INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State University Athletic Director Nate Burton announced the addition of Acrobatics & Tumbling to the sport offerings at WVSU on Thursday. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recognized emerging sport and Mountain East Conference (MEC) sponsored sport of Acrobatics & Tumbling will become the 11th intercollegiate sport, and sixth women's sport, offered at West Virginia State.

"We are excited about the addition of Acrobatics & Tumbling to our athletic department," said Burton. "We look forward to building the program and increasing opportunities for women to pursue their academic and athletic goals in this emerging sport."

The MEC announced the addition of Acrobatics & Tumbling to its slate of championship sports in 2018 and became the first NCAA conference to sponsor the sport in doing so. In 2020, the Committee on Women's Athletics (CWA) recommended Acrobatics & Tumbling to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program and was later approved by all three divisions. The National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA) is the governing body of the sport that currently regulates competition with the aim of becoming a fully sanctioned NCAA championship sport.

"We're thrilled to welcome West Virginia State to the NCATA," remarked NCATA Executive Director Janell Cook. "As a HBCU and as a member of the Mountain East Conference, WVSU will strengthen the Acrobatics & Tumbling community in a number of ways.  We are thankful to President Cage and Nate Burton for working with us to bring new competitive opportunities for women to their institution.

"The Mountain East Conference has been the foundation for the growth of Acrobatics & Tumbling in the region.  We are excited for continued growth within the conference as well as the chance to enhance competition with other NCATA members and institutions interested in adding a program in the region.

"Each new NCATA member opens doors for young women to compete at the collegiate level in a varsity intercollegiate athletics program.  That is our mission. We are proud to partner with WVSU to offer gymnasts and cheerleaders from across the country new opportunities to pursue their academic goals and showcase their talent."

There are currently 37 member schools of NCATA and two member conferences: the MEC and the Conference Carolinas. West Virginia State will be the ninth MEC institution to offer the sport along with Alderson Broaddus, Davis & Elkins, Fairmont State, Frostburg State, Glenville State, Notre Dame College, West Liberty, and West Virginia Wesleyan. Other Division II schools offering the sport within the region include Bluefield State, East Stroudsburg, Gannon, and Kutztown.

With squad sizes up to 40 women in Acrobatics & Tumbling, the sport provides an opportunity to female student-athletes who have trained in the skill sets of tumbling, acrobatics, or cheerleading to compete at the varsity intercollegiate level. With an NCAA emerging sport status, West Virginia State will join the current members of NCATA in fulfilling its mission of furthering the sports' footing in the realm of intercollegiate athletics.

Each Acrobatics & Tumbling meet is held as a contest between two to three teams.  Each team has up to 28 competitors on their game-day roster and compete in six events throughout the meet, including: Compulsory, Acro, Pyramid, Toss, Tumbling, and Team.
 
In total, teams compete head to head in 20 heats during a competition.  Teams are evaluated in each heat by a panel of officials, receiving a score based on starting difficulty values and execution of declared skills. In a meet, a team can score up to 300 points. The team with the highest overall score is declared the winner.

For more information on the emerging sport of Acrobatics & Tumbling, please visit the official website of NCATA.

Prospective student-athletes (PSA) interested in joining West Virginia State's program must complete a recruitment form and follow the steps provided in the PSA Guide by NCATA.