Tag Archives: college cheer recruiting

Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan, News, Norway, Results, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom

University Cheer Worlds Just Crowned a New Champion

Posted on by Steve Pawlyk
University Cheer Worlds 2026 Just Crowned a New Champion
15
Jun
Steve Blog Circle

Byline Steve Pawlyk

Steve Blog Circle

Byline Steve Pawlyk

By Steve Pawlyk

Published June 15, 2026

The University Cheer Worlds just wrapped in Gothenburg, Sweden. The FISU World University Championship ran from June 5 to 7. Twelve countries left with medals.

Most of your athletes have no idea this event exists. That is a problem worth fixing.

Canada cheerleading bronze FISA 2026

What went down in Gothenburg

The United States won gold in Coed Premier with an 84.12. Japan took silver at 78.28. Canada grabbed bronze in its first trip to the division.

Canada actually medaled twice. The University of Alberta took silver in All Female Elite. That marked a second straight podium for the program in that category.

The US still owns the top spot. But widen the lens and the story shifts. Athletes from a dozen countries stood on a podium last weekend.

That spread matters. Strong programs now live far beyond the names you expect.

Wait, what is university Worlds?

You can be forgiven for not knowing this event. The first one happened in Lodz, Poland, back in 2018. It is still young.

FISU runs the championship. The International Cheer Union governs the cheer side. Athletes do not just rep their gym here. They compete for their whole country.

The event splits into two lanes. Cheer covers stunts, tumbling, and the loud stuff. Cheer Dance leans on synchronized, gymnastic dance work.

Here is how it differs from the path your athletes know. All Star runs through USASF clubs. Most US college hopefuls aim for Daytona. University Worlds sends them to a world stage under their flag instead.

Need Competition Music Blue 1
Need Competition Music Blue 1

Why your athletes should care

Most cheerleaders think the sport ends at graduation. They watch teammates age out of All Star and assume the sidelines are the only road left.

University cheer kills that assumption. Athletes compete for their country and their school at a world level. Some keep training hard into their mid-twenties.

This changes the conversation you have with a 16-year-old. Cheer can shape which college they pick. It does not have to be the thing they quit.

What the scoreboard teaches

Here is the part you can use on Monday. Clean wins at this level.

The medal teams did not stack the hardest skills and hope. They hit. International judges reward routines that land every element with control.

world university games cheerleading

Say this to your athletes now, while it sticks. A clean Level 4 routine beats a shaky Level 5 every time. That truth runs from your gym floor straight to Sweden.

Canada cheerleading bronze FISA 2026

How an athlete actually gets there

Start with the truth. This path is narrow but real. Spots on a national team stay limited.

Selection works differently by country. It usually runs through national federations and university programs. A school with a serious competitive team gives an athlete the best shot.

You do not need every athlete to aim for Sweden. You need a few to know the option exists. That knowledge keeps them training when the All Star clock runs out.

How to bring it back to your gym

Pull the routines up online and watch them as a team. Point out how the top squads control their pace. Ask your athletes what they notice about consistency.

Then map the path out loud. Show them which schools send teams to international meets. Let them picture cheer as a long game, not a countdown.

The athlete who hears this at 15 trains with more purpose at 17. Give them the reason.

Steve Pawlyk Signature Full

IPP's Premade Mixes are USA Cheer Compliant and customizable!  Add Sound FX, swap songs, & more!  Add your Team Name to the mix for only $10! 

SLAM artwork
Full_Out_130 mp3 image
1 minute cheer mix
WAKE UP THE FIRE
SLAM artwork
WAKE UP THE FIRE
Full_Out_130 mp3 image
1 minute cheer mix
Coaching, Featured, High School, Tips

College Cheer Recruiting Starts Now. Are Your Athletes Ready?

Posted on by Steve Pawlyk
college cheer recruiting
09
Jun
Steve Blog Circle

Byline Steve Pawlyk

Steve Blog Circle

Byline Steve Pawlyk

By Steve Pawlyk

Published June 9, 2026

Something worth telling your athletes about happened in Sweden this past weekend.

