Acrobatics and Tumbling named NCAA Emerging Sport

NCATA - The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics (CWA) has recommended that all three divisions of the NCAA governance structure add acrobatics and tumbling to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program. If adopted, the sport would join the program Aug. 1, 2020. Women's wrestling also received a recommendation from the CWA this morning.

The CWA identifies sports to be added to the Emerging Sports for Women program, which is a pipeline supporting the advancement of women's sports to NCAA championship status. The program also provides athletics opportunities for women and sport-sponsorship options for colleges and universities. Schools also may use an emerging sport to help meet membership minimum sports-sponsorship requirements and financial aid requirements.

A sport must have a minimum of 20 varsity teams and/or competitive club teams that have competed in a minimum of five contests to be considered for the emerging sports program. The sport must reach 40 varsity programs to move forward to the NCAA governance structure for championship consideration.

The Committee on Women's Athletics commended acrobatics and tumbling for showing how its student-athletes already were integrated fully within athletics departments; how they are enjoying experiences comparable to those of other NCAA student-athletes; and how the sport could grow. The recommendation also shows that Acrobatics & Tumbling has met the objective criteria for emerging sport consideration and demonstrates the Committee's confidence that Acrobatics & Tumbling can achieve NCAA championship status.

Each NCAA division will now consider the CWA's recommendation. If adopted, Acrobatics & Tumbling would be formally recognized as an emerging sport effective August 1, 2020.

The National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA) celebrates the recommendation by recognizing the work of the administrators, coaches, and student-athletes of NCATA member schools.

Acrobatics & Tumbling was developed to provide fair and safe opportunities for young women to compete at the varsity intercollegiate level in skill sets primarily developed through youth participation in all disciplines of gymnastics or in cheerleading.

31 institutions sponsor Acrobatics & Tumbling as a varsity sport on their campus, including six that added a program in 2019. 29 of the 31 institutions that sponsor acrobatics and tumbling are members of one of the three NCAA divisions.