27, 2016. There has been an unusual but gradual popularity upsurge for cheerleading within the UK. “Loughborough University’s cheerleading team, Goldrush, reports that the number of members has increased by 27.3 per cent this year, and the University of Exeter’s cheerleading team, the Exeter Emeralds, have seen a whopping 85 per cent increase in membership numbers since 2011.” This is also evident from its social popularity growth as well as its involvement in schools. Many more children have considered attendance as an extracurricular sport as well as, including it being included within school curriculums. ‘The Department of Education shows that 37% of schools are now offering cheerleading in PE lessons have been greeted with scorn in the media’. The involvement of the sport within compulsory physical education lessons encourages and satisfies a lot of the stigma around cheerleading. The benefit of the promotion of cheerleading will deliver better equipment, facilities and training for coaches. The UK Cheerleading Association (UKCA) brings 200,000 girls to the programme, who are already involved with many sports covered by This Girl Can. The This Girl Can project developed by Sport England, supports female exercise and sporting activities. With the promotions of Cheer by such organisations like Sport England, enables the sport to reach a whole other range, as well as it being endorsed by ESPN. In order for Cheerleading to be recognised as a sport, the National Governing Body (NGB) must complete certain requirements set out within the Sports Councils’ Recognition Policy 2017. It becomes obligatory for candidates to first read the Applicant Guidance and then complete a pre-application form. The pre-application was created to ensure the potential organisation meets its basic criteria prior to progressing to full application stage. However, even before they are able to apply, they need to make sure they are maintaining all four pre-application and application requirements. Firstly, the leading pre-application criteria for an NGB is there to be operational for a minimum of two years, which is properly certified or signed off accounts for the past two financial years. Having a NGB for longer than two years, can enable time to maintain all requirements and create reputation within the sporting society, which is a vital requirement in the pre application criteria. Each NGB must also maintain their constitutional structure and therefore each separate NGB should have a document or constitution relevant to their specific jurisdiction (e.g. England or Wales). Thirdly is, the requirement for a NGB to validate its association to its jurisdiction, to the UK NGB’s as well as the international governing bodies for the sport. Lastly, the NGB would have to sustain influence, in order to demonstrate its capabilities in sporting activities in relation to their jurisdictions. As well as the influence, they would need to sustain relationships with other organisations within its sport by working in co-operation with others. This becomes vital during organisation in sporting competitions and several alliances in order to promote the popularity and preservation of the sport. If pre-application criteria is achieved and the application is approved, cheerleading would be invited to attend a briefing meeting to discuss the full application process. This will be with the UK Recognition Panel for UK or GB NGBs. For NGBs applying for recognition in one of the Home Country jurisdictions the meeting will be with only the Home Country Sports Council and not the full Recognition>