top Sideline and All Around must be no longer than 1 minute in length.
6. Payment - each submission is $20 and must be paid at the time of submission. Invoices will not be sent out for the virtual individual competition.
7. Athletes may compete in Top Sideline and Jump Off or All Around and Jump Off. Athletes may not compete in all three divisions.
8. Middle School athletes may only compete in the Jump Off division.
9. Divsions will have the following:
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All Around Cheerleader - Class AA (Varsity and JV only) and Class A/B (Varsity and JV only)
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Top Sideline Cheerleader - Class AA (Varsity and JV only) and Class A/B (Varsity and JV only)
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Jump Off - Class AA and Class A/B - Varsity, JV and Middle School
10. Virtual Individual Winners will be announced on October 25, 2026 live online.
11. The top 5 from each division will qualify for the Regional Competition.
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All Around Cheerleader
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Class AA (Varsity and JV only) - top 5 from Varsity and top 5 from JV will advance to Regionals
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Class A/B (Varsity and JV only) - top 5 from Varsity and top 5 from JV will advance to Regionals
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Top Sideline Cheerleader
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Class AA (Varsity and JV only) - top 5 from Varsity and top 5 from JV will advance to Regionals
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Class A/B (Varsity and JV only) - top 5 from Varsity and top 5 from JV will advance to Regionals
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Jump Off
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Class AA (Varsity, JV and Middle School) - top 5 from Varsity, top 5 from JV and top 5 from Middle School will advance to Regionals
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Class A/B (Varsity, JV and Middle School) - top 5 from Varsity, top 5 from JV and top 5 from Middle School will advance to Regionals
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12. All athletes who compete in the Virtual Individual Competition will receive a nomination for the All-Conference Award.
Make sure you are added to the band app for all updates.
Eastern Regionals - December 5, 2026 - Grand Forks, ND
Deadline to register for the Eastern Regional Competition is November 7, 2026. Registrations received after 5:00pm on November 7, 2026, WILL NOT be accepted.
1. Complete the 2026 NDCCA Eastern Regionals Competition Form via the link below.
2. You will receive an email with your invoice - you may pay online via credit card or send in a check with the invoice. The invoice may also be forwarded to your school bookkeeper to make the payment. If you choose to pay with a check when registering, you MUST pay with a check. If you choose to check and then pay with a credit card, there will a credit card fee included.
3. Please allow at least 2 days from submitting your registration to receiving your invoice, as our treasurer will be manually creating invoices.
4. You will receive an email from our President stating any important information along with the following:
A. Smart Waiver Link- Please make sure all athletes have the medical waiver submitted no later than November 21, 2026.
5. Make sure you are added to the band app for important competition information!
6. Important Dates:
A. November 21, 2026, will be the last day to switch divisions (due to injury/eligibility/other issues). Please reach out to Jen Lawson ASAP with any changes.
B. All paperwork is due by November 28, 2026. This includes a Payment or Purchase Order, music licenses and waivers.
** Please note your team will NOT be able to compete unless payment or purchase order has been received, all medical waivers have been submitted, and all music licenses are received by the due date. **
Western Regionals - December 12, 2026 - Williston, ND
Deadline to register for the Western Regional Competition is November 7, 2026. Registrations received after 5:00pm on November 7, 2026, WILL NOT be accepted.
1. Complete the 2026 NDCCA Western Regionals Competition Form
2. You will receive an email with your invoice - you may pay online via credit card or send in a check with the invoice. The invoice may also be forwarded to your school bookkeeper to make the payment. If you choose to pay with a check when registering, you MUST pay with a check. If you choose to check and then pay with a credit card, there will a credit card fee included.
3. Please allow at least 2 days from submitting your registration to receiving your invoice, as our treasurer will be manually creating invoices.
4. You will receive an email from our President stating any important information along with the following:
A. Smart Waiver Link- Please make sure all athletes have the medical waiver submitted no later than November 21, 2026.
5. Make sure you are added to the band app for important competition information!
6. Important Dates:
A. November 21, 2026, will be the last day to switch divisions (due to injury/eligibility/other issues). Please reach out to Jen Lawson ASAP with any changes.
B. All paperwork is due by November 28, 2026. This includes a Payment or Purchase Order, music licenses and waivers.
** Please note your team will NOT be able to compete unless payment or purchase order has been received, all medical waivers have been submitted, and all music licenses are received by the due date. **
State Competition - January 30, 2027 - Bismarck, ND
Deadline to register for State Competition is January 3, 2027. Registrations received after 5:00pm on January 3, 2027, WILL NOT be accepted.
1. Complete the 2026-2027 NDCCA State Competition Form
2. You will receive an email with your invoice - you may pay online via credit card or send in a check with the invoice. The invoice may also be forwarded to your school bookkeeper to make the payment. If you choose to pay with a check when registering, you MUST pay with a check. If you choose to check and then pay with a credit card, there will a credit card fee included.
3. Please allow at least 2 days from submitting your registration to receiving your invoice, as our treasurer will be manually creating invoices.
4. You will receive an email from our President stating any important information along with the following:
A. Smart Waiver Link- Please make sure all athletes have the medical waiver submitted no later than January 23, 2027.
5. Make sure you are added to the band app for important competition information!
6. Grand Champion Addition. There will be one Grand Champion awarded in Class AA and one Grand Champion awarded in Class A/B.
A. To be eligible for the Grand Champion award, a team must compete in all three categories (Time Out, Game Day and Performance).
B. Additionally, teams must remain in the same division for all three events (i.e. Class AA Small for Time Out, Class AA Small for Game Day and Class AA Small for Performance). A team may NOT compete in Small for Performance and Large for Time Out.
C. Grand Champion winners will be determined based on combined performance scores from all three divisions.
7. Important Dates:
A. January 16, 2027, will be the last day to switch divisions (due to injury/eligibility/other issues). Please reach out to Jen Lawson ASAP with any changes.
B. All paperwork is due by January 23, 2027. This includes a Payment or Purchase Order, music licenses and waivers.
**Please note your team will NOT be able to compete unless payment or purchase order has been received, all medical waivers have been submitted and all music licenses are received by January 23, 2026 at 5pm.**
All-Conference Information
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NDCCA feels it is important to give our athletes the recognition they deserve within the state and also within their schools and communities.
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For this reason, we have created the NDCCA All Conference Award that will began in the 2026 – 2027 school year.
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All-Around, Top Sideline, and Jump Off athletes who compete in the virtual individual competition will automatically receive an All-Conference nomination.
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Candidates for the All-Conference Award will need to provide the following:
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Transcript with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher
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Letter from their coach confirming no game infractions, suspensions, etc. – this letter must be signed by the AD as well as the coach.
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Letter of Recommendation from a teacher
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All-Conference awards will be recognized online, and awards will be included in the coaches' packets at the state competition.
All-State Team Information
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NDCCA feels it is important to give our athletes the recognition they deserve within the state and also within their schools and communities.
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For this reason, we have created the NDCCA All State Team that first began in the 2025 – 2026 school year.
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All Varsity and JV All-Around and Top Sideline athletes who advance to the Regional Competition will automatically receive an All-State nomination.
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Candidates for the All-State Team will need to provide the following:
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Transcript with a GPA of 3.6 or higher
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Letter from their coach confirming no game infractions, suspensions, etc. – this letter must be signed by the AD as well as the coach.
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Letter of Recommendation from a teacher
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Competition Forms
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Medical Forms- Online Smart Waiver
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Music Form- license/usage rights will be submitted with your registration.
Score Sheets:
Rubrics:
Top Sideline / All Around Rubric
Appeals