NCA & NDA
College Spirit Rally
Championship

• NEW Regional and National Competition format offered by NCA and NDA that emphasizes Crowd Leading skills and high-level execution as well as overall entertainment value.
• Designed to be a more simplified competition format that does NOT require outside music or choreography.
• Material utilized is your traditional school game day and/or sideline material.
• Cheer skill incorporations are limited to only those allowed by the USA Cheer College Safety Rules during basketball timeouts on a hard surface. CLICK HERE to access the latest college safety rules. (Section H., Item 3)
• Dance skill incorporation should follow the safety rules listed in the NDA College Rule Book.

• Entry Fees are $35 per participating team member (maximum of 30 participants per team). Payment is due in full when video is submitted.  Videos will NOT be judged without payment and all completed registration materials.
• Video entries, completed registration and eligibility forms, and full payment deadline are Monday, October 25^th at 5:00pm Central Time.
• Results will be posted by 5:00pm Central Time on Friday, October 29^th on nca.varsity.com and nda.varsity.com.
• REGISTER NOW to compete in the 2021 NCA & NDA College Spirit Rally Championship!

• Maximum of 30 participants:
  • Cheer – Any combination of cheerleaders and mascots
  • Dance – Any combination of dancers and mascots
• All participants must meet the Eligibility Requirements as specified on Page 4 of the 2020-21 NCA and NDA College Rule Book: CLICK HERE
• Maximum length of routine is two minutes and 15 seconds (2:15)
• Cheer teams must include at least one (1) cheer, at least one (1) sideline chant, and at least one (1) school fight song and/or band chant
• Dance teams must include one (1) fight song and one (1) timeout performance. The timeout performance may NOT exceed one (1) minute.
• There is no set order of these elements being performed and the order is not scored
• Cheer skills are limited to only those allowed by the USA Cheer College Safety Rules during basketball timeouts on a hard surface (see above under General Information)
• Skill incorporation, quantity, execution, and effectiveness WILL factor into the scoring for both cheer and dance
• Standard NCA/NDA deductions will be applied to skill execution and performance errors as well as time violations
• Signs, flags, poms and megaphones are required in at least the cheer and/or sideline chant segments for cheer teams. Dance should utilize crowd leading props and other visual effects.
• Timing will begin with the first sound or organized movement. Standard NCA/NDA deductions will be applied for time violations.
• It is recommended that cheer skills be performed on a regulation cheer mat, but not required. Dancers should perform on a surface conducive to safe execution.  Teams may NOT perform on concrete or other similar surfaces.
• It is NOT required that the virtual performance be filmed in front of a live audience.
• All the same eligibility, uniform, sportsmanship, collegiate image, etc. rules in the NCA/NDA College Rule Book apply to the Spirit Rally Championship.
• Teams entering the Spirit Rally Championship may NOT enter any other division at the NCA/NDA Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship and individual athletes may NOT compete in multiple divisions in the same year.

PERFORMANCE STRUCTURE

• Incorporation of school cheerleaders and mascot(s)
• Incorporation of school traditions
• Incorporation of visual and response enhancing props
• Smooth and seamless transitions between performance categories
• The maximum time limit for the Spirit Rally performance is two minutes and fifteen seconds

SCORING

Spirit Rally is NOT a traditional Cheer competition, but rather the display of true Game Day material designed to promote and engage crowd participation in support of the school’s athletic teams.  While the incorporation of cheer skills do consider into the scoring, so does the opinion of the judges as to how applicable such skills are to a live Game Day scenario and environment.  Much of the scoring is subjective in terms of overall performance development and implementation, as well as the overall crowd appeal and entertainment value.

BAND CHANT(S)

The Band Chant performance (if included) should consist of traditional school band chant.  Band chants should promote crowd response and participation.  All participants should be performing in a coordinated fashion utilizing crowd-response props and visual tools.  Skill incorporations should require minimal formation transitions and be conducive to spontaneous start in a real Game Day or Pep Rally situation.  Motion technique, energy level, facial expressions, body language and crowd interaction are all key factors in the scoring of this category.

CROWD LEADING

The Crowd-Leading section should be without music and consist of at least one cheer and one sideline chant.  Formation and level changes are relevant in this section as desired or required for visual affect, and all crowd-leading props should be incorporated (signs, poms, flags, megaphones).  Again, it is important for the team to be performing in a coordinated fashion to provide a structured appearance that is visually appealing.  The focus should be to create a simple and easy to understand method for crowd response while utilizing body language, eye contact, energy level and crowd interaction skills in addition to visual props.

