Cheerleading

Cheerleading is the organized use of song, dance and/or gymnastics to encourage crowds to cheer on sports teams at games and matches. It is also undertaken as a recreational activity and as a competitive sport involving organized routines; this form is most popular in the United States and Canada. A cheerleading performer is a cheerleader.

Performance elements

Motions/Jumps

• Common cheerleading motions are high V, low V, half-high and half-low Vs, diagonals, K's, L's, T's, broken T's, touchdowns, low touchdowns, tabletops, and punches. The motions always need to be sharp and precise so that the cheerleaders do not look sloppy.
• Toe touch is a jump with legs straddled, and straight, toes pointed, knees up or back, and the arms in a T motion. This is the most common cheerleader jump.
• Hurdler The free leg is either forward (a front hurdler), or sideways (a side hurdler). The bent knee points downward.
• Pike is among the most difficult of jumps. Both legs are straight out, knees locked. Arms are in a touchdown motion out in front to create a folded position in the air. This is often performed at a ninety-degree angle to the audience in order to show off the air position.
• Herkie, named for Lawrence Herkimer, the founder of the National Cheerleader's Association, is similar to the hurdler, except that there are no front herkies and the bent knee is out sideways.
• Double nine is a jump similar to a pike except one leg and one arm are bent in to form two "nines".
• The most common approach to a jump is the "prep" jump. On counts 1-2 hands are clasped, knees are together and bent. On 3-4, stand up on toes and raise arms in high V. Swing arms around in front, without bending elbows, and jump on 5-6, stand stationary and stand up on 7-8. Other approaches include power, banana, star, and double whip (actually two or more jumps.)
• Quite a few moves are borrowed from dances (Breakdancing/Hip Hop) and acrobatics (e.g., Cartwheel). Others are made up by the cheerleading coach or the cheerleaders themselves.

Stunts/Tumbling

• a Mount is a cheerleading stunt that involves 2 or more persons to form a type of "stunt" holding the girl or guy (typically a girl) in the air on either one or two feet.
• Flyers are cheerleaders held or thrown by others into the air. Bases or mounts hold and throw them. Backspots are cheerleaders who stand behind the flyer and the bases that have two duties: 1. To make sure that the stunt does not fall and to help catch the flyer if it does fall and 2. To help the bases by lifting some of the flyer's weight, making the stunt more stable and less heavy for the bases.
• Modern Pyramids are actually connected mounts (the flyers hold each other's hands or feet while in the air).
• Stunts that groups perform include bow-and-arrows, heel stretches, scales, liberties, scorpions, the Matrix, basket tosses, elevators, and cupies
• In competition and most college level cheerleading tumbling is a requirement. The basic tumbling is a cartwheel or a round off. The more difficult skills come when you a back hand springs and round off back hand springs. There are also back tucks, layouts, and layout twists.

Cheers/Chants

Every team has their "signature" cheers and chants. They tend to differ by sport cheered for. (e.g., basketball or football.) Most of the time the cheerleaders and coaches come up with these cheers/chants, although there are a few professional cheerleaders who specialize in this area, such as Krazy George Henderson.

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