NCA All-Star National Championship

The NCA All-Star National Championship is one of the largest and most prestigious all-star cheerleading competitions in the world. Produced by the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA), a Varsity Spirit brand, the event draws thousands of competitive club (all-star) teams from across the United States and internationally to compete under USASF rules across levels ranging from Novice through Level 7.

For roughly three decades the championship has been closely identified with Dallas, Texas, where it has been held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. NCA and the Dallas Sports Commission have described the event as the largest all-star cheerleading competition in the world, and in 2025 it was noted as returning to Dallas for its 30th consecutive year. (Varsity has scheduled the 2027 edition for the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.)

Because NCA is a designated bid event, a strong result here carries weight well beyond the weekend: the championship awards paid and at-large bids to The Cheerleading Worlds as well as bids to The Summit, making it a major early-season proving ground for elite programs chasing end-of-season titles.

The NCA traces its origins to 1948, when Lawrence 'Herkie' Herkimer founded the organization and helped launch modern cheerleading through the first cheerleading camps and related innovations. NCA credits itself with staging the first standalone all-star national championship in 1987, created so competitive club cheerleaders could be recognized for athleticism and performance in their own dedicated event rather than as an add-on to scholastic competition.

Over the following decades the championship grew into an anchor event of the all-star season, settling into Dallas and expanding year over year. Recent editions have been described by Varsity and the Dallas Sports Commission as record-breaking in the number of teams and athletes competing, reflecting the broader growth of all-star cheer.

NCA Nationals is a multi-day event, typically spanning a Friday-through-Sunday weekend, with teams assigned to compete on specific day combinations based on their division. Competition runs across multiple performance floors inside a large convention center, and top teams in many divisions advance to a finals round.

The atmosphere is high-energy and intense: because NCA is an early- to mid-season bid event, many of the country's top programs treat it as a marquee stop, so spectators often see elite Level 6 and Level 7 routines alongside developing teams. Families should expect large crowds, full-day schedules, warm-up areas, vendor and merchandise booths, and awards ceremonies for each division.

The championship has historically been hosted at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas, Texas, served by Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Dallas Love Field (DAL). Downtown Dallas offers a large concentration of hotels within easy reach of the convention center, and host-hotel and travel packages are commonly arranged through the event's housing partners.

Note that the 2027 edition is scheduled for the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas (served by George Bush Intercontinental Airport, IAH, and William P. Hobby Airport, HOU), so families should confirm the host city and venue for the specific year they plan to attend.