FIGHT SONG

The Fight Song segment should be the school’s traditional fight song at its normal pace and length as it would be played in a Game Day or pep rally setting.  Cheerleaders should begin in traditional sideline formation displaying a traditional Game Day fight song performance.  Transitions should be limited for visual affect, skill incorporations or the ending portion of the fight song for the conclusion.  Skills should be easily incorporated at a quick pace (1-2 8-counts) and appear effortless.  Synchronized skills would add value when performed with a high level of execution.  Motion technique, facial expressions and eye contact, as well as overall execution and performance appeal will factor into the scoring in this section.  The school fight song is commonly played numerous times during an athletic event, so the design and performance should be conducive to spontaneous and repetitive execution with ease.

Sample Cheer Scoresheet

PERFORMANCE STRUCTURE

• Incorporation of school dancers and mascot(s)
• Incorporation of school traditions
• Incorporation of crowd leading visual effects
• Smooth and seamless transitions between performance categories
• The maximum time limit for the Spirit Rally performance is two minutes and fifteen seconds

SCORING

Spirit Rally is NOT a traditional dance category, but rather the display of true Game Day material designed to promote and engage crowd participation to generate school spirit.  Scoring will be based on the dancers ability to create crowd appeal and entertainment value true to their school’s game day.

FIGHT SONG

Routine should be comprised of visual effects that are relevant to game day (typically performed on the sidelines/court); choreography that represents your schools traditional Fight Song that teams perform at games and within the community. Characteristics of a Fight Song include motion work, crowd interaction and other traditional engagement. Skills and choreography should represent a traditional Fight Song that your team performs at games and community events. Recorded band music will be used. Scoring in this section is based on the ability of the performers to perform a traditional school fight song displaying high energy and solid performance techniques effectively and accurately.

TIMEOUT PERFORMANCE

Routine should showcase the team’s energy and connection to the crowd with high energy, game day specific choreography designed for entertainment in either jazz, pom, hip hop or kick or any combination of these styles. This routine is pre-planned and choreographed to a specific piece of music; a highlight piece for the dance team at a game. The routine should complement the team’s strengths while also providing exceptional visuals and crowd appeal. This portion has a maximum time limit of 1:00 minute.

Sample Dance Scoresheet

NCA & NDA reserve the right to combine or restructure regions should any region have less than 3 participating teams per cheer and dance category.

• The US will be divided into the following five (5) regions for the virtual regional championships:

1. 1. Southeast Region – NC, SC, TN, GA, FL, AL, MS, KY, VA, WV
   2. Northeast Region – MD, NJ, PA, NY, CT, MA, RI, VT, NH, ME, OH
   3. Central Region – MO, IL, IN, MI, WI, MN, IA, KS, NE, SD, ND
   4. Southwest Region – TX, OK, NM, LA, AR
   5. West Region – AZ, CO, WY, MT, ID, UT, CA, NV, OR, WA, AK, HI

• Teams will submit ONE (1) video entry by the published entry deadline (October 25^th, 2021).
• Videos will be judged and ranked by region.  Rankings will be released on October 29^th, 2021.
• Division breakouts within each region will be determined by the overall number of entries and school athletic affiliation of the teams entered.  (i.e. Division I, II, III, NAIA, JC)
• Each regional winner will receive a Silver Paid Bid to compete in the Spirit Rally Finals at the NCA/NDA Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida April 6-10, 2022.
• Each 2^nd and 3^rd place team will receive a Bronze Paid Bid to compete in the Spirit Rally Finals at the NCA/NDA Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida in April.
• NCA/NDA will award additional “At-Large” invitations at the discretion of the administration to teams scoring high enough to be invited to the Spirit Rally Finals.  These At-Large teams will also be awarded either Silver or Bronze Paid Bids.
• Cheer and Dance teams winning the Spirit Rally Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida will receive the following:

1. 1. Spirit Rally Champion trophy (same as the Cheer Intermediate and Dance champion trophy)
   2. Spirit Rally Champion banner (same as the Cheer Intermediate Collegiate champion banner)

• 2^nd and 3^rd place teams at the Spirit Rally Championship in Daytona Beach Florida will receive the same 2^nd and 3^rd place trophy respectively as the other cheer and dance divisions.