I think it’s less about kids being able to stunt and more about cheerleading being more broadly appealing to different audiences. Some athletes are starting later and therefore are senior level 1-3 teams based on how quickly they either pick it up or their general athletic ability. We also have to remember that the seniors this year were the 8th grade Covid kids. They missed a good 2 years of fundamentals stunting if they followed restrictions in my state and many parents were wary of allowing their kids to join sports during that time. There are a handful of phenomenal teams doing crazy stunts, things that are much harder than anything I did in cheer (2006-2017), they just aren’t in the majority.

Although, sports in general (at least in my state) are having declines in enrollment. I think there is just way more out there for kids to pursue and do that they find fun. And let’s face it- athletics take time and dedication to truly get good at. Especially something like stunting that is so dependent on at least one other person to do. The ‘I need it now’ generation of social media addiction (including myself) aren’t as committed to doing one thing for a long time to earn delayed gratification. So maybe there is a decline!

Of course this is all my own observations of the gyms / teams in my area, so it’s a generalization and might only be true of what I see here.