NIAA punts on sanctioning cheer, faces postseason venue issues
No decision was made on whether to sanction cheer as a high school sport at a Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Board of Control meeting Wednesday at Cimarron-Memorial.
A motion to sanction cheer as a sport in Nevada for the 2026-27 school year did not pass. The vote to approve sanctioning cheer was 5-5 at the meeting, which caused the motion to die.
The board passed a motion for the NIAA staff to bring forward a timeline and rules and regulations by January on what would need to happen for the NIAA to sanction cheer in the future.
There was no timetable for when the board would vote again on sanctioning cheer.
Many board members who voted against the motion to sanction cheer for the 2026-27 school year said during the meeting the main reason for their decision was the timeline was “too tight,” as NIAA Executive Director Tim Jackson said, to have the sport ready in less than 12 months.
“This was in no way a reflection of how this board feels about cheerleading,” Region I Vice President Rollins Stallworth said.
Postseason formats, venues
Another topic of discussion at the meeting was postseason venues. The board voted to move the state wrestling meet to the North at the Winnemucca Events Center.
The 5A, 3A, 2A and girls state wrestling meets were scheduled to be held in the South in February, but Jackson said there weren’t any feasible sites for the events.
Jackson said Winnemucca is hosting the meets at zero cost to the NIAA.
He added the NIAA is also trying to find venues for other state tournaments, such as boys and girls basketball. Lawlor Events Center in Reno will likely be unavailable because of UNR basketball games, while UNLV will likely have games at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion.
Jackson said the NIAA also does not have venues secured for the 5A girls soccer and 4A boys soccer state championship games in November.
The NIAA is looking at making changes to the baseball and softball region tournaments as well. There are concerns about the events going on at the same time students are taking Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests.
The NIAA presented a potential plan to make the region tournaments single elimination while keeping the state tournament double elimination. Jackson said the board is going to send a survey to principals for feedback on possible solutions.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.