Cheerleading
Encyclopedia
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport
, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling
, dance
, jumps, cheers
, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate in competitions. The athlete involved is called a cheerleader. Cheerleading originated in the United States, and remains a predominantly American activity, with an estimated 1.5 million participants in all-star cheerleading. The growing presentation of cheerleading as a sport to a global audience has been led by the 1997 start of broadcasts of cheerleading competition by ESPN
International and the worldwide release of the 2000 film Bring it On
. Due in part to this recent exposure, there are now an estimated 100,000 participants scattered around the rest of the world in countries including Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Organized cheerleading started out as an all-male activity.
Princeton graduate Thomas Peebles introduced the idea of organized crowds cheering at football games to the University of Minnesota
. However, it was not until 1898 that University of Minnesota
student Johnny Campbell directed a crowd in cheering "Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-u-mah, Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Varsity, Minn-e-So-Tah!”, making Campbell the very first cheerleader and November 2, 1898 the official birth date of organized cheerleading. Soon after, the University of Minnesota
organized a "yell leader" squad of six male students, who still use Campbell's original cheer. In 1903 the first cheerleading fraternity
, Gamma Sigma, was founded.
In 1923, women joined cheerleading and began to dominate the sport in World War II when few men were involved in organized sports. At this time, there were no collegiate sports for women but women were allowed to participate in cheering squads. At this time, gymnastics, tumbling, and megaphone
s were incorporated into popular cheers, and are still used.
Today, estimates show that 97% of cheerleading participants overall are female. However, at the collegiate level cheerleading is a co-ed sport with 50% of participants being male.
In 1948, Lawrence "Herkie" Herkimer, of Dallas, Texas and a former cheerleader at Southern Methodist University
formed the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) as a way to hold cheerleading clinics. In 1949, The NCA held its first clinic in Huntsville, Texas with 52 girls in attendance. Herkimer contributed many firsts to the sport: the founding of the Cheerleader & Danz Team cheerleading uniform
supply company, inventing the herkie
(where one leg is bent towards the ground and the other is out to the side as high as it will stretch in the toe-touch position), and creating the "Spirit Stick". By the 1960s, college cheerleaders began hosting workshops across the nation, teaching fundamental cheer skills to eager high-school-age girls. In 1965, Fred Gastoff invented the vinyl pom-pon
and it was introduced into competitions by the International Cheerleading Foundation (now the World Cheerleading Association or WCA). Organized cheerleading competitions began to pop up with the first ranking of the "Top Ten College Cheerleading Squads" and "Cheerleader All America" awards given out by the International Cheerleading Foundation in 1967. In 1978, America was introduced to competitive cheerleading by the first broadcast of Collegiate Cheerleading Championships
on CBS
.
In the 1960s National Football League
(NFL) teams began to organize professional cheerleading teams. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
soon gained the spotlight with their revealing outfits and sophisticated dance moves, which debuted in the 1972–1973 season, but were first seen widely in Super Bowl X
(1976). This caused the image of cheerleaders to permanently change, with many other NFL teams emulating them. Most of the professional teams' cheerleading squads would more accurately be described as dance teams by contemporary standards; as they rarely, if ever, actively encourage crowd noise or perform modern cheerleading moves.
The 1980s saw the onset of modern cheerleading with more difficult stunt sequences and gymnastics being incorporated into routines. All-star teams started to pop up, and with them the creation of the United States All-Star Federation (USASF). ESPN first broadcast the National High School Cheerleading Competition nationwide in 1983. Cheerleading organizations such as the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors (AACCA), founded in 1987, started applying universal safety standards to decrease the number of injuries and prevent dangerous stunts, pyramids and tumbling passes from being included in routines. In 2003, the National Council for Spirit Safety and Education (NCSSE) was formed to offer safety training for youth, school, all star and college coaches. The NCAA requires college cheer coaches to successfully complete a nationally recognized safety-training program. The NCSSE or AACCA certification programs are both recognized by the NCAA.
Even with its athletic and competitive development, cheerleading at the school level has retained its ties to the spirit leading traditions started back in the 1890s. Cheerleaders are seen as ambassadors for their schools, and leaders among the student body. At the college level, cheerleaders are often invited to help at university fundraisers.
Cheerleading is currently most closely associated with American football
and basketball
. Sports such as association football (soccer), ice hockey
, volleyball
, baseball
, and wrestling
sometimes sponsor cheerleading squads. The ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup in South Africa in 2007 was the first international cricket event to have cheerleaders. The Florida Marlins
were the first Major League Baseball
team to have cheerleaders. Debuting in 2003, the "Marlin Mermaids" gained national exposure and have influenced other MLB teams to develop their own cheer/dance squads.
Most American middle schools, high schools, and colleges have organized cheerleading squads made up solely of students. Several colleges that compete at cheerleading competitions offer cheerleading scholarships. School-sponsored cheerleading promotes school spirit and motivate the players and fans. A cheerleading team may compete outside of sporting events (local, regional, and national competitions), and cheer for sporting events and encourage audience participation. Cheerleading is quickly becoming a year-round sport, starting with tryouts during the spring of the preceding school year, organized camp as a team, practices, attendance at various sporting events and ending with National competition season, typically from winter through spring.
School cheerleaders also compete with rec-style routines at many competitions year-round. They practice hard for them and come up with a 2 minute 30 second routine to show off at the competitions. Like other school-level athletes they compete to win their league title and move on to bigger competitions eventually reaching nationals the ultimate title for a school squad. The advantages to a school squad versus an all-star squad is cheering at various games. For some squads the level of competition on the weekends can equal that of an all-star squad.
The tryout process sometimes takes place over many days. The cheerleading coach usually arranges for a cheerleading clinic, during which basic materials are taught or reviewed before the final day of tryouts. The clinic gives returning cheerleaders and new cheerleaders an equal chance of becoming familiar with the material. Skills that coaches look for include jumps, tumbling, motions, and dance ability. Tryouts are usually in the spring, so that the coach has the team chosen in time to attend summer camp as a team.
cheerleading evolved shortly after high school squads started. In middle school, the squads serve mostly the same functions as high school squads and follow the same rules and regulations. Depending on how advanced the squad is, they usually do similar stunts as a high school. The cheerleaders cheer at basketball, football, and other sports in their school. They also perform at pep rallies and compete against other schools from local competitions all the way to nationals. Cheerleading in middle school sometimes can be a two-season sport, fall and winter. However many middle school cheer squads will go all year round like high school squads. Middle school cheerleaders use the same cheerleading movements as their older counterparts, but perform less extreme stunts, ranging from simple elevators, knee stands, extensions to harder stunts such as the heel stretch and scorpion.
and a junior varsity team. Some schools also include a freshman level of the sport in order to develop skills as the athletes mature. High school cheerleading contains aspects of school spirit as well as competition. These squads have become a part of a year-round sport, starting with tryouts in the spring, to year-round practice, to sporting events to cheer at in the fall and winter
, and to cheerleading competitions. Most teams practice at least three days a week for about two hours each practice during the summer. Many teams also attend separate tumbling sessions outside of practice. During the school year, cheerleading is usually a five- to six-days-a-week sport. During competition season it often becomes seven days with practice twice a day sometimes. The school spirit aspect of cheerleading involves cheering, supporting, and "pumping up" the crowd at football games, basketball games, and even wrestling meets. With this they also make posters, perform at pep rallies, and bring school spirit to the other students. In May 2009, the National Federation of State High School Associations
released the results of their first true high school participation study. They estimated that the number of high school cheerleaders from public high schools is 394,694.
Its competition aspect makes cheerleading its own sport. There is year-round practice, cheer camps, and competitions throughout the winter. There are different cheerleading organizations that put on these competitions, some of the major ones include state competitions and regional competitions. Many high schools host cheerleading competitions, bringing in IHSA judges. The regional competitions are the qualifiers for the national competitions, such as the UCA (Universal Cheerleaders Association) in Orlando
, Florida
every year. The competition aspect of cheerleading can be very enduring; styles and rules changing every year make it important and difficult to find the newest and hottest routines. Most teams have a professional choreograph their routine in order to ensure they are not breaking any rules and they will be up to par with the other teams. For a list of rules visit AACCA (American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators). All high school coaches are required to attend an IHSA rules meeting at the beginning of the season. This ensures their knowledge of rules changes and their compliance with these rules. Routines usually last around 2 minutes and 30 seconds and require cheer, dance, jumps, tumbling, and stunting portions.
