Pyramids, tosses, tumbles: MCPS adds new spring sport

Stunt turns cheerleading into athletic competition

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April 16, 2026 3:30 p.m. | Updated: April 16, 2026 3:32 p.m.

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Cheerleaders from Damascus High School hoisted their teammates high in air while music blasted and cheerleaders from Watkins Mill High School did the same.

But the routines weren’t a sideline show at a football game. The media day event Monday at Watkins Mill High in Gaithersburg was showing off stunt, Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS) newest girls varsity sport.

“It’s fast moving, it’s high energy,” Anne Rossiter, an MCPS athletic department coordinator told the crowd that gathered in the bleachers of the school’s gymnasium.

In stunt, teams earn points for performing cheerleading routines and skills. Competitions are divided into four quarters: first quarter is partner stunts focusing on synchronization, second quarter is pyramid and tosses, third is tumbling and fourth is a routine combining skills from the first three quarters.

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“We wanted to identify a sport in the spring season for female students, we looked at trends annually,” said Jeffery Sullivan, MCPS systemwide athletic director. “We noticed spirit activities have attracted students of all backgrounds to our programs.”

The sport had its pilot season this spring at 13 MCPS high schools. The district is the first in Maryland and the DMV to offer this sport.

This initiative is part of an effort to add more opportunity for more female athletes, according to Sullivan. MCPS added flag football to all 25 of its schools in fall 2024. Sullivan said in an interview that the district will add a junior varsity flag football program this fall.

The addition of stunt comes after MCPS ended high school gymnastics earlier this year. Only seven schools were offering gymnastics and fewer than 100 athletes were participating when it was ended, according to MCPS spokesperson Liliana Lopez in a February email to Bethesda Today.

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Stunt gained also NCAA championship status this year and will begin collegiately next season. The sport “transforms traditional cheerleading skills into a head-to-head, four-quarter format emphasizing athleticism and precision,” according to an announcement from the NCAA.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine