Acrobatics and cheerleading has had a diminutive history. Up until the 1980's cheerleading in the United States was the venue of the school systems. Acrobatics and gymnastics up 'til the 1960's were combined together, so cheerleaders in gymnastics naturally used all of the acrobatics available for them to use. Competition cheerleading came with a bang in the 1980's. They still drew upon the multitude of acrobatics that they knew.
That decade brought a surge of creative routines that are still a marvel to watch today. Regrettably, injuries grew rapidly as new cheerleaders tried to do stunts that they had not been properly trained in. Since there is no single group that governs cheerleading, no organization took the responsibility to train the athletes. Instead, facing the threats of lawsuits, they took the easy path and banned skills one by one. Cheerleading today leans more on individual tumbling and dance than acrobatics because every gym in the nation can teach tumbling, and dance is usually a low risk for injury.
There is a solution that could draw cheerleaders back into acrobatic usage. That is a developmental program similar to the JO program of the USAG. In a conversation I had at the Group Gymnastics Nationals in Dallas with Crickett Bucare of WOGA, she indicated that the USAG is looking into this. If the USAG hosted their own cheerleading competitions set up with a JO program, they could capture the market, which is a lucrative industry. The organizations that host cheerleading competitions have a gold mine they will not let go of. Feminine product endorsements and the desire of every girl to be called pretty, of which cheerleader is synonymous, makes for a wealthy market. Acro coaches then could train these girls through USAG programs and competitions to raise the standard once again.