Not all high school cheerleading squads compete in competitions, but all support their schools. Cheerleaders also dress in matching uniforms. They do this to look "together" and like a team when performing.
es. Most college squads compete at some level, and a handful of them compete nationally.
or basketball
sponsor cheerleading squads as well. Pop Warner
and PPAL [pasco police athletic league] organizations are an example of this. The YMCA
(Young Men's Christian Association) is also a popular sponsor for youth cheerleading leagues, as well as numerous other sports leagues. Many local communities are creating organizations to go along with their Youth Football leagues and Youth Basketball leagues.
, founded in 1982. All-star teams competing prior to 1987 were placed into the same divisions as teams that represented schools and sports leagues. In 1986, the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) addressed this situation by creating a separate division for teams lacking a sponsoring school or athletic association, calling it the All-Star Division and debuting it at their 1987 competitions. As the popularity of this type of team grew, more and more of them were formed, attending competitions sponsored by many different organizations and companies, each using its own set of rules, regulations and divisions. This situation became a concern to gym owners because the inconsistencies caused coaches to keep their routines in a constant state of flux, detracting from time that could be better utilized for developing skills and providing personal attention to their athletes. More importantly, because the various companies were constantly vying for a competitive edge, safety standards had become more and more lax. In some cases, unqualified coaches and inexperienced squads were attempting dangerous stunts as a result of these expanded sets of rules.
The USASF was formed in 2003 by the competition companies to act as the national governing body for all star cheerleading and to create a standard set of rules and judging standards to be followed by all competitions sanctioned by the Federation, ultimately leading to the Cheerleading Worlds. The USASF hosted the first Cheerleading Worlds on April 24, 2004. In 2009, the first All-Level Worlds was held. It included teams from all levels, with each winner continuing to the online championships, where teams from across the nation competed to win the Worlds Title. At the same time, cheerleading coaches from all over the country organized themselves for the same rule making purpose, calling themselves the National All Star Cheerleading Coaches Congress (NACCC). In 2005, the NACCC was absorbed by the USASF to become their rule making body. In late 2006, the USASF facilitated the creation of the International All-Star Federation (IASF), the first international governing body for the sport of cheerleading.
Currently all-star cheerleading as sanctioned by the USASF involves a squad of 6–36 females and/or males. The squad prepares year-round for many different competition appearances, but they only actually perform for up to 2½ minutes during their routines. The numbers of competitions a team participates in varies from team to team, but generally, most teams tend to participate in eight-twelve competitions a year. These competitions include locals, which are normally taken place in school gymnasiums or local venues, nationals, hosted in big venues all around the U.S. with national champions, and the Cheerleading Worlds, taken place at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. During a competition routine, a squad performs carefully choreographed stunting, tumbling, jumping and dancing to their own custom music. Teams create their routines to an eight-count system and apply that to the music so the team members execute the elements with precise timing and synchronization.
There are many different organizations that host their own state and national competitions. Some major companies include: Universal Spirit, AmeriCheer, Cheersport, Planet Spirit, Eastern Cheer and Dance Association, and the JAM Brands. This means that many gyms within the same area could be state and national champions for the same year and never have competed against each other. Currently, there is no system in place that awards only one state or national title.
Judges at the competition watch for illegal moves from the group or any individual member. Here, an illegal move is something that is not allowed in that division due to difficulty and safety restrictions. They look out for deductions, or things that go wrong, such as a dropped stunt. They also look for touch downs in tumbling for deductions. More generally, judges look at the difficulty and execution of jumps, stunts and tumbling, synchronization, creativity, the sharpness of the motions, showmanship, and overall routine execution.
All-star cheerleaders are placed into divisions, which are grouped based upon age, size of the team, gender of participants, and ability level. The age levels vary from under 4 year of age to 18 years and over. The divisions used by the USASF/IASF are currently Tiny, Mini, Youth, Junior, Junior International, Junior Coed, Senior, Senior Coed, Special Needs, and Open International. The sport originally began with "all girl" teams and later co-ed teams began to gain popularity. That being said, the all girl squad remains the most prevalent.
If a team places high enough at selected USASF/IASF sanctioned national competitions, they could be included in the Cheerleading Worlds and compete against teams from all over the world, as well as receive money for placing. Each team receives a bid from another cheerleading company and goes in the name of that company. You must get a bid from a company in order to compete at the Cheerleading Worlds. For example, a team could get a bid from Cheersport, and they compete as a team representing that company. Cheerleading companies give out three types of bids to go to Cheerleading Worlds, Full Paid Bid, Parital Bid, or an Un-paid bid. The Cheerleading Worlds are only for teams that are level 5 and up.
, basketball
, baseball
, wrestling
, or hockey
. There are only a few professional cheerleading leagues around the world; some professional leagues include the NBA Cheerleading League
, the NFL Cheerleading League
, and the CFL Cheerleading League
. Although professional cheerleading leagues exist in multiple countries, there are no Olympic Teams.
In addition to cheering at games and competing, professional cheerleaders also, as teams, do a lot of philanthropy
and charity work, modeling
, motivational speaking
, television performances
, and advertising
.
in Orlando, Florida.
Asian Thailand Cheerleading Invitational (ATCI): Organised by the Cheerleading Association of Thailand (CAT) in accordance with the rules and regulations of the International Federation of Cheerleading
(IFC). The ATCI is held every year since 2009. At the ATCI many teams from all over Thailand compete, joining them are many invited neighbouring nations who also send cheer squads.
Cheerleading Asia International Open Championships (CAIOC): Hosted by the Foundation of Japan Cheerleading Association (FJCA) in accordance with the rules and regulations of the IFC. The CAIOC has been a yearly event since 2007. Every year many teams from all over Asia converge in Tokyo
to compete.
Cheerleading World Championships (CWC): Organised by the IFC. The IFC is a non-profit organisation founded in 1998 and based in Tokyo, Japan.
The CWC has been held every two years since 2001, and to date the competition has been held in Japan, the United Kingdom, Finland and Germany. Hong Kong
will host the forthcoming 6th edition of the CWC at the Hong Kong Coliseum
on November 26–27, 2011.
ICU Worlds: The International Cheer Union currently encompasses 91 National Federations from countries across the globe. Every year the ICU host the ICU World Championship. Unlike the USASF Worlds, this competition uses Level 6/ Collegiate style rules. Countries assemble and send only one team to represent them.
National Cheerleaders Association
: The NCA was founded in 1948 by Lawrence Herkimer. Every year the NCA hosts the NCA High School Cheerleading Nationals and the NCA All-Star Cheerleading Nationals in Dallas, Texas. They also host the NCA/NDA Collegiate Cheer & Dance Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida.
National Cheerleading Championships (NCC): The NCC is the annual IFC-sanctioned national cheerleading competition in Indonesia organised by the Indonesian Cheerleading Community (ICC). Since the NCC2010 the event is now open to international competition, representing a significant step forward for the ICC. Teams from many countries such as Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore
, participated in the ground breaking event.
NLCC Final Destination: Nation's Leading Cheer Companies is a multi brand company, partnered with other companies such as: Americheer/Ameridance, American Cheer & Dance Academy, Eastern Cheer & Dance Association, and Spirit Unlimited. Every year, starting in 2006, the NLCC hosts The Us Finals: The Final Destination of Cheerleading and Dance. Every team that attends must qualify and receive a bid at a partner company's competition. In May 2008, the NLCC and The JAM Brands announced a partnership to produce The U.S. Finals - Final Destination. There are nine Final Destination locations across the country. After the regional events, videos of all the teams that competed are sent to a new panel of judges and rescored to rank teams against those against whom they may never have had a chance to compete.
Pan-American Cheerleading Championships (PCC): The PCC was held for the first time in 2009 in the city of Latacunga
, Ecuador and is the continental championship organised by the Pan-American Federation of Cheerleading (PFC). The PFC, operating under the umbrella of the IFC, is the non-profit continental body of cheerleading whose aim it is to promote and develop cheerleading in the Americas. The PCC is a biennial event, and was held for the second time in Lima, Peru, in November 2010.
The JAM Brands: The JAM Brands, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky
, provides products and services for the cheerleading and dance industry. It is made up of approximately 12 different brands that produce everything from competitions to camps to uniforms to merchandise and apparel. JAMfest, the original brand of The JAM Brands, has been around since 1996 and was founded by Aaron Flaker and Emmitt Tyler. Dan Kessler has since become a co-owner of The JAM Brands along with Flaker and Tyler.
Universal Cheerleaders Association: Universal Cheerleaders Association was founded in 1974 by Jeff Webb. Since 1980, UCA has hosted the National High School Cheerleading Championship in Walt Disney World Resort. They also host the National All-Star Cheerleading Championship, and the College Cheerleading National Championship at Walt Disney World Resort. To qualify for these events all teams must submit a video. All of these events air on ESPN
.
