• Background Screening
  • Results can take up to 10 business days to receive once submitted
• Athlete Protection Course
• Concussion Awareness Training
  (TeachAids, NFHS, or CDC Heads Up)
• USA Cheer Safety & Risk Management Course (Separate cost, every 4 years)
  – Existing course certificate UPLOAD option available
• USA Cheer Waiver
• USA Cheer Member Code of Conduct Agreement

This membership includes $1,000,000 secondary professional liability coverage for members who are 18 years of age or older who have completed all requirements for membership. Coverage applies while the approved Cheer Coach member is supervising cheer practices, games, or competition with their designated team. No coverage applies for 1) training individual participants or conducting their own camps/clinics 2) acting as a choreographer for a team that they do not coach full time or 3) while coaching any other sports besides cheer, STUNT and dance.

• Background Screening
  • Results can take up to 10 business days to receive once submitted
• Athlete Protection Course
• Concussion Awareness Training
  (TeachAids, NFHS, or CDC Heads Up)
• USA Cheer Waiver
• USA Cheer Member Code of Conduct Agreement

* Note that this membership DOES NOT include additional liability coverage. If you are a full time cheer or dance coach and you wish to have this additional insurance, you must have a Cheer Coach or Dance Coach membership.

• Background Screening
  • Results can take up to 10 business days to receive once submitted
• Athlete Protection Course
• Concussion Awareness Training
  (TeachAids, NFHS, or CDC Heads Up)

This membership includes $1,000,000 secondary professional liability coverage for members who are 18 years of age or older who have completed all requirements for membership. Coverage applies while the approved Dance Coach member is supervising dance practices, games, or competition with their designated team. No coverage applies for 1) training individual participants or conducting their own camps/clinics 2) acting as a choreographer for a team that they do not coach full time or 3) while coaching any other sports besides cheer, STUNT and dance.

Option 1: Check the public membership list here. This list is updated weekly.

Option 2: Log in to the member portal at usacheer.org/login. If your membership is current, you will see your Member ID card. If you see a popup window, it will show you which requirements are still needed in order to make your membership current.

This membership is meant to provide increased athlete protection. To obtain a USA Cheer Professional or Coach membership (Cheer Coach, STUNT Coach, or Dance Coach), an applicant must successfully pass a criminal background check. Background screening is one step to help ensure a positive and safe environment. It is important to note that background screening is a snapshot in time of recorded and reported criminal behavior or potential criminal behavior. A successful background screening should never warrant relaxing protocols for preventing abuse as outlined in the free USA Cheer Athlete Protection Course for athletes, coaches and parents.

A secondary screening, which is done during the membership application and eligibility process with USA Cheer, serves to establish criteria that would disqualify from membership those persons who have something in their background that would preclude them from working with children. The USA Cheer screening is consistent with the standards used by similar youth serving organizations, sport organizations and governing bodies.

It is required for all overnight camps, and highly encouraged for home and day camps.

Once you select your membership type, complete the information to register. On the payment page, you will see a box for a “promo code”. Enter “VARSITY24” without the quotes, then click to check the code. The fee will change to “$0.00” and you may proceed.

No.

Adults attending camp in an official capacity with the team, participating at camp and/or serving in a supervisory capacity of the team must complete the membership. This typically includes coaches, choreographers and chaperones. Adults that typically do not meet this criteria include bus drivers, parents delivering food, and spectators/parents that attend certain camp sessions (final day, etc.).

Only one coach for each team/program attending a Varsity Spirit camp or event will be required to have a Cheer Coach or Dance Coach membership.

Any additional coaches, choreographers, etc. who wish to attend an overnight camp or gain access to the warmup, backstage or coaches’ box areas at a Varsity Spirit competition may have either a Cheer Coach, Dance Coach, or a Professional membership. The Professional Membership does not require the USA Cheer Safety & Risk Management Course.

• Cheer Coach Membership – This is the course that is recommended for cheer coaches. The requirement for camp is that all qualifying adults must have a Cheer Coach or Professional membership. Note that if your team will be attending a Varsity competition, at least one coach attending will be required to have a coach membership. USA Cheer Coach Membership is available for junior high, high school, and college cheerleading coaches. This membership comes with member-only newsletters, special rates on coaches conference and select online courses, and additional secondary professional liability coverage*. Members will be required to complete the following: USA Cheer Waiver, USA Cheer Member Code of Conduct Agreement, Concussion Acknowledgement, Athlete Protection Course (Coach/Owner), USA Cheer Safety & Risk Management Certification (every 4 yrs), and an Annual Background Screening.
• Professional Membership – USA Cheer Professional Membership is for additional coaches, choreographers, school administrators, judges, contract employees, etc. This membership comes with member-only newsletters, and special rates on coaches conference and select online courses. Members will be required to complete the following: USA Cheer Waiver, USA Cheer Member Code of Conduct Agreement, Concussion Acknowledgement, Athlete Protection Course (Coach/Owner), and an Annual Background Screening. Note that this membership does not include the secondary liability coverage.

