Our History

1982/1983 - First year in record of cheerleading governed by the NSSAF. Champions of the year were the "Riverview Rurals" for gold and the "Holy Angels" for silver. 

Late 1980's - NS coaches returned from Ontario with "power cheerleading". Coaches from Dartmouth High School, Prince Andrew High School, and Cole Harbour District High School brought "power cheerleading" back to the maritimes after travelling to Ontario for a cheerleading camp. 

• A year later, London Ontario's Power Cheerleading Athletics put on a cheerleading camp in Halifax. They returned for the next several years, running camps in the summer on Dalhousie and SMU campuses. 

Early 1990's - Rise in popularity of power cheerleading among schools. 

• Power cheerleading gained the interest of cheerleaders across the province, where "tops" were lifted into the air and rules were very general, but similar to what Level 7 rules are today - building 2 1/2 high pyramids, twisting and flipping into and out of stunts. Teams practiced on hardwood floors in gymnasiums or auditoriums in their schools. 

1996 - The beginning of governing the sport: the NSSCA. 

• The Nova Scotia School Cheerleading Association (NSSCA) was created. Original members included Louise Mullane, Laura Mar, Nadine Brown, Wendy MacKay, Mary Gonzales and others. This group organized competitions and acted as a communication point for those who were involved in the sport or for those who were looking into joining. 

1997/1998 - The first judges and coaches clinic by the NSSCA. 

• In collaboration with the NSSAF, the NSSCA created and delivered a one-day coaches clinic and a one-day judges clinic. The materials used in these clinics were largely created by Laura Mar, who had spent time teaching camps at PCA and Cheer Ltd in the US.

1999/2000 - First power cheerleading clubs in NS!

• The first power cheerleading clubs: Truro Cheer Club and Cheer Extreme (in Dartmouth, now Extreme Athletics) became the first in the province. 

2000/2001 - The first open all-star team in Atlantic Canada!

• Following the creation of the first all-star teams at Cheer Extreme, the "Hawks" and "Cavs" (pictured right) led by Robyn Edwards, a new open team called the "Starlites" was created by Susan Richter, which became the first-ever open-age all-star team in Atlantic Canada. This team disbanded from Cheer Extreme after their first year and became a new club: Halifax Cheer Elite.

2001 - A new name for the NSSCA & Cape Breton hops on board with All-Star cheerleading!

• The NSSCA (Nova Scotia School Cheerleading Association) began governing club cheerleading as well as school cheerleading, and so changed their name to the NSCCA (Nova Scotia Club Cheerleading Association). 

• The first power cheerleading club in Cape Breton was created: The Tigers!

2002 - The Cape Breton Cheer Allstars were the next power cheerleading club to open in Cape Breton, but only stayed open for two years. 

2004 - Celtic Cheerleading (now called Cape Power Cheerleading) was created and became the first long-standing cheerleading club in Cape Breton. 

2005 to 2008 - More participation throughout the province!

• The NSCCA saw the growth of cheerleading's popularity in NS. In this time, participation numbers sky-rocketed and more clubs were created across the province. 

2009 - More numbers = more organization required.

• The NSCCA started incorporating large and small size teams and more divisions of levels. Competing levels became Open International, Youth, Senior, University/Collegiate, Junior, and Open. 

• In June 2009, The NSCCA (Nova Scotia Club Cheerleading Association) made the decision to change their name to the NSCC (Nova Scotia Coaches Committee.

2011 - The NSCC levels up!

• The NSCC created a more established governing body for the sport of cheerleading in Nova Scotia to enforce rules, regulations and policies. Their title was reverted to the NSCCA (Nova Scotia Club Cheerleading Association) and executive roles were chosen. 

2013 - NSCCA becomes Cheer Nova Scotia.

• The Provincial Sport Organization of Cheer Nova Scotia was founded. The establishment of Cheer Nova Scotia brought many new rules and more organization to the table, including the introduction of new policies (harassment policy, concussion training, etc.)

2018/2019 - The first "Team Nova Scotia"!

• CNS started their very first junior provincial cheerleading team: Team Nova Scotia. 

2019/2020 - Team Nova Scotia named Team Canada!

• The second-ever CNS Junior Provincial Team was selected to represent Team Canada at the International Junior World Championships in Orlando, Florida!