USASF/IASF Worlds: Many United States cheerleading organizations form and register the not-for-profit entity the United States All Star Federation (USASF) and also the International All Star Federation (IASF) to support international club cheerleading & the World Cheerleading Club Championships. The 1st World Cheerleading Championships, or Cheerleading Worlds, were hosted by the USASF/IASF at the Walt Disney World Resort and taped for an ESPN global broadcast in 2004. This competition is only for All-Star/Club cheer. Only levels Junior 5, Senior 5, Senior Open 5, International 5, International Open 5, International 6, and International Open 6 may attend. Teams must receive a bid from a partner company to attend.
Varsity: Partnered with the UCA, Varsity created the National High School Cheerleading Championship in 1980. Varsity All-Star owns or partners with many of the largest cheerleading events in the country.
(1972), The Swinging Cheerleaders
(1974), Revenge of the Cheerleaders (1975), The Pom Pom Girls (1976), Satan's Cheerleaders
(1977), and Cheerleaders's Wild Weekend (1979). In addition to R-rated sex comedies and horror films, cheerleaders became a staple of the adult film industry, starting with Debbie Does Dallas
(1978) and its four sequels.
On television, the made-for-TV movie The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (which aired January 14, 1979) starring Jane Seymour
was a highly-rated success, spawning the 1980 sequel The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders II.
The Dallas squad was in high demand during the late '70s with frequent appearances on network specials, awards shows, variety programs, commercials, the game show Family Feud
and sitcoms such as The Love Boat
. The sci-fi sitcom Mork & Mindy also based a 1979 episode around the Denver Broncos
cheerleaders with Mork (Robin Williams
) trying out for the squad.
Cheerleading's increasing popularity in recent decades has made it a prominent feature in high-school themed movies and television shows. The 2000 film Bring It On
, about a San Diego high school cheerleading squad called "The Toros", starred real-life former cheerleader Kirsten Dunst
. Bring It On was a surprise hit and earned nearly $70 million domestically. It spawned five direct-to-video sequels: Bring It On Again
in 2003, Bring It On: All or Nothing
in 2006, Bring It On: In It to Win It
in 2007, and Bring It On: Fight to the Finish
. Bring It On was followed in 2001 by another teen cheerleading comedy, Sugar & Spice
. In 1993, The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom
was a TV movie which told the true story of Wanda Holloway
, the Texas mother whose obsession with her daughter's cheerleading career made headline news.
In 2006, Hayden Panettiere
, star of Bring It On: All or Nothing, took another cheerleading role as Claire Bennet
, the cheerleader with an accelerated healing factor
on NBC
's hit sci-fi TV series Heroes
, launching cheerleading back into the limelight of pop culture. Claire was the main focus of the show's first story arc, featuring the popular catchphrase, "Save the cheerleader, save the world". Her prominent, protagonist role in Heroes was supported by a strong fan-base and provided a positive image for high school cheerleading.
In 2009, Panettiere starred again as a cheerleader, this time as Beth Cooper in the film adaptation of the novel
I Love You, Beth Cooper
.
In 2006, the reality show Cheerleader Nation
was featured on the Lifetime television channel. Cheerleader Nation is a 60 minute television series based on the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School cheerleading team's ups and downs on the way to nationals, of which they are the three time champions. The show also explains that cheerleading is a tough sport. The show takes place in Lexington, Kentucky
.
The 2007 series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team
shows the process of getting on the pro squad of the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders. Everything from initial tryouts to workout routines and the difficulties involved is shown. The series was extended a year to show the process of getting the 2008 Cheerleaders ready.
In 2009, Universal Pictures signed music video and film director Billie Woodruff (Barbershop
, Honey) to direct the fifth film in the Bring It On series titled Bring It On: Fight to the Finish
. The film stars Christina Milian
(who previously played cheerleaders in Love Don't Cost a Thing
and Man of the House
) and Rachelle Brook Smith, and was released directly to DVD and Blu-ray on September 1, 2009.
The series Glee
, which began in 2009, features Dianna Agron
as Quinn Fabray
, the captain of her high school cheerleading squad, the Cheerios. Quinn becomes pregnant, leading to her expulsion from the squad, but two of the other Cheerios, Santana Lopez
and Brittany Pierce
also feature heavily in the show. In "The Power of Madonna
" Kurt Hummel
joins the Cheerios along with Mercedes Jones
after being fed up with getting no solos from Mr. Will Schuester
.
A new 2010 show, Hellcats
was just released on the CW. It is about college cheerleading. It stars Ashley Tisdale
and Alyson Michalka
stars as Marty, a former gymnast who is forced to become a cheerleader after her academic scolarship is canceled. This show is about the ups and downs of being a cheerleader at Lancer University.
, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan
and its sequel Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii
that star teams of male cheer squads, or Ouendan that practice a form of cheerleading. Each of the games' most difficult modes replaces the male characters with female cheer squads that dress in western cheerleading uniforms. The games task the cheer squads with assisting people in desperate need of help by cheering them on and giving them the motivation to succeed. There are also a All Star Cheerleader and We Cheer
for the Wii in which you do routines at competitions with the Wiimote & Nunchuck. All Star Cheerleader is also available for Nintendo DS.
, diving
, and figure skating
- scores are assessed based on human judgment and not an objective goal or measurement of time.
On January 27, 2009, in a lawsuit involving an accidental injury sustained during a cheerleading practice, the Wisconsin Supreme Court
ruled that cheerleading is a full-contact sport in that state. In contrast, on July 21, 2010, in a lawsuit involving whether college cheerleading qualified as a sport for purposes of Title IX
, a federal court, citing a current lack of program development and organization, ruled that it does not, but may in the future.
. She also suffered from a concussion, and a bruised lung. The fall occurred when Yamaoka lost her balance during a basketball game between Southern Illinois University
and Bradley University
at the Savvis Center in St. Louis
on March 5, 2006. The fall gained "national attention", because Yamaoka continued to perform from a stretcher as she was moved away from the game. Yamaoka has since made a full recovery.
The accident caused the Missouri Valley Conference to ban its member schools from allowing cheerleaders to be "launched or tossed and from taking part in formations higher than two levels" for one week during a women's basketball conference tournament, and also resulted in a recommendation by the NCAA
that conferences and tournaments do not allow pyramids two and one half levels high or higher, and a stunt known as basket tosses, during the rest of the men's and women's basketball season. On July 11, 2006, the bans were made permanent by the AACCA rules committee:
Out of the United States' 2.9 million female high school athletes, only 3% are cheerleaders, yet cheerleading accounts for 65% of all catastrophic injuries in girls' high school athletics. Since the NCAA has yet to recognize cheerleading as an official college sport, there are no solid numbers on college cheerleading, yet when it comes to injuries, 67% of female athlete injuries at the college level are due to cheerleading mishaps. LiveScience.com recaps new evidence showing that the most dangerous sport for high school and college females is cheerleading: Another study found that between 1982 and 2007, there were 103 fatal, disabling or serious injuries recorded among female high school athletes, with the vast majority (67) occurring in cheerleading.
In the early 2000s, cheerleading was considered one of the most dangerous school activities. The main source of injuries comes from stunting, also known as pyramids. These stunts are performed at games and pep rallies, as well as competitions. Sometimes competition routines are focused solely around the use of difficult and risky stunts. These stunts usually include a flyer (the person on top), along with one or two bases (the people on the bottom) and, one or two spotters in the front and back on the bottom. The most common cheerleading related injuries are: sprained ankles, sprained wrists, back injuries, head injuries (sometimes concussions), broken arms, elbow injuries, knee injuries, broken noses, and broken collarbones.
The journal Pediatrics
has reportedly said that the number of cheerleaders suffering from broken bones, concussions, and sprains has increased by over 100 percent between the years of 1990 and 2002, and that in 2001 there were 25,000 hospital visits reported for cheerleading injuries dealing with the shoulder, ankle, head, and neck. Meanwhile, in the USA, cheerleading accounted for 65.1% of all major sports injuries to high school females, and to 66.7% of major sports injuries to college students from 1982 to 2007, with 22,900 minors being admitted to hospital with cheerleading-related injuries in 2002.
In October 2009, the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors (AACCA), a subsidiary of Varsity Brands
, released a study that analyzed the data from Emergency Room visits of all high school athletes. The study asserted that contrary to many perceptions, cheerleading injuries are in line with other female sports. Cheerleading has been added to the list of sports being studied by Dr. Dawn Comstock of Ohio State University through the high school Injury Surveillance System.
