Athlete's Guide to British Cheerleading Association Under 6 to Open 2026/27

BCA's 2026/27 cheer solo divisions:

Dance solos use the same age bands (Under 6, Under 8, Under 12, Under 16 and Open). Stunt groups, cheer duos and dance duos follow the SportCheer UK Unified Age Grid. There are no further splits in speciality divisions.

BCA's published birth-year ranges overlap at the edges. If your athlete's birth year appears in two bands, their age in 2027 decides the division.

BCA runs several types of cheer division in 2026/27:

• Elite Cheer (IASF): Levels 1 to 7, plus Non-Tumble Levels 2.0 to 7.0. Each level has a grid of allowed skills. Everything allowed at one level is allowed at the levels above it, and anything banned at a level is banned below it.
• Novice (Under 6, and Under 8 to Under 16) and Prep (also used for University, Schools, Masters and Adaptive divisions), with their own UK 2026/27 scoring sheets.
• Pre-Prep Level 1 (Under 6 to Senior): follows SportCheer UK's Prep requirements with extra limits, including no front or back walkovers. Pre-Prep athletes can't cross over to or from Novice, Prep or IASF divisions.

Performing skills above your level in Elite Cheer:

• A skill above your level but legal in Level 6: 0.25 deduction each time (Levels 1 to 5).
• A skill not allowed even in Level 6: 2.0 safety violation each time.

Scoring: Elite Cheer uses the IASF Cheer scoring system with an expanded quantity chart for the UK age grid; Prep and Novice use the USASF system with point values adjusted to match IASF.

The IASF Cheer Rules (2025-2028) general safety rules include:

• Athletes must be supervised by a qualified director or coach at all official functions.
• Coaches must require proficiency before progressing to harder skills, and place athletes and teams at a suitable level.
• Every team, gym and coach must have an emergency response plan for injuries.
• No athlete or coach may be under the influence of alcohol, drugs, performance-enhancing substances or medication that affects safe performance or supervision.
• No stunts, pyramids, tosses or tumbling on concrete, asphalt, wet, uneven or obstructed surfaces, in practice or performance.
• No height-increasing apparatus to propel an athlete (a spring floor is the exception).
• Spotters required for a skill must be your own team members, trained in spotting.
• Drops (knee, seat, front, back or split drops) from a jump, stunt or inverted position are banned unless most of the weight is first taken on the hands or feet. Shushunovas are allowed.

Each level also has its own list of allowed and banned skills. Every skill allowed at a level is also allowed at higher levels, and a skill banned at a level is banned at all lower levels.

Under the IASF Cheer Rules (2025-2028):

Shoes

• Soft-soled shoes with a solid sole must be worn when competing.
• No dance shoes or boots, and no gymnastics slippers (or similar).

Jewellery

• Jewellery of any kind is banned and must be removed: for example earrings, navel and tongue jewellery, necklaces and pins on uniforms.
• Rhinestones may not be stuck to the skin or hair.
• Medical bracelets are allowed if taped to the body.

Braces, supports and casts

• Supports, braces and soft casts unaltered from the manufacturer's design need no extra padding.
• If they've been altered, they must be padded with closed-cell, slow-recovery foam at least half an inch (about 1.3 cm) thick for anyone involved in stunts, pyramids or tosses.
• An athlete in a hard cast (fibreglass or plaster) or a walking boot can't take part in stunts, pyramids, tumbling or tosses.

Mouth: no gum, sweets, cough drops or anything else that could cause choking, in practice or performance.

Only a few. Under the IASF Cheer Rules (2025-2028):

• The only props allowed are standard flat signs, megaphones and poms.
• Each prop must be held by a single athlete.
• No prop may bear weight, and athletes may not put weight on a prop.
• Props can't be used in combination with stunting or tumbling.
• Props must be put down safely, out of harm's way. Throwing a hard sign across the mat from a stunt, for example, is illegal.

A uniform piece that is purposely taken off the body is treated as a prop.

Under the IASF Cheer Rules (2025-2028):

• Starting position: every athlete must have at least one foot, hand or body part (not hair) on the performing surface when the routine begins. The exception is an athlete whose feet are in the hands of bases whose hands are resting on the floor.
• No swapping: the athletes who start the routine must be the same throughout. A performer can't be replaced by another during the routine.

Under the IASF Cheer Rules (2025-2028) used by BCA:

• A routine may last no more than 2 minutes 30 seconds.
• Non-tumbling routines may last no more than 2 minutes.
• Timing starts with the first movement, voice or note of music, whichever comes first, and ends with the last movement, voice or note, whichever comes last.

Going over costs 0.5 points per second over the limit (for example, deductions start at 2:31 for a 2:30 routine).

BCA's Elite Cheer divisions use the IASF deduction system for 2026/27. For Levels 1 to 4 (and Non-Tumble 2.0 to 4.0), each occurrence costs:

An athlete who simply trips while walking during a transition isn't deducted. Levels 5 to 7 use a separate IASF deduction sheet.