Sacramento, Calif., November 11, 2019 – USA Cheer, the governing body for cheer in the US, is proud to announce that Sports Destination Management, the leading publication with the largest circulation of sports event planners and tournament directors in the sports tourism market, has bestowed one of its Innovations in Sports Tourism Awards to the 2019 College STUNT National Championship and USA Cheer, the College STUNT Association and the University of Oklahoma.
The award is part of the publication’s 2019 Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism. Combined, this year’s winners are responsible for contributing more than $1 billion to the national economy over the past year.
“This year’s nominations were incredible,” said Publisher Scott Swoger when they released the list of recipients. “We were amazed not just by the sheer volume of events, but by the scope. We saw an amazing array of entries — from team to individual, from youth to seniors, and across all disciplines and all levels of play. Events nominated represented not just the traditional tournaments but emerging sports, showing us that this industry is continuing its evolution.”
“We are thrilled to receive the Innovations in Sports Tourism Award,” said Lauri Harris, Executive Director of USA Cheer, which launched STUNT in 2011. “We built the sport of STUNT from scratch and have watched it grow all over the country and we are excited to go back to OK for our 2020 STUNT National Championship.”
Women’s STUNT, the new varsity sport derived from cheerleading and launched by USA Cheer, is in its ninth season at the college level and fifth for high school. More than 100 colleges have participated in STUNT since 2011, and more than 200 high schools from nine states have participated, making STUNT one of the fastest growing female sports in the country. Developed to meet the requirements of a sport under Title IX, STUNT takes the athletic skills of cheerleading— partner stunts, jumps, tumbling and pyramids —and creates a full, hour long format that challenges teams in head-to-head competition.
For more information about STUNT and USA Cheer, contact Lauri Harris, lharris@usacheer.org.
About USA Cheer:
The USA Federation for Sport Cheering is a not-for-profit organization and is the national governing body for all disciplines of cheerleading. USA Cheer exists to serve the entire cheer community, including club cheering (All Star), traditional school-based cheer programs and the new sport of STUNT. USA Cheer has three primary objectives: help grow and develop interest and participation in cheer throughout the United States; promote safety and safety education for cheer in the United States; and represent the United States of America in international cheer competitions.