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling
Tumbling (gymnastics)
In gymnastics, tumbling, also known as power tumbling is an acrobatic sporting discipline which combines some of the skills of artistic gymnastics on the floor with those of trampolining. It is practised on a 25 metre long spring track...
, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, jumps, cheers
Cheering
Cheering is the uttering or making of sounds encouraging, stimulating or exciting to action, indicating approval or acclaiming or welcoming persons, announcements of events and the like....
, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate in competitions. The athlete involved is called a cheerleader. Cheerleading originated in the United States, and remains a predominantly American activity, with an estimated 1.5 million participants in all-star cheerleading. The growing presentation of cheerleading as a sport to a global audience has been led by the 1997 start of broadcasts of cheerleading competition by ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
International and the worldwide release of the 2000 film Bring it On
Bring It On (film)
Bring It On is a 2000 teen comedy film about two competing high school cheerleading squads, starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, and Gabrielle Union...
. Due in part to this recent exposure, there are now an estimated 100,000 participants scattered around the rest of the world in countries including Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
History
Princeton graduate Thomas Peebles introduced the idea of organized crowds cheering at football games to the University of Minnesota
Minnesota Golden Gophers Spirit Squads
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Spirit Squads comprise the cheerleading organization at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. Being the first program ever to form worldwide, the University of Minnesota is the Birthplace of Cheerleading...
. However, it was not until 1898 that University of Minnesota
Minnesota Golden Gophers Spirit Squads
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Spirit Squads comprise the cheerleading organization at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. Being the first program ever to form worldwide, the University of Minnesota is the Birthplace of Cheerleading...
student Johnny Campbell directed a crowd in cheering "Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-u-mah, Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Varsity, Minn-e-So-Tah!”, making Campbell the very first cheerleader and November 2, 1898 the official birth date of organized cheerleading. Soon after, the University of Minnesota
Minnesota Golden Gophers Spirit Squads
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Spirit Squads comprise the cheerleading organization at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. Being the first program ever to form worldwide, the University of Minnesota is the Birthplace of Cheerleading...
organized a "yell leader" squad of six male students, who still use Campbell's original cheer. In 1903 the first cheerleading fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
, Gamma Sigma, was founded.
In 1923, women joined cheerleading and began to dominate the sport in World War II when few men were involved in organized sports. At this time, there were no collegiate sports for women but women were allowed to participate in cheering squads. At this time, gymnastics, tumbling, and megaphone
Megaphone
A megaphone, speaking-trumpet, bullhorn, blowhorn, or loud hailer is a portable, usually hand-held, cone-shaped horn used to amplify a person’s voice or other sounds towards a targeted direction. This is accomplished by channelling the sound through the megaphone, which also serves to match the...
s were incorporated into popular cheers, and are still used.
Today, estimates show that 97% of cheerleading participants overall are female. However, at the collegiate level cheerleading is a co-ed sport with 50% of participants being male.
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
formed the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) as a way to hold cheerleading clinics. In 1949, The NCA held its first clinic in Huntsville, Texas with 52 girls in attendance. Herkimer contributed many firsts to the sport: the founding of the Cheerleader & Danz Team cheerleading uniform
Cheerleading uniform
- Early styles/brief history :This is the uniform outfit worn by cheerleading squads usually indicative of the mascot, school, and/or colors of the team and/or organization they are representing...
supply company, inventing the herkie
Herkie
The Herkie is a cheerleading jump named after Lawrence Herkimer, the founder of the National Cheerleaders Association and former cheerleader at Southern Methodist University...
(where one leg is bent towards the ground and the other is out to the side as high as it will stretch in the toe-touch position), and creating the "Spirit Stick". By the 1960s, college cheerleaders began hosting workshops across the nation, teaching fundamental cheer skills to eager high-school-age girls. In 1965, Fred Gastoff invented the vinyl pom-pon
Pom-pon
A pom-pon is a fluffy, decorative ball or tuft. Pom-pons may come in many colors, sizes, and varieties and are made from a wide array of materials, including wool, cotton, paper, plastic, and occasionally feathers....
and it was introduced into competitions by the International Cheerleading Foundation (now the World Cheerleading Association or WCA). Organized cheerleading competitions began to pop up with the first ranking of the "Top Ten College Cheerleading Squads" and "Cheerleader All America" awards given out by the International Cheerleading Foundation in 1967. In 1978, America was introduced to competitive cheerleading by the first broadcast of Collegiate Cheerleading Championships
Collegiate Cheerleading Championships
The National Collegiate Cheerleading Championships were first introduced in 1978 on CBS Sports. Top cheerleading teams from colleges across the U.S...
on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
.
In the 1960s National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) teams began to organize professional cheerleading teams. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is the National Football League cheerleading squad representing the Dallas Cowboys.- 1960s :The original cheerleading squad was a made up of a male-female group called the CowBelles & Beaux. The group made its sidelines debut in 1960 during the Cowboys' inaugural...
soon gained the spotlight with their revealing outfits and sophisticated dance moves, which debuted in the 1972–1973 season, but were first seen widely in Super Bowl X
Super Bowl X
Super Bowl X was an American football game played on January 18, 1976 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1975 regular season....
(1976). This caused the image of cheerleaders to permanently change, with many other NFL teams emulating them. Most of the professional teams' cheerleading squads would more accurately be described as dance teams by contemporary standards; as they rarely, if ever, actively encourage crowd noise or perform modern cheerleading moves.
The 1980s saw the onset of modern cheerleading with more difficult stunt sequences and gymnastics being incorporated into routines. All-star teams started to pop up, and with them the creation of the United States All-Star Federation (USASF). ESPN first broadcast the National High School Cheerleading Competition nationwide in 1983. Cheerleading organizations such as the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors (AACCA), founded in 1987, started applying universal safety standards to decrease the number of injuries and prevent dangerous stunts, pyramids and tumbling passes from being included in routines. In 2003, the National Council for Spirit Safety and Education (NCSSE) was formed to offer safety training for youth, school, all star and college coaches. The NCAA requires college cheer coaches to successfully complete a nationally recognized safety-training program. The NCSSE or AACCA certification programs are both recognized by the NCAA.
Even with its athletic and competitive development, cheerleading at the school level has retained its ties to the spirit leading traditions started back in the 1890s. Cheerleaders are seen as ambassadors for their schools, and leaders among the student body. At the college level, cheerleaders are often invited to help at university fundraisers.
Cheerleading is currently most closely associated with American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. Sports such as association football (soccer), ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, and wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
sometimes sponsor cheerleading squads. The ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup in South Africa in 2007 was the first international cricket event to have cheerleaders. The Florida Marlins
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
were the first Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
team to have cheerleaders. Debuting in 2003, the "Marlin Mermaids" gained national exposure and have influenced other MLB teams to develop their own cheer/dance squads.
School-sponsored
School cheerleaders also compete with rec-style routines at many competitions year-round. They practice hard for them and come up with a 2 minute 30 second routine to show off at the competitions. Like other school-level athletes they compete to win their league title and move on to bigger competitions eventually reaching nationals the ultimate title for a school squad. The advantages to a school squad versus an all-star squad is cheering at various games. For some squads the level of competition on the weekends can equal that of an all-star squad.
The tryout process sometimes takes place over many days. The cheerleading coach usually arranges for a cheerleading clinic, during which basic materials are taught or reviewed before the final day of tryouts. The clinic gives returning cheerleaders and new cheerleaders an equal chance of becoming familiar with the material. Skills that coaches look for include jumps, tumbling, motions, and dance ability. Tryouts are usually in the spring, so that the coach has the team chosen in time to attend summer camp as a team.
Middle school cheerleading
Middle schoolMiddle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
cheerleading evolved shortly after high school squads started. In middle school, the squads serve mostly the same functions as high school squads and follow the same rules and regulations. Depending on how advanced the squad is, they usually do similar stunts as a high school. The cheerleaders cheer at basketball, football, and other sports in their school. They also perform at pep rallies and compete against other schools from local competitions all the way to nationals. Cheerleading in middle school sometimes can be a two-season sport, fall and winter. However many middle school cheer squads will go all year round like high school squads. Middle school cheerleaders use the same cheerleading movements as their older counterparts, but perform less extreme stunts, ranging from simple elevators, knee stands, extensions to harder stunts such as the heel stretch and scorpion.
High school cheerleading
In high school, there are usually two squads per school, varsity teamVarsity team
In the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of secondary schools, against...
and a junior varsity team. Some schools also include a freshman level of the sport in order to develop skills as the athletes mature. High school cheerleading contains aspects of school spirit as well as competition. These squads have become a part of a year-round sport, starting with tryouts in the spring, to year-round practice, to sporting events to cheer at in the fall and winter
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...
