Acrobatics and tumbling made significant progress toward NCAA championship status, with its inaugural National Collegiate Championship potentially taking place in spring 2027.
The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics voted last Thursday to recommend that all three divisions sponsor legislation to establish a National Collegiate Championship in acrobatics and tumbling. The recommendation is contingent on official confirmation of the sport's sponsorship and participation numbers for spring 2025 competition, which will occur over the summer.
Before the Committee on Women's Athletics can recommend a sport for NCAA championship status, at least 40 schools must sponsor it at the varsity level and meet the sport's minimum competition and participant requirements. The committee oversees the Emerging Sports for Women program, which aims to grow participation and competitive opportunities for women's sports across the NCAA.
"The advancement of acrobatics and tumbling toward National Collegiate Championship status is a powerful step forward for women's sports," said Ragean Hill, chair of the Committee on Women's Athletics and executive associate athletics director/senior woman administrator at Charlotte. "This discipline not only showcases athleticism and teamwork at the highest level but also reflects the continued commitment to expanding opportunities for female student-athletes across the country."
Acrobatics and tumbling, which became an emerging sport in August 2020, quickly grew its NCAA sponsorship from 27 schools in the 2020-21 academic year to more than 40 in 2023-24.
"The NCAA is, once again, expanding championship opportunities to female athletes nationwide," said Dr. Marion Terenzio, vice chair of the Committee on Women's Athletics and president at SUNY Cobleskill. "The addition of acrobatics and tumbling demonstrates the NCAA's commitment to its mission to grow the college sports ecosystem. I am proud that we continue to do our part in elevating women in the pursuit of athletic excellence."
Acrobatics and tumbling is a fast-paced, team-based discipline in which athletes perform a series of synchronized skills in events such as acrobatics, pyramid, toss, tumbling and team routines. Meets feature six events and typically span 90 to 120 minutes, with skills scored on difficulty and execution. The sport is currently governed by the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association and draws participants from gymnastics, cheerleading, diving and other strength-based sports.