The FISU World University Championships wrapped in Gothenburg on June 7. University teams from across the world competed for cheer titles. Team Canada came home with two medals.

Canada took silver in All Female Elite and bronze in Coed Premier. The All Female Elite squad came entirely from the University of Alberta. The Coed Premier team came from the University of British Columbia.

Australia won the All Female Elite title with a score of 70.64. Canada, the defending champion, finished at 61.82.

So a university team from Australia just beat a university team from Canada for a world title. Your athletes probably have no idea this event exists. That gap is the opportunity.

cheer recruiting tips

Why this matters to the kids on your mat

Most of your athletes think cheer ends after high school or their last all-star season. They do not see a road past 18. The mat feels like a countdown clock to them.

That road exists, and it keeps getting wider every year. College programs compete for national titles. National teams compete at world championships. Now university squads compete on a world stage too.

Think about what that means for a 15-year-old on your team. She can train today with a real shot at a college floor in three years. She just needs someone to tell her the floor is there.

When a parent asks “where can this actually go,” you finally have a clean answer. You can point to a college team, a national team tryout, or a world championship floor. That answer changes how families weigh the time and money they pour in.

It also changes how your athletes show up to practice. A kid chasing a college spot trains differently than a kid running out the clock.

Two pathways your athletes should understand

There are two separate international routes, and people mix them up constantly. Knowing the difference makes you the coach parents trust.

The first is the ICU World Championships. Athletes try out and represent their country on a national team. Team USA won its fourth straight All Girl Premier title at ICU Worlds in April. The USA program also chased a ninth straight Coed Premier crown this year.

That route is national pride at the highest level. Your athlete wears the flag, not a school logo.

The second is the FISU route you just read about. Athletes compete for their university, not their country directly. The University of Alberta and UBC athletes earned those Canadian medals as students first. They made a college team, then reached the world stage through it.

Both routes start the exact same way. An athlete keeps training past the age where most kids walk away. Skills do not disappear at graduation unless your athlete lets them.

There is also a closer target most families forget. College cheer nationals in Daytona Beach draw programs from every division each spring. That floor is reachable for far more of your athletes than a world championship.

Need Competition Music Blue 1
Need Competition Music Blue 1

What you can do this off-season

You do not need a new program or a bigger budget to open this door. You need to talk about it out loud and often.

Start by naming the pathway at practice this week. Tell your older athletes that college cheer and national teams are real goals, not fantasies. Say it to the whole gym, not just your standout flyer.

Then help them prepare like it counts. Capture clean film of their stunting, tumbling, and jumps now, while the season is fresh. Shoot it in good light against a plain background, and keep each clip short.

College coaches scan film fast. They want a full standing tumbling pass, a running pass, and a clean stunt sequence. Give them that in the first thirty seconds or they move on.

Male athletes have a real edge here, so push your boys especially hard. College coed teams hunt for strong male bases every single year. Many of those spots come with scholarship money attached.

Build a short list of programs with your athletes too. Match a kid’s skills to schools that compete at their level. A realistic target beats a dream school with no roster spot.

cheer after high school college cheer scholarships

The takeaway

Cheer is no longer a sport kids age out of at graduation.

The floor in Gothenburg proved that again this weekend.

Your job is to make sure your athletes know the door is open. Point at it early and name it often. Back it up with film, and watch how their training changes when the goal feels real.

Steve Pawlyk Signature Full

IPP's Premade Mixes are USA Cheer Compliant and customizable!  Add Sound FX, swap songs, & more!  Add your Team Name to the mix for only $10! 

SLAM artwork
Full_Out_130 mp3 image
1 minute cheer mix
WAKE UP THE FIRE
SLAM artwork
WAKE UP THE FIRE
Full_Out_130 mp3 image
1 minute cheer mix
130bpm 150bpm
SHARE YOUR CART