, and to cheerleading competitions. Most teams practice at least three days a week for about two hours each practice during the summer. Many teams also attend separate tumbling sessions outside of practice. During the school year, cheerleading is usually a five- to six-days-a-week sport. During competition season it often becomes seven days with practice twice a day sometimes. The school spirit aspect of cheerleading involves cheering, supporting, and "pumping up" the crowd at football games, basketball games, and even wrestling meets. With this they also make posters, perform at pep rallies, and bring school spirit to the other students. In May 2009, the National Federation of State High School Associations
National Federation of State High School Associations
The National Federation of State High School Associations is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. Most high schools, whether public or private, belong to their state's high school association; in turn, each state association...
released the results of their first true high school participation study. They estimated that the number of high school cheerleaders from public high schools is 394,694.
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
every year. The competition aspect of cheerleading can be very enduring; styles and rules changing every year make it important and difficult to find the newest and hottest routines. Most teams have a professional choreograph their routine in order to ensure they are not breaking any rules and they will be up to par with the other teams. For a list of rules visit AACCA (American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators). All high school coaches are required to attend an IHSA rules meeting at the beginning of the season. This ensures their knowledge of rules changes and their compliance with these rules. Routines usually last around 2 minutes and 30 seconds and require cheer, dance, jumps, tumbling, and stunting portions.
Not all high school cheerleading squads compete in competitions, but all support their schools. Cheerleaders also dress in matching uniforms. They do this to look "together" and like a team when performing.
College cheerleading
Most colleges and universities have a cheerleading squad. Most squads are coed, but the number of all-female college squads is rapidly increasing, in an effort to give female cheerleaders, especially bases, who have cheered on all-girl high school or all-star squads an opportunity to cheer at the collegiate level without making the transition to a coed squad. Unlike high school cheerleading, college squads may perform difficult stunts like rewinds, 2½ high pyramids, and flipping and twisting basket tossBasket toss
A Basket Toss is a stunt performed in cheerleading using 3 or more bases to toss a flyer into the air. Two of the bases interlock their hands. While in the air, the flyer does some type of jump, ranging from toe-touches to herkies before returning to the cradle...
es. Most college squads compete at some level, and a handful of them compete nationally.
Youth league/athletic association
Many organizations that sponsor youth league footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
or basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
sponsor cheerleading squads as well. Pop Warner
Pop Warner Little Scholars
Pop Warner Little Scholars is a non-profit organization that provides youth football, cheerleading, and dance programs for participants in 43 U.S. states and several countries around the world. It is headquartered in Langhorne, Pennsylvania...
and PPAL [pasco police athletic league] organizations are an example of this. The YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
(Young Men's Christian Association) is also a popular sponsor for youth cheerleading leagues, as well as numerous other sports leagues. Many local communities are creating organizations to go along with their Youth Football leagues and Youth Basketball leagues.
All-Star cheerleading
In the early 1980s, cheerleading squads not associated with a schools or sports leagues, whose main objective was competition, began to emerge. The first organization to call themselves all stars and go to competitions were the Q94 Rockers from Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, founded in 1982. All-star teams competing prior to 1987 were placed into the same divisions as teams that represented schools and sports leagues. In 1986, the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) addressed this situation by creating a separate division for teams lacking a sponsoring school or athletic association, calling it the All-Star Division and debuting it at their 1987 competitions. As the popularity of this type of team grew, more and more of them were formed, attending competitions sponsored by many different organizations and companies, each using its own set of rules, regulations and divisions. This situation became a concern to gym owners because the inconsistencies caused coaches to keep their routines in a constant state of flux, detracting from time that could be better utilized for developing skills and providing personal attention to their athletes. More importantly, because the various companies were constantly vying for a competitive edge, safety standards had become more and more lax. In some cases, unqualified coaches and inexperienced squads were attempting dangerous stunts as a result of these expanded sets of rules.
The USASF was formed in 2003 by the competition companies to act as the national governing body for all star cheerleading and to create a standard set of rules and judging standards to be followed by all competitions sanctioned by the Federation, ultimately leading to the Cheerleading Worlds. The USASF hosted the first Cheerleading Worlds on April 24, 2004. In 2009, the first All-Level Worlds was held. It included teams from all levels, with each winner continuing to the online championships, where teams from across the nation competed to win the Worlds Title. At the same time, cheerleading coaches from all over the country organized themselves for the same rule making purpose, calling themselves the National All Star Cheerleading Coaches Congress (NACCC). In 2005, the NACCC was absorbed by the USASF to become their rule making body. In late 2006, the USASF facilitated the creation of the International All-Star Federation (IASF), the first international governing body for the sport of cheerleading.
Currently all-star cheerleading as sanctioned by the USASF involves a squad of 6–36 females and/or males. The squad prepares year-round for many different competition appearances, but they only actually perform for up to 2½ minutes during their routines. The numbers of competitions a team participates in varies from team to team, but generally, most teams tend to participate in eight-twelve competitions a year. These competitions include locals, which are normally taken place in school gymnasiums or local venues, nationals, hosted in big venues all around the U.S. with national champions, and the Cheerleading Worlds, taken place at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. During a competition routine, a squad performs carefully choreographed stunting, tumbling, jumping and dancing to their own custom music. Teams create their routines to an eight-count system and apply that to the music so the team members execute the elements with precise timing and synchronization.
There are many different organizations that host their own state and national competitions. Some major companies include: Universal Spirit, AmeriCheer, Cheersport, Planet Spirit, Eastern Cheer and Dance Association, and the JAM Brands. This means that many gyms within the same area could be state and national champions for the same year and never have competed against each other. Currently, there is no system in place that awards only one state or national title.
Judges at the competition watch for illegal moves from the group or any individual member. Here, an illegal move is something that is not allowed in that division due to difficulty and safety restrictions. They look out for deductions, or things that go wrong, such as a dropped stunt. They also look for touch downs in tumbling for deductions. More generally, judges look at the difficulty and execution of jumps, stunts and tumbling, synchronization, creativity, the sharpness of the motions, showmanship, and overall routine execution.
All-star cheerleaders are placed into divisions, which are grouped based upon age, size of the team, gender of participants, and ability level. The age levels vary from under 4 year of age to 18 years and over. The divisions used by the USASF/IASF are currently Tiny, Mini, Youth, Junior, Junior International, Junior Coed, Senior, Senior Coed, Special Needs, and Open International. The sport originally began with "all girl" teams and later co-ed teams began to gain popularity. That being said, the all girl squad remains the most prevalent.
If a team places high enough at selected USASF/IASF sanctioned national competitions, they could be included in the Cheerleading Worlds and compete against teams from all over the world, as well as receive money for placing. Each team receives a bid from another cheerleading company and goes in the name of that company. You must get a bid from a company in order to compete at the Cheerleading Worlds. For example, a team could get a bid from Cheersport, and they compete as a team representing that company. Cheerleading companies give out three types of bids to go to Cheerleading Worlds, Full Paid Bid, Parital Bid, or an Un-paid bid. The Cheerleading Worlds are only for teams that are level 5 and up.
Professional spirit squads
Professional cheerleaders and dancers cheer for sports such as footballFootball
Football may refer to one of a number of team sports which all involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
, or hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
. There are only a few professional cheerleading leagues around the world; some professional leagues include the NBA Cheerleading League
National Basketball Association Cheerleading
National Basketball Association Cheerleading, or simply NBA Cheerleading, is a professional cheerleading league in Canada and the United States that supports a professional basketball team...
, the NFL Cheerleading League
National Football League Cheerleading
National Football League Cheerleading, or simply NFL Cheerleading, is a professional cheerleading league in the United States. Twenty six of the 32 NFL teams include a cheerleading squad in their franchise. Cheerleaders are a popular attraction that can give a team more coverage/airtime, popular...
, and the CFL Cheerleading League
Canadian Football League Cheerleading
Canadian Football League Cheerleading, or CFL Cheerleading, is a professional cheerleading league that follows and supports teams from the Canadian Football League. Cheerleaders in this league must excel in gymnastics and dance...
. Although professional cheerleading leagues exist in multiple countries, there are no Olympic Teams.
In addition to cheering at games and competing, professional cheerleaders also, as teams, do a lot of philanthropy
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
and charity work, modeling
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
, motivational speaking
Motivational speaking
A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...
, television performances
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
, and advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
.
Competitions, companies and organisations
Americheer: Americheer was founded in 1987 by Elizabeth Rossetti. It is the parent company to Ameridance and Eastern Cheer and Dance Association. In 2005, Americheer became one of the founding members of the NLCC. This means that Americheer events offer bids to The Us Finals: The Final Destination. AmeriCheer InterNational Championship competition is held every March at the Walt Disney World ResortWalt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...
in Orlando, Florida.
