Cheerleading to become competitive CIF sport in 2017-18
Loyola players take the field with the enthusiastic support of cheerleaders before taking on Chaminade at Loyola High School.
Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill (AB) 949 on Wednesday that will classify cheerleading as a competitive CIF sport beginning in 2017-18.
The CIF, which runs high school sports in California, will come up with the rules, policies and standards to allow schools to compete. A season of sport will be decided and students will be subject to the same eligibility and transfer rules as other sports.
The Southern Section, which has 583 schools, requires that at least 117 schools (20%) play the sport before it becomes a section championship event.
“One of the major goals in this process will be to develop guidelines for competitive cheer programs that our member schools can implement, meet the standards and be compliant with Title IX as defined by the United States Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights,” said CIF Executive Director Roger Blake in a statement.
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