About KAPOS

The Kentucky Association of Pep Organization Sponsors is America’s FIRST cheer coaches organization. Since our founding in 1954, the KAPOS organizational design has been modeled by many other coaches organizations across the nation.

We strive to be a strong voice for our cheer coaches in Kentucky. KAPOS membership is open to cheer coaches of all school levels: elementary, middle, and high, as well as individuals with an interest in cheer.

We strive to make our organization strong and fair. All decisions are based on a majority vote of our Board of Directors, which includes representation from across our entire state. Our Board leadership is the President, four Sectional Vice-Presidents, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Parliamentarian. Our Board of Directors also includes sixteen Regional board members, eight State At-Large board members, and our Advisory Board (past presidents).

We strive to recognize outstanding member coaches and cheerleaders by implementing the following awards:

  • KAPOS Coach of the Year – this award is offered for elementary, middle, and high school levels.
  • Stella Gilb Scholarship – $1000 scholarships are awarded to senior cheerleaders for outstanding academic performance.
  • Many of our regions provide local scholarships to deserving senior cheerleaders. These awards are presented by KAPOS Board members at the recipient’s Senior Awards ceremonies.

We strive to provide our member coaches with as many benefits as possible.

  • Member coaches are enrolled in the National Federation of High Schools coaches association. This annual membership includes a one million dollar liability insurance policy.
  • Member coaches are eligible to be nominated to receive Coach of the Year honors.
  • Coach membership provides the opportunity for senior cheerleaders to be eligible to apply for a Stella Gilb scholarship.
  • An annual Cheer Coaches Conference is conducted by KAPOS. This conference provides information and training to our coaches from nationally recognized presenters.

We strive to provide innovative competitions for elementary and middle school cheerleader teams.

  • We conduct statewide KAPOS Middle and Elementary School Cheerleading Championships. Our awards include medals, trophies, banners, and jackets for our winners.
  • Our judges are trained annually to stay current with evolving rules for competitive cheer.
  • We are Kentucky’s official In-Game judges training organization. We host training events across the state to provide quality judges for those districts and regions that conduct In-Game competitions.

We strive to stay current in the world of cheer, attending the annual conferences of Cheer Forum of America, of which our own Ann Upchurch was a founding member and former President.

KAPOS takes great pride in our longevity and advancement of Cheerleading!