Asian Thailand Cheerleading Invitational (ATCI): Organised by the Cheerleading Association of Thailand (CAT) in accordance with the rules and regulations of the International Federation of Cheerleading
International Federation of Cheerleading
The International Federation of Cheerleading was formed in 1998 and is an international confederation of national Cheerleading organizations. Its primary activities are organized through standing Commissions that are each responsible for some aspect of the sport's development worldwide...
(IFC). The ATCI is held every year since 2009. At the ATCI many teams from all over Thailand compete, joining them are many invited neighbouring nations who also send cheer squads.
Cheerleading Asia International Open Championships (CAIOC): Hosted by the Foundation of Japan Cheerleading Association (FJCA) in accordance with the rules and regulations of the IFC. The CAIOC has been a yearly event since 2007. Every year many teams from all over Asia converge in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
to compete.
Cheerleading World Championships (CWC): Organised by the IFC. The IFC is a non-profit organisation founded in 1998 and based in Tokyo, Japan.
The CWC has been held every two years since 2001, and to date the competition has been held in Japan, the United Kingdom, Finland and Germany. Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
will host the forthcoming 6th edition of the CWC at the Hong Kong Coliseum
Hong Kong Coliseum
Hong Kong Coliseum is a multi-purpose indoor arena, in Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.It was built by the Urban Council and inaugurated on 27 April 1983....
on November 26–27, 2011.
ICU Worlds: The International Cheer Union currently encompasses 91 National Federations from countries across the globe. Every year the ICU host the ICU World Championship. Unlike the USASF Worlds, this competition uses Level 6/ Collegiate style rules. Countries assemble and send only one team to represent them.
National Cheerleaders Association
National Cheerleaders Association
The National Cheerleaders Association was established as a way to bring cheerleaders together to learn new skills. From 1949 on the NCA held summer camps, and is credited with the invention of the herkie jump, the pom pon and being the first uniform manufacturer-History:The NCA was founded in 1948...
: The NCA was founded in 1948 by Lawrence Herkimer. Every year the NCA hosts the NCA High School Cheerleading Nationals and the NCA All-Star Cheerleading Nationals in Dallas, Texas. They also host the NCA/NDA Collegiate Cheer & Dance Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida.
National Cheerleading Championships (NCC): The NCC is the annual IFC-sanctioned national cheerleading competition in Indonesia organised by the Indonesian Cheerleading Community (ICC). Since the NCC2010 the event is now open to international competition, representing a significant step forward for the ICC. Teams from many countries such as Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, participated in the ground breaking event.
NLCC Final Destination: Nation's Leading Cheer Companies is a multi brand company, partnered with other companies such as: Americheer/Ameridance, American Cheer & Dance Academy, Eastern Cheer & Dance Association, and Spirit Unlimited. Every year, starting in 2006, the NLCC hosts The Us Finals: The Final Destination of Cheerleading and Dance. Every team that attends must qualify and receive a bid at a partner company's competition. In May 2008, the NLCC and The JAM Brands announced a partnership to produce The U.S. Finals - Final Destination. There are nine Final Destination locations across the country. After the regional events, videos of all the teams that competed are sent to a new panel of judges and rescored to rank teams against those against whom they may never have had a chance to compete.
Pan-American Cheerleading Championships (PCC): The PCC was held for the first time in 2009 in the city of Latacunga
Latacunga
Latacunga is a plateau town of Ecuador, capital of the Cotopaxi Province, south of Quito, near the confluence of the Alaques and Cutuchi rivers to form the Patate, the headstream of the Pastaza. At the time of census 2001 Latacunga had 51,689 inhabitants, largely mestizo and indigenous.Latacunga...
, Ecuador and is the continental championship organised by the Pan-American Federation of Cheerleading (PFC). The PFC, operating under the umbrella of the IFC, is the non-profit continental body of cheerleading whose aim it is to promote and develop cheerleading in the Americas. The PCC is a biennial event, and was held for the second time in Lima, Peru, in November 2010.
The JAM Brands: The JAM Brands, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, provides products and services for the cheerleading and dance industry. It is made up of approximately 12 different brands that produce everything from competitions to camps to uniforms to merchandise and apparel. JAMfest, the original brand of The JAM Brands, has been around since 1996 and was founded by Aaron Flaker and Emmitt Tyler. Dan Kessler has since become a co-owner of The JAM Brands along with Flaker and Tyler.
Universal Cheerleaders Association: Universal Cheerleaders Association was founded in 1974 by Jeff Webb. Since 1980, UCA has hosted the National High School Cheerleading Championship in Walt Disney World Resort. They also host the National All-Star Cheerleading Championship, and the College Cheerleading National Championship at Walt Disney World Resort. To qualify for these events all teams must submit a video. All of these events air on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
USASF/IASF Worlds: Many United States cheerleading organizations form and register the not-for-profit entity the United States All Star Federation (USASF) and also the International All Star Federation (IASF) to support international club cheerleading & the World Cheerleading Club Championships. The 1st World Cheerleading Championships, or Cheerleading Worlds, were hosted by the USASF/IASF at the Walt Disney World Resort and taped for an ESPN global broadcast in 2004. This competition is only for All-Star/Club cheer. Only levels Junior 5, Senior 5, Senior Open 5, International 5, International Open 5, International 6, and International Open 6 may attend. Teams must receive a bid from a partner company to attend.
Varsity: Partnered with the UCA, Varsity created the National High School Cheerleading Championship in 1980. Varsity All-Star owns or partners with many of the largest cheerleading events in the country.
Movies and television
The revamped and provocative Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders of the 1970s—and the many imitators that followed—firmly established the cheerleader as an American icon of wholesome sex appeal. In response, a new subgenre of exploitation films suddenly sprang up with titles such as The CheerleadersThe Cheerleaders
The Cheerleaders is a 1973 comedy film directed by Paul Glickler and starring Stephanie Fondue and Denise Dillaway. The Cheerleaders is the first of a series of American films about cheerleaders made between 1973 and 1979.-Plot:...
(1972), The Swinging Cheerleaders
The Swinging Cheerleaders
The Swinging Cheerleaders is a 1974 comedy-drama film written and directed by Jack Hill . The film was also released under the titles Locker Room Girls and H.O.T.S...
(1974), Revenge of the Cheerleaders (1975), The Pom Pom Girls (1976), Satan's Cheerleaders
Satan's Cheerleaders
Satan's Cheerleaders is a 1977 comedy-horror movie starring John Ireland, Yvonne De Carlo, and John Carradine.-Plot:Benedict High School's cheerleaders aren't shy and sweet. The football team knows them well - and Billy, the school's disturbed janitor, would like to. In the locker room, the girls...
(1977), and Cheerleaders's Wild Weekend (1979). In addition to R-rated sex comedies and horror films, cheerleaders became a staple of the adult film industry, starting with Debbie Does Dallas
Debbie Does Dallas
Debbie Does Dallas is a 1978 pornographic film starring Bambi Woods. The plot of the film focuses on a team of cheerleaders attempting to earn enough money to send the title character to Dallas, Texas, to try out for the famous “Texas Cowgirls” cheerleading squad. The fictional name "Texas...
(1978) and its four sequels.
On television, the made-for-TV movie The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (which aired January 14, 1979) starring Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (actress)
Jane Seymour, OBE is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , East of Eden , Onassis: The Richest Man in the World , and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman...
was a highly-rated success, spawning the 1980 sequel The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders II.
The Dallas squad was in high demand during the late '70s with frequent appearances on network specials, awards shows, variety programs, commercials, the game show Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
and sitcoms such as The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
. The sci-fi sitcom Mork & Mindy also based a 1979 episode around the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
cheerleaders with Mork (Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
) trying out for the squad.
Cheerleading's increasing popularity in recent decades has made it a prominent feature in high-school themed movies and television shows. The 2000 film Bring It On
Bring It On (film)
Bring It On is a 2000 teen comedy film about two competing high school cheerleading squads, starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, and Gabrielle Union...
, about a San Diego high school cheerleading squad called "The Toros", starred real-life former cheerleader Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...
