The grading of every skill by difficulty from level 1 to 7. Stunts, tosses and pyramids only enter the programme from level 3 upwards.
The whole level system rests on a single sentence in the rulebook of the world federation, the ICU: a skill must be mastered before the next one up is trained. It sounds trivial, but it is one of the sport's most effective safety rules — cheerleading has a low overall injury rate alongside unusually severe individual cases, and those come mainly from the top categories, basket tosses and pyramids. There is an age grid on top of it: level-3 stunts are not recommended below the age of twelve, because children absorb noticeably less landing energy. The typical thinking error is measuring yourself against a level-5 team's video. A level is not a talent label but an assignment per athlete, group and team — and a clean level 1 carries a squad further than a shaky level 3.