🏫 Bye bye All-Girl: a hard hit for Collegiate cheerleading (S3.5)
- janie724
- Oct 28
- 2 min read
Episode of September 30th, 2025
Guest: Karolane Landry – Head Coach and Program Director of the Carabins at the Université de Montréal (two-time World Champion) and entrepreneur (founder of KAgency Marketing).
Between rumors and realities, we clarify the news that shook the cheerleading community: the interruption of collegiate All-Girl teams for the 2025–2026 season. With Karolane Landry, we unpack the RSEQ categories, the concrete impact on programs (Carabins, Sherbrooke, etc.), the losses for student-athletes… and above all, the glimmer of hope: this is not a farewell, but a pause—conditional on the creation of a true league.
📊 Collegiate cheerleading: understanding the context
In the spring, the RSEQ restructured the entire university sports system. Sports were divided into three categories: spectator sports, those leading to a recognized championship (national or beyond), and sports limited to a provincial championship.
Collegiate COED cheerleading was placed in the third category. But without an official and stable All-Girl league, university All-Girl teams did not receive the same treatment. In a context of budget cuts, universities therefore chose to put this category on hold.
💔 Impact on programs and athletes
This decision drastically reduces opportunities for female athletes. Where an All-Girl team could host up to 30 athletes (and more with alternates), only about twenty to thirty remain in COED teams. Many discouraged athletes have chosen to move to the civil stream… or simply quit.
Losing university status also means saying goodbye to essential services: facilities, medical follow-ups, and strength training. The student-athlete model—which was the backbone of collegiate cheerleading—is now weakened.
✨ Essential truth: this is not the end
Karolane emphasizes that this is not a farewell, but an interruption. The condition is clear: at least four universities must commit to consistently fielding an All-Girl team.
If this challenge is met, an RSEQ league could be reborn, restoring All-Girl’s rightful place in the collegiate landscape.
💡 What now?
The comeback will require collective effort. The return of level 7 All-Girl may go through several phases before regaining its former strength. Universities can focus on stronger recruitment and consider level 4 teams as stepping stones toward level 7.
The hardest part is that much of the responsibility falls on coaches. Meanwhile, athletes and parents need to believe in their place, keep showing up, and not give up during tryouts.
Collegiate cheerleading is facing a trial, but nothing is lost. This pause is above all a reminder of the importance of uniting efforts to build a stable RSEQ league—or at the very least, a functioning collegiate league.
With determination and collaboration, collegiate All-Girl cheerleading can come back stronger than ever.
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