My elementary school had cheerleading. I'm from an area where cheerleading was big, and it was just like any other rec league sport. They weren't linked to any other rec league sport, but they performed at DARE assemblies, etc. I think it was more a way to get kids to exercise who normally wouldn't be.

Depends on the school. I started cheering in 3rd grade, and was cheering for the basketball team of the same age level. It was a private school, though, and I know the public schools in the area didn't have sports teams at that age level.