. Bring It On was a surprise hit and earned nearly $70 million domestically. It spawned five direct-to-video sequels: Bring It On Again
Bring It On Again
Bring It On Again is a cheerleading comedy film starring Anne Judson-Yager and Bree Turner, directed by Damon Santostefano and written by Claudia Grazioso, Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn....
in 2003, Bring It On: All or Nothing
Bring It On: All or Nothing
Bring It On: All or Nothing is the third installment in the Bring it On series of films that revolves around high school cheerleading. Directed by Steve Rash, the movie was released direct-to-DVD on August 8, 2006 by Universal Pictures....
in 2006, Bring It On: In It to Win It
Bring It On: In It to Win It
Bring It On: In It to Win It is a 2007 teen film. First a sneak peek on The Jake Show Season 2 premiere, directed by Steve Rash and starring Ashley Benson, Michael Copon and Cassie Scerbo. It is the fourth film in the Bring It On franchise, which focuses on competitive cheerleading. It was shot at...
in 2007, and Bring It On: Fight to the Finish
Bring It On: Fight to the Finish
- Marketing :American Cheerleader Magazine had an interview and photo shoot with cast members Christina Milian, Cody Longo, Vanessa Born, Rachele Brooke Smith and Gabrielle Dennis, which can be seen in the August 2009 issue. Christina Milian is also on the cover of American Cheerleader Magazine's...
. Bring It On was followed in 2001 by another teen cheerleading comedy, Sugar & Spice
Sugar & Spice
Sugar & Spice is a 2001 American teen crime comedy film directed by Francine McDougall. It was filmed entirely in the state of Minnesota.-Plot:...
. In 1993, The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom
The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom
The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom is a 1993 comedy TV movie produced by and for HBO. It was directed by Michael Ritchie and starred Holly Hunter, Swoosie Kurtz and Beau Bridges....
was a TV movie which told the true story of Wanda Holloway
Wanda Holloway
Wanda Holloway is a woman from Channelview, Texas, known for hiring a hit man to kill the mother of her daughter's cheerleading rival.-Overview:...
, the Texas mother whose obsession with her daughter's cheerleading career made headline news.
In 2006, Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress and singer, best known as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC television series Heroes. She began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live , and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light , before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in...
, star of Bring It On: All or Nothing, took another cheerleading role as Claire Bennet
Claire Bennet
Claire Bennet is a fictional character in the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes. She is portrayed by Hayden Panettiere and first appeared on television in the pilot episode of the series, "Genesis" on September 25, 2006...
, the cheerleader with an accelerated healing factor
Healing factor
A healing factor is a term used to describe the ability of some characters in fiction to recover from bodily injuries or disease at a superhuman rate...
on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's hit sci-fi TV series Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
, launching cheerleading back into the limelight of pop culture. Claire was the main focus of the show's first story arc, featuring the popular catchphrase, "Save the cheerleader, save the world". Her prominent, protagonist role in Heroes was supported by a strong fan-base and provided a positive image for high school cheerleading.
In 2009, Panettiere starred again as a cheerleader, this time as Beth Cooper in the film adaptation of the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
I Love You, Beth Cooper
I Love You, Beth Cooper
I Love You, Beth Cooper is a comedy novel written by former The Simpsons writer Larry Doyle.- Plot summary :At his high school graduation, valedictorian Denis Cooverman states to the entire gymnasium that he's had a crush on cheerleader Beth Cooper for six years...
.
In 2006, the reality show Cheerleader Nation
Cheerleader Nation
Cheerleader Nation is a US television series based on the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School cheerleading team's ups and downs on the way to Nationals, of which they are the three time champions. The show also explains how cheerleading is a tough sport. It takes place in Lexington, Kentucky. The team...
was featured on the Lifetime television channel. Cheerleader Nation is a 60 minute television series based on the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School cheerleading team's ups and downs on the way to nationals, of which they are the three time champions. The show also explains that cheerleading is a tough sport. The show takes place in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
.
The 2007 series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team is an American reality television series that premiered in 2006 on Country Music Television. The series follows the auditioning process and the making of the annual Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders squad...
shows the process of getting on the pro squad of the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders. Everything from initial tryouts to workout routines and the difficulties involved is shown. The series was extended a year to show the process of getting the 2008 Cheerleaders ready.
In 2009, Universal Pictures signed music video and film director Billie Woodruff (Barbershop
Barbershop (film)
Barbershop is a 2002 American comedy film directed by Tim Story, produced by State Street Pictures and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on September 13, 2002. Starring Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, and Anthony Anderson, the movie revolves around social life in a barbershop on the South Side of...
, Honey) to direct the fifth film in the Bring It On series titled Bring It On: Fight to the Finish
Bring It On: Fight to the Finish
- Marketing :American Cheerleader Magazine had an interview and photo shoot with cast members Christina Milian, Cody Longo, Vanessa Born, Rachele Brooke Smith and Gabrielle Dennis, which can be seen in the August 2009 issue. Christina Milian is also on the cover of American Cheerleader Magazine's...
. The film stars Christina Milian
Christina Milian
Christine Flores , better known by her stage name Christina Milian , is an American singer-songwriter, actress, dancer, and model....
(who previously played cheerleaders in Love Don't Cost a Thing
Love Don't Cost a Thing (film)
Love Don't Cost a Thing, stylized as Love Don't Co$t a Thing, is a 2003 teen comedy film written and directed by Troy Beyer and starring Nick Cannon and Christina Milian It also stars Steve Harvey, Kenan Thompson and Kal Penn...
and Man of the House
Man of the House (2005 comedy film)
Man of the House is a 2005 crime comedy film directed by Stephen Herek, written by John J. McLaughlin and Scott Lobdell, and starring Tommy Lee Jones. The main plot revolves around Lt...
) and Rachelle Brook Smith, and was released directly to DVD and Blu-ray on September 1, 2009.
The series Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
, which began in 2009, features Dianna Agron
Dianna Agron
Dianna Agron is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Quinn Fabray on the television series Glee.-Early life:Dianna Agron was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in San Antonio, Texas and San Francisco, California. She is the daughter of Mary and Ronald S. Agron, a general...
as Quinn Fabray
Quinn Fabray
Quinn Fabray is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Dianna Agron, and has appeared in Glee since its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. She is a former cheerleader at the fictional William McKinley High School in...
, the captain of her high school cheerleading squad, the Cheerios. Quinn becomes pregnant, leading to her expulsion from the squad, but two of the other Cheerios, Santana Lopez
Santana Lopez
Santana Lopez is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Naya Rivera, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Santana was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan...
and Brittany Pierce
Brittany Pierce
Brittany Susan Pierce is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Heather Morris, and has appeared in Glee from its second episode, "Showmance", first broadcast on September 9, 2009. Brittany was developed by Glee creators Ryan...
also feature heavily in the show. In "The Power of Madonna
The Power of Madonna
"The Power of Madonna" is the 15th episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on April 20, 2010...
" Kurt Hummel
Kurt Hummel
Kurt Hummel is a fictional character and one of the male leads in the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan initially conceived of him as a fashionable gay countertenor who is routinely bullied at school...
joins the Cheerios along with Mercedes Jones
Mercedes Jones
Mercedes Jones is a fictional character from the Fox popular musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Amber Riley, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Mercedes was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and...
after being fed up with getting no solos from Mr. Will Schuester
Will Schuester
William "Will" Schuester, often referred to as Mr. Schue, is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Matthew Morrison and has appeared in Glee since its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Will was developed by Glee...
.
A new 2010 show, Hellcats
Hellcats
Hellcats is an American cheerleading comedy-drama television series that originally aired on The CW in the United States from September 8, 2010 to May 17, 2011...
was just released on the CW. It is about college cheerleading. It stars Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Michelle Tisdale is an American actress and singer who rose to prominence portraying the candy-counter girl Maddie Fitzpatrick in Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and the female antagonist Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical film series...
and Alyson Michalka
Alyson Michalka
Alyson Renae "Aly" Michalka , often credited as Aly, is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and musician. Michalka gained fame for playing the role of Marti Perkins in the CW television drama Hellcats...
stars as Marty, a former gymnast who is forced to become a cheerleader after her academic scolarship is canceled. This show is about the ups and downs of being a cheerleader at Lancer University.
Video games
Nintendo has released a pair of video games in Japan for the Nintendo DSNintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan
, sometimes referred to as simply Ouendan, is a rhythm video game developed by iNiS and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console in 2005, for release only in Japan...
and its sequel Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii
Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2
is a rhythm video game developed by iNiS and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It is the third game to use its gameplay, and is the sequel to Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan while incorporating many of the improvements in gameplay made in Elite Beat Agents...
that star teams of male cheer squads, or Ouendan that practice a form of cheerleading. Each of the games' most difficult modes replaces the male characters with female cheer squads that dress in western cheerleading uniforms. The games task the cheer squads with assisting people in desperate need of help by cheering them on and giving them the motivation to succeed. There are also a All Star Cheerleader and We Cheer
We Cheer
We Cheer is a dance video game developed by Namco Bandai Games.-Overview:The game sees the player leading a squad of cheerleaders through a routine by following lines and swirls that appear on screen by motioning the Wii Remote...
for the Wii in which you do routines at competitions with the Wiimote & Nunchuck. All Star Cheerleader is also available for Nintendo DS.