* The Cheer Coach membership includes secondary professional liability coverage for members who are 18 years of age or older who have completed all requirements for membership. Coverage applies while the approved Cheer Coach member is supervising cheer practices, games, or competition with their designated team. No coverage applies for 1) training individual participants or conducting their own camps/clinics 2) acting as a choreographer for a team that they do not coach full-time or 3) while coaching any other sports besides cheer, STUNT and dance.

You may find that you need to change your membership choice, for example from “Professional” to “Cheer Coach” because you have been hired as a team’s full time coach and need the Safety & Risk Management course. To change your membership, log in and select “Upgrade/Change Membership” on the home screen. From there, select the membership you need and follow the steps. You will be asked to go through the agreements and waiver steps again.

School coaches need the USA Cheer membership.

All Star coaches need the USASF membership.

Coaches of school and All Star need both memberships.

No. Your membership with USA Cheer requires that members acknowledge that they have taken at least one of the courses on the required list. There is no requirement to upload any documents, but we recommend that you print all concussion training documents and have on hand in your coaches folder and update these yearly.

Varsity Spirit has required for the past three seasons that at least one coach from each program has taken the USA Cheer Safety & Risk Management Course, which is valid for four years. Varsity Spirit and USA Cheer recommend that all coaches take a course on cheer safety and risk management.

No. The USA Cheer Safety & Risk Management Course is a separate course and fee that is not covered by Varsity. Most coaches already have this course as a requirement for their programs through their association, school, or district and it has been a requirement for Varsity competitions for some time.

There are two options for the course requirement:

1. Upload your existing course certificate from USA Cheer or the NFHS site (titled “Cheer & Dance Safety Certification”). This should only be necessary if you do not have a current certificate connected to your existing USA Cheer account.
2. Purchase and complete the USA Cheer Safety & Risk Management Course in your USA Cheer account. The course is $80 with the member discount and does not need to be renewed for 4 years. This is the course required by most schools, districts, and state associations.

Unfortunately, USA Cheer cannot accept a background check from another organization. Currently, there is significant duplication of efforts regarding background checks required by schools, churches, youth sports and employers in part because organizations are not permitted to share applicant’s background check reports with each other. In addition, different organizations use different criteria for their background checks. For example, your school would not accept your background check done through USA Cheer. USA Cheer membership standardizes the process for all USA Cheer members.

This background check is included with the Professional, Youth Coach, Cheer Coach, and Dance membership so it is no additional cost to the member.

The USASF certificate does not take the place of the USA Cheer Safety & Risk Management Course.

Once you sign up, a popup window will guide you through the next steps to complete your membership. Select the “UPLOAD” option for the safety course and follow the steps to upload your certificate. You can find your existing certificate at https://usacheer.org/coachsearch.

We recommend getting your USA Cheer membership at least two weeks before your event, as the background check may take up to that long. If you arrive at the event without your membership, you will not be allowed in the warmup, backstage or coaches’ box areas.

USA Cheer currently offers memberships that cover varying levels of participation. All members receive regular e-newsletters with updates on the US National Team, safety initiatives related to athletes and coaches in the cheer and dance community, the new sport of STUNT, and any other important information that pertains to the overall cheer and dance community.

Proper training and trust in an organization and its credentialing is paramount in providing safety to all our athletes. USA Cheer, with its commitment to furthering safety, has compiled vital training into comprehensive memberships that focus on coach education surrounding program and athlete safety.

The Cheer Coach, STUNT Coach, and Dance Coach memberships includes secondary professional liability coverage for members who are 18 years of age or older who have completed all requirements for membership. Coverage applies while the approved member is supervising cheer practices, games, or competition with their designated team. No coverage applies for 1) training individual participants or conducting their own camps/clinics 2) acting as a choreographer for a team that they do not coach full time or 3) while coaching any other sports besides cheer, STUNT and dance.

Memberships run from June 1 through May 31 each year.

Choose your membership below and follow the online prompts to complete your registration.

• Coach Membership
• Professional Membership
• Dance Coach Membership – if you are a Dance Coach only, use this option.

If you are a current or former USA Cheer member please click HERE to login and renew your membership.

Please allow up to 24 hours for your membership to be activated as “current” once all requirements are met. If you have uploaded an existing certificate for your Safety & Risk Management Course, be sure that you uploaded the proper, valid certificate for that course. The most common reason for a delay is that the member applicant uploaded a concussion certificate, screenshot of a registration page, or something other than a completed USA Cheer Safety & Risk Management Course certificate.

There are detailed instructions on finding and showing your membership card here.

If you have questions or issues regarding the membership process, contact membership@usacheer.org.

If you have questions regarding Varsity Spirit competitions, including registrations and requirements, please reach out to your local Varsity Spirit representative or Varsity Spirit customer service.

The USA Federation for Sport Cheering is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that was established in 2007 to serve as the National Governing Body for Sport Cheering in the United States and is recognized by the International Cheer Union. USA Cheer exists to serve the cheer and dance community, including club cheering (all star), youth recreational cheer, traditional school-based cheer programs, dance and spirit programs, and the growing sport of STUNT. USA Cheer has three primary objectives: promote safety and safety education for cheer in the United States; help grow and develop interest and participation in cheer and dance throughout the United States; and represent the United States of America in international cheer competitions.