Different Types of Cheerleading Bid Competitions for 2023-2024
Here's Where Teams Will Win Their Bids for 2024 End-of-Season Competitions
One of a team’s main focuses during the regular cheerleading season, from December to April, is to win a bid to a major end-of-season competition. Major end-of-season events are typically the largest, offering the most competition, production value, and prestigious titles.
Various event producers award bids to competitions such as The Cheerleading Worlds, The Summit, The D2 Summit, The ONE Finals, and the Allstar World Championships. These bids invite teams to compete at their events and offer money to cover registration and travel costs. There are more than 1,100 competitions for the 2023-2024 season, and we have them ALL listed on CheerTheory. Below you’ll find links to every bid-giving competition on our radar. Are we missing an event, or do we need to make an update? Shoot an email to alex@cheertheory.com.
And as you probably already know, CheerTheory tracks bids to several end-of-season competitions – you can find those here.
Different Types of Bids Teams Can Win
Wild Card
A Wild Card bid is an invitation to the competition, and teams must compete in the Prelims round. There is no monetary value associated with Wild Card bids.
At-Large
An At-Large bid is an invitation to the competition and doesn’t have any money associated with it. At some competitions, this allows teams to skip Prelims, such as The Summit, but not all.
Partial Paid
A Partial Paid bid is an invitation to the competition and includes some monetary value. Partial Paid bids will also skip the Prelims round at some competitions.
Full Paid
A Full Paid bid is an invitation to the competition and includes the most prize money available for that event. It typically covers the total registration cost, but teams must pay for other parts of their trip. Teams with a Full Paid bid typically skip the Prelims round.
The Cheerleading Worlds
The Cheerleading Worlds is often considered the most prestigious end-of-season competition in all-star cheerleading. The USASF and IASF Cheerleading Worlds only allows certain level 5, 6, and 7 divisions to compete. In addition, only level 5 teams outside the United States are eligible. Many cheerleaders will work their entire competitive careers to compete at this event. Typically, USASF and IASF host The Cheerleading Worlds at the end of April in Orlando, Florida, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports.
The Summit Competitions
The Summit events are Varsity’s major end-of-season competitions for non-Worlds division teams. For The Summit and D2 Summit, levels 1-6 are invited to compete at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida. Typically the Summit and D2 Summit are the two weekends following The Cheerleading Worlds.
Nearly all Summit-bid-giving competitions also award bids to The Regional and Youth Summits. The Regional Summits occur in five locations across the United States, including the Northeast, Southwest, West, Midwest, and Southeast regions.
All Varsity brands and a handful of independent event producers offer bids to The Summit events.
The Open Championships
The Open Championship events do not require teams to win a bid to attend. However, many event producers offer qualifiers that reduce the registration cost based on how many competitions they attend.
Allstar World Championship
The Allstar Worlds is an end-of-season event for levels 1-6. The Open Championship produces the Allstar Worlds, and the event follows the Open scoresheet and rule book. It typically occurs at the end of April or early May in Orlando, Florida, at The Orange Country Convention Center. Teams do not need a bid to attend and can compete in the Battle Round, similar to a Prelims round.
The ONE Cheer & Dance Finals
The ONE cheer & Dance finals is an end-of-season event series in four regions – East, North, West, and Southeast. Select independent event producers offer At-Large, Partial Paid, and Paid bids.
World Allstar Federation Championship (WASF)
The World Allstar Federation Championship is a new end-of-season competition in Orlando, Florida, at the end of April. Various independent event producers award at-large and paid bids to the WASF competition.