Title IX sports status
There has been debate on whether or not cheerleading can be considered a sport for Title IX purposes. Supporters consider cheerleading, as a whole, a sport, citing the heavy use of athletic talents while critics do not see it as deserving of that status since sport implies a competition among squads and not all squads compete, along with subjectivity of competitions where - as with gymnasticsGymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, diving
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
, and figure skating
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
- scores are assessed based on human judgment and not an objective goal or measurement of time.
On January 27, 2009, in a lawsuit involving an accidental injury sustained during a cheerleading practice, the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Wisconsin Supreme Court
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in the state of Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin.-Location:...
ruled that cheerleading is a full-contact sport in that state. In contrast, on July 21, 2010, in a lawsuit involving whether college cheerleading qualified as a sport for purposes of Title IX
Title IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a United States law, enacted on June 23, 1972, that amended Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 2002 it was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, in honor of its principal author Congresswoman Mink, but is most...
, a federal court, citing a current lack of program development and organization, ruled that it does not, but may in the future.
Dangers of cheerleading
The risk of cheerleading was highlighted when Kristi Yamaoka, a cheerleader for Southern Illinois University, suffered from a fractured vertebra after she hit her head after falling from a human pyramidHuman pyramid
A human pyramid is a type of gymnastic formation in which the participants kneel together in a row or other formation, forming a base for another tier of participants who stand or kneel on their shoulders, backs or thighs. A human pyramid is very difficult to make. In case that the participants...
. She also suffered from a concussion, and a bruised lung. The fall occurred when Yamaoka lost her balance during a basketball game between Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University is a state university system based in Carbondale, Illinois, in the Southern Illinois region of the state, with multiple campuses...
and Bradley University
Bradley University
Bradley University, founded in 1897, is a private, co-educational university located in Peoria, Illinois. It is a small institution with an enrollment of approximately 6,100 undergraduate and postgraduate students and a full-time faculty of approximately 350....
at the Savvis Center in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
on March 5, 2006. The fall gained "national attention", because Yamaoka continued to perform from a stretcher as she was moved away from the game. Yamaoka has since made a full recovery.
The accident caused the Missouri Valley Conference to ban its member schools from allowing cheerleaders to be "launched or tossed and from taking part in formations higher than two levels" for one week during a women's basketball conference tournament, and also resulted in a recommendation by the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
that conferences and tournaments do not allow pyramids two and one half levels high or higher, and a stunt known as basket tosses, during the rest of the men's and women's basketball season. On July 11, 2006, the bans were made permanent by the AACCA rules committee:
The committee unanimously voted for sweeping revisions to cheerleading safety rules, the most major of which restricts specific upper-level skills during basketball games. Basket tosses, 2½ high pyramids, one-arm stunts, stunts that involve twisting or flipping, and twisting tumbling skills may only be performed during halftime and post-game on a matted surface and are prohibited during game play or time-outs.
Out of the United States' 2.9 million female high school athletes, only 3% are cheerleaders, yet cheerleading accounts for 65% of all catastrophic injuries in girls' high school athletics. Since the NCAA has yet to recognize cheerleading as an official college sport, there are no solid numbers on college cheerleading, yet when it comes to injuries, 67% of female athlete injuries at the college level are due to cheerleading mishaps. LiveScience.com recaps new evidence showing that the most dangerous sport for high school and college females is cheerleading: Another study found that between 1982 and 2007, there were 103 fatal, disabling or serious injuries recorded among female high school athletes, with the vast majority (67) occurring in cheerleading.
In the early 2000s, cheerleading was considered one of the most dangerous school activities. The main source of injuries comes from stunting, also known as pyramids. These stunts are performed at games and pep rallies, as well as competitions. Sometimes competition routines are focused solely around the use of difficult and risky stunts. These stunts usually include a flyer (the person on top), along with one or two bases (the people on the bottom) and, one or two spotters in the front and back on the bottom. The most common cheerleading related injuries are: sprained ankles, sprained wrists, back injuries, head injuries (sometimes concussions), broken arms, elbow injuries, knee injuries, broken noses, and broken collarbones.
The journal Pediatrics
Pediatrics (journal)
Pediatrics is an official peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. In the inaugural January 1948 issue, the journal's first editor, Hugh McCulloch, articulated the journal's vision: "The content of the journal is... intended to encompass the needs of the whole child in his...
has reportedly said that the number of cheerleaders suffering from broken bones, concussions, and sprains has increased by over 100 percent between the years of 1990 and 2002, and that in 2001 there were 25,000 hospital visits reported for cheerleading injuries dealing with the shoulder, ankle, head, and neck. Meanwhile, in the USA, cheerleading accounted for 65.1% of all major sports injuries to high school females, and to 66.7% of major sports injuries to college students from 1982 to 2007, with 22,900 minors being admitted to hospital with cheerleading-related injuries in 2002.
In October 2009, the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors (AACCA), a subsidiary of Varsity Brands
Varsity Brands
Varsity Brands Inc. is a holding company with ties to national cheerleading competitions within the United States. The company produces apparel for football, cheerleading, and dance activities, with subsidiary units and programs that regulate and administer most organized cheerleading activities...
, released a study that analyzed the data from Emergency Room visits of all high school athletes. The study asserted that contrary to many perceptions, cheerleading injuries are in line with other female sports. Cheerleading has been added to the list of sports being studied by Dr. Dawn Comstock of Ohio State University through the high school Injury Surveillance System.
See also
- Canadian Football League CheerleadingCanadian Football League CheerleadingCanadian Football League Cheerleading, or CFL Cheerleading, is a professional cheerleading league that follows and supports teams from the Canadian Football League. Cheerleaders in this league must excel in gymnastics and dance...
- Cheerleader NationCheerleader NationCheerleader Nation is a US television series based on the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School cheerleading team's ups and downs on the way to Nationals, of which they are the three time champions. The show also explains how cheerleading is a tough sport. It takes place in Lexington, Kentucky. The team...
- Colorguard
- DanceDanceDance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
- Dance squad
- GymnasticsGymnasticsGymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
- List of cheerleaders
- List of cheerleading jumps
- List of cheerleading stunts
- MajorettesMajorettesBaton twirling is an activity involving the manipulation of a metal rod and the human body to a coordinated routine and is similar to rhythmic gymnastics or color guard . Twirling combines dance and gymnastics while manipulating a single baton or multiple batons. It is primarily performed with the...
- MLB CheerleadingMLB CheerleadingMajor League Baseball Cheerleading, or simply MLB Cheerleading, is a professional cheerleading league in the United States that supports a professional baseball team...
- MLS CheerleadingMLS CheerleadingMajor League Soccer Cheerleading, or simply MLS Cheerleading, is a professional cheerleading league in the United States that supports a professional soccer team...
- National Basketball Association CheerleadingNational Basketball Association CheerleadingNational Basketball Association Cheerleading, or simply NBA Cheerleading, is a professional cheerleading league in Canada and the United States that supports a professional basketball team...
- National Football League CheerleadingNational Football League CheerleadingNational Football League Cheerleading, or simply NFL Cheerleading, is a professional cheerleading league in the United States. Twenty six of the 32 NFL teams include a cheerleading squad in their franchise. Cheerleaders are a popular attraction that can give a team more coverage/airtime, popular...
- NHL Ice DancersNHL Ice DancersNational Hockey League Ice Dancers, or simply NHL Ice Dancers, is a professional cheerleading league in the United States and Canada that supports a professional hockey team...
- ŌendanOendanAn , literally "cheering squad" or "cheering section", is a Japanese sports rallying team similar in purpose to a cheerleading squad in the United States, but relies more on making a lot of noise with taiko drums, blowing horns and other items, waving flags and banners, and yelling through plastic...
- Pep squadPep squadPep squads are found in high schools, middle schools and sometimes, elementary schools in the United States. The pep squad's main duty is to promote school spirit. Pep squad members make posters, cheer for school sports teams, and help with pep rallies. During games, pep squads lead cheers and chants...
- Pom-ponPom-ponA pom-pon is a fluffy, decorative ball or tuft. Pom-pons may come in many colors, sizes, and varieties and are made from a wide array of materials, including wool, cotton, paper, plastic, and occasionally feathers....
- UAAP Cheerdance CompetitionUAAP Cheerdance CompetitionThe UAAP Cheerdance Competition is an annual one-day event of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines for cheerleading. However, it does not count in the tabulation to determine the UAAP Overall Championship....