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Once considered merely a social activity for girls, cheerleading has grown rapidly since the 1970s and now is a co-ed sport in its own right.  The increasing popularity of competition with other cheerleading teams, rather than sideline cheering for another athletic team, has brought a stronger focus on athleticism, skill development and safety.  Cheerleading is one of the fastest-growing sports for young athletes, expecially girls, with and estimated 3.8 million participants in the United States.

While both sideline and competitive cheerleading routines borrow moves from various styles of dancing and use elements of tumbling, the stunting in competitive cheerleading truly makes it a unique sport.

Through rigorous practice, which includes core strength and fitness training, tumbling skill development and choreography training, competitive teams develop synchronized two- to three-minute routines.  the routines feature a mix of tumbling, lifts, tosses jumps and dance moves set to music.  In some routines the stronger team members (known as bases), hoist the smaller, lighter weight participants (known as flyers) into partner stunts.  Flyers are frequently thrown high into the air and caught - this skill is called a basket toss.  Cheerleaders also create "body pyramids" - where at least five team members balance on top of one another - that require strength, agility and teamwork.

The best teams - including Infinity Athletics Wolverine - practice year-round, and summer cheerleading camps have become popular across the country.  Wolverine's summer 2010 choregraphy Camp is in August.

Because cheerleaders often perform skills which involve height and rotation while wearing no protective gear, injuries have become more common as the sport becomes more athletic.  At Infinity Athletics Wolverine, safety is the first rule.  Wolverine has one of the lowest injury occurrences in the competitive cheer industry.

The media reports that among high school girls, cheerleading has a high incidence of injury.  This is primarily because many school programs are lead by students or inadequately trained coaches, and they typically train and perform on a hard wood floor or sports field.  When they fall, they land hard.

Competitive cheerleaders train and perform on a thickly cushioned spring floor, inflated tumble tracks and protected trampolines, and competitive cheer athletes train to protect each other from falls.  Team medics at Wolverine All Star include two nurses and a physical therapist specializing in sports injury rehabilitation.  All IAW Coaches are first aid and CPR certified, and all are required to have extensive coaching and cheerleading safety certification.

Cheer teams prepare year-round to compete in eight or more events between October and April.  Each performance routine lasts up to 2 and one half minutes, and routines include intricately choreographed stunts, tumbling runs, jumps and dance moves. 

At competitions, routines are reviewed by a panel of judges, and winners are determined by the overall score a team receives.