UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship

The UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship (often shortened to NHSCC) is the premier national championship for scholastic, school-based cheerleading in the United States. Run by the Universal Cheerleaders Association, a Varsity Spirit brand, it brings together high school teams from across the country to compete for national titles in a wide range of divisions.

The championship is held each winter at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Teams are grouped by school enrollment into Division I and Division II and further by squad size (Small, Medium, Large, and Super Varsity) and type (All-Girl and Coed), with separate Traditional and Game Day categories.

In recent years the event has grown to host well over a thousand teams and tens of thousands of athletes across multiple days, making it one of the largest and most prestigious scholastic cheer competitions in the world. A national title at NHSCC is a marquee achievement for a high school program.

UCA held the first National High School Cheerleading Championship in 1980, created to reward cheerleaders for their sideline work and give them a venue to be recognized for their own talents. It is generally credited as the first event of its kind for high school cheer.

ESPN began broadcasting the championship in 1983, giving high school cheerleading unprecedented national television exposure and helping fuel the sport's growth over the following decades.

By 1995 the championship had moved to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, which has hosted it ever since. Varsity Spirit marked 30 years of partnership with Walt Disney World in connection with the 2024 event, underscoring how central the Orlando venue has become to the competition's identity.

Expect a large, multi-day scholastic championship with a strong school-spirit atmosphere. Teams compete in both Traditional competition routines, which emphasize choreography, tumbling, and stunting, and Game Day categories, which reward the skills a squad would use to lead a crowd at an actual football or basketball game.

Divisions are separated by school size and squad configuration, so programs are matched against comparable schools. Preliminary rounds narrow the field, with top teams advancing to finals, and national champions are crowned in each division across the competition weekends.

Because it is staged at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, families can expect a Disney-scale production, live and streamed coverage through Varsity's platforms, and the broader theme-park experience surrounding the event. Schedules span multiple days and often two weekends, so confirming your team's exact day is important.

The championship is held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Orlando International Airport (MCO) is the nearest major airport, generally 20 to 30 minutes by car from the Disney resort area, with Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) as a secondary option.

Most traveling teams and families stay at Walt Disney World or nearby Orlando hotels and use rental cars, rideshares, or resort transportation to reach the complex. Because the event falls during a busy winter travel window, booking flights and lodging early and confirming parking and shuttle details through official channels is recommended.