The days of cheerleaders being restricted to waving pom-pons on the sideline of football games are long since passed. Today, the popularity of competitive cheerleading is sweeping the nation, just as its amateur championship swept Baltimore?s Inner Harbor over the weekend.

In the first-ever Nation?s Leading Cheerleading Companies Final Destination at 1st Mariner Arena, 261 teams from 27 states competed hoping to claim the top spot in the eight categories determined by age and level of competition.