US National Youth and Junior Team Selections
2026 Youth & Junior National Team Locations:
Youth All Girl: Location TBA
Youth Coed: Chicago, Illinois
Junior All Girl: Nashville, Tennessee
Junior Coed: Tampa, Florida
Individual Tryout Inquiries are currently being accepted for Junior All Girl, Junior Coed, and Youth Coed.
Location Applications for Youth All Girl are closed. Youth All Girl (YAG) Location & Individual Athlete Information will be announced soon.
See more information below regarding ages and requirements.
- We recommend being within driving distance to a location to be considered. It is highly recommended that any athlete selected live within 5 hours of selected area due to multiple required practices per week for the months leading up to the ICU Championships.
- Being on multiple cheerleading teams and the US National Team is not encouraged due to the number of required practices needed to prepare for the ICU event.
- Teams must travel in three days before opening ceremonies to Orlando, FL for mandatory practices leading up to the Opening Ceremonies.
- Teams will be responsible for all expenses. Items that go into costs are, but not limited to: Coaching expenses, transportation, hotel, competition fees, athlete uniform and apparel package, and food. USA Cheer has fundraising ideas and a platform to assist your team with their efforts. You are welcome and encouraged to do fundraisers at home with your schools/programs but there will be set guidelines on what you are able to do for fundraising. Estimated costs for everyone are approximately $1200- $1500 per athlete.
April 22 – 24, 2026
Arrival dates are determined by each team but we encourage every team to arrive by Sunday, April 19th.
Every coach representing the US is responsible for a USA Cheer coach membership and every athlete is required to obtain a USA Cheer athlete membership with age verification. This ensures safety training, athlete protection training, concussion training, background screening and age verification.
Important Information on Age Requirements for ICU Junior World Championship and International Events
Youth: 12-14
Junior: 15-18
Ages for Competing:
For ICU, all members of the Youth team must be between 12 -14 years of age within the year of the Youth World Championships; all members of the Junior team must be between 15 – 18 years of age within the year of the Junior World Championships. Any team proven to be in violation of the ICU age requirements will be automatically disqualified.
*PLEASE NOTE: If the athlete is 14 years old on Jan 1, 2026 but turning 15 in the year of 2026, they will qualify for the youth team even if they turn 15 years of age, before the competition in April. In the same instance- this athlete age example would also be eligible for the Junior division. Another example: if the athlete is 11 on Jan 1, 2026, but turning 12 in the year of 2026, they are still eligible for the youth team. Last example: if the athlete is 18 on Jan 1, 2026 but turning 19 in the year of 2026, they are still eligible for the Junior division.
Download our Age Check Excel Spreadsheet (Click to open, then “Save As…” to save to your computer and allow editing.)
Requirements and Timelines per Team
Youth Coed (YUCO) – Ages 12-14
Based out of Chicago, IL (2024-2026)
It is highly recommended that any athlete selected live within 5 hours of Chicago due to multiple required practices per week for the months leading up to the ICU Championships.
Timeline:
- 9/10: Chicago Location Selected and Announced by USA Cheer, Individual Athlete Interest Form Open to Athletes Age 12-14 Nationwide
- 10/15: Individual Athlete Interest Form Closed
- 10/27: Video Tryout Due
- 11/30: In-Person Tryout* (Chicago, IL – Time/Location will be in the invite emailed)
- *Invited to selections but unable to make it in person video submissions: Video Submission Requirements: 30-45 sec max video of standing tumbling, running tumbling pass, and a stunt sequence including an invert (ex: hand in hand, BHS up, FHS up, etc.) and spin.
- Date TBD: Team announced and practice schedule set
Skills:
- Preferred Stunting Skills: Switch ups to extended, Full ups to extended, Inverts/Hand to Hands to extended – Similar to AllStar level 4
- Preferred Tumbling Skills: Standing tuck, Standing to layout, Running trick pass (whip, punch front, front hand front) to layout – Similar to level 4 Allstar but on 1.5” non-spring mat
Skills/athletes will be evaluated on forming the best routine for the scoresheet so not all athletes will need to have all skills listed if you provide elite capabilities in one or more categories.
For those trying out for Youth All Girl we encourage but do not require athletes to try out as full stunt groups. Athletes trying out in a group may not be placed on the team while some of their group members are.
Watch USA YUCO at the 2025 ICU Junior World Championship
Youth All Girl (YAG) – Ages 12-14
Location TBA
Watch USA YAG at the 2025 ICU Junior World Championship
Junior All Girl (JAG) – Ages 15-18
Based out of Nashville, TN (2025-2026)
It is highly recommended that any athlete selected live within 5 hours of selected location due to multiple required practices per week for the months leading up to the ICU Championships. We also recommend for athlete tryouts for JAG to have an intact group (main base, side base, backspot and top girl) to tryout with.
Timeline:
- 07/22: Nashville Location Selected and Announced by USA Cheer, Individual Athlete Interest Form Open to Athletes Age 15-18 Nationwide
- 10/31: Individual Athlete Applications Due
- Post-Tryout Selection Timeline to Follow:
- Date TBD: In person selections* (Time/Location will be in the invite emailed)
*Invited to selections but unable to make it in person video submissions: Video Submission Requirements: 30-45 sec max video of standing tumbling, running tumbling pass, and a stunt sequence including an invert (ex: hand in hand, BHS up, FHS up, etc.) and spin. - Date TBD: Team announced and practice schedule set
- Date TBD: In person selections* (Time/Location will be in the invite emailed)
Skills:
- Preferred Stunting Skills: hand-in-hands, inverts, spinning stunts
- Preferred Tumbling Skills: standing tuck, running layout, running full
- Basket Tosses (kick full variations and kick double variations)
Watch USA JAG at the 2025 ICU Junior World Championship
Junior Coed (JUCO) – Ages 15-18
Based out of Tampa, FL (2024-2026)
The team will be based out of the Central Florida area. It is highly recommended that any athlete selected live within 4-5 hours due to multiple required practices per week for the months leading up to the ICU Championships.
Timeline:
- 9/25: Tampa Location Selected and Announced by USA Cheer, Individual Athlete Interest Form Open to Athletes Age 15-18 Nationwide
- 10/10: Individual Athlete Interest Form Closed
- 10/17: Video Submission Due – Invite Only
- Mid-November (Exact Date TBD): Three Day In-Person Tryout (Tampa, FL)
- December: Team announced and practice schedule set
Skills:
- Preferred Stunting Skills: hand-in-hands, inverts, spinning stunts, coed skills
- Preferred Tumbling Skills: standing tuck, running layout, running full
- Basket Tosses (kick full variations and kick double variations)
Watch USA JUCO at the 2025 ICU Junior World Championship