The National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) was established as a way to bring cheerleaders together to learn new skills. From 1949 on the NCA held summer camps, and is credited with the invention of the herkie

Herkie

The Herkie is a cheerleading jump named after Lawrence Herkimer, the founder of the National Cheerleaders Association and former cheerleader at Southern Methodist University...

 jump, the pom pon and being the first uniform manufacturer

History

The NCA was founded in 1948 by the "Grandfather" of cheerleading, Lawrence Herkimer

Lawrence Herkimer

Lawrence Herkimer is an American innovator in the field of cheerleading. He created the Herkie cheerleading jump, which was named for him, and received a patent for the pom-pon...

. The NCA is the first organization to hold cheer camps with the purpose of bringing cheerleaders together to learn new skills under qualified instructors. The first camp was held in 1949 at Sam Houston State University

Sam Houston State University

Sam Houston State University was founded in 1879 and is the third oldest public institution of higher learning in the State of Texas. It is located in Huntsville, Texas. It is one of the oldest purpose-built institutions for the instruction of teachers west of the Mississippi River and the first...

with only 52 girls in attendance. The camp was so popular, that the next year attendance shot to 350.

In 1961 the company was incorporated.
The first Herkie, pom pons, and spirit stick were all seen first at NCA summer camps

NCA Today

Today the NCA still hosts summer camps as a way to bring new skills to teams in a safe controlled environment. Now, they also host competitions for school and All-star teams, from low level regionals such as Classic Championships to the NCA nationals for school cheerleaders and the NCA All-Star Nationals for All-Star cheerleaders, which are two of the most prestigious competitions in the country