Cheerleading Competitions

The Difference Between All Star and Pep Squads

All Star squads exist exclusively to compete, although they may make public appearances throughout the year.

School squads, Pop Warner squads or other community based groups may enter competitions, but cheering at sport events like basketball or football games is their main objective.

The Pros of Joining an All Star Squad

An All Star squad is not for the weak at heart. All Star members must be able to tumble and need to be comfortable performing stunts. Even at the youngest levels where kids would not be expected to try out with a repertoire of stunts, young athletes still need a certain level of flexibility, agility and some gymnastics experience.

However, All Star squads give the serious cheerleader the opportunity to consistently perform her skills at the highest level throughout the year.

The Cons of Joining a Competitive Squad

Competitive squads require a substantial amount of time. You can expect to practice five days per week, plus you’ll have competitions on the weekend. If all of your friends are busy hanging out at the mall on the weekends, this might put a downer on participating. Also, if you don’t develop tumbling and flexibility while you’re young--it will be hard to learn as you get older. It’s one of those sports that you have to start while you’re young in order to really succeed.

Another con that many parents don’t realize or think about is that All Star cheerleading squads are allowed to perform the most difficult stunts for their age range. Thus, the risk of serious injury is much higher.

There are other squads that compete besides just All Star squads. Many high schools with large football and cheerleading programs enter at least one competition throughout the year.

Before You Enter a Competition

Is your squad ready for a cheerleading competition? Here are a few pointers to remember before you enter and go to your first competition:

• Know the score card. The score cards lets you know the types of elements judges are looking for, which stunts are illegal, and other limitations and/or regulations.

• Have your music ready. It pays to have a professionally mixed tape done just for competition.

• Have your routine ready. You cannot make last minute changes to your routine. Doing so could put your cheerleaders at risk of injury.

• Only choose stunts that you know your cheerleaders can perform easily. Any stunts or choreography should be “old hat” to the girls in the squad.

• Consider attending a camp. Camps can help prepare you for competition by working on specific areas of weakness, getting you into shape and building team skills.

The Big Day

Ever wonder what it's like to go through a competition? The day can be exciting and nerve racking, but over all it's fun.

Registration

Failing to register properly can get you disqualified. Generally you will need to turn in medical waivers for each participant, pay any fees that are due as well as receive:

• A score card that lists the criteria by which you will be judged
• The time you are to perform
• Additional instructions and regulations

While You Wait

Waiting is the worst part of the competition. Generally, you'll be in a warm up area while you're waiting your turn to perform. You should take the opportunity to visualize yourself performing, stretch and warm up by doing light calisthenics.

It is not advisable to watch other squads. Neither is it a good idea to run through your routine just one more time. At this point, you either have it or you don't.

After Your Turn

If you're allowed to do so, you can watch the other squads and finish the competition. Sometimes, at bigger competitions, they will have a means for waiting squads to watch other teams perform. This is a time to be a good sport, and make sure that everyone has a chance to perform to an audience that is free from the distractions of other screaming cheerleaders.

This is also not the time to critique your performance. There will be time for that later.

At the End of the Day

When everyone is finished performing there is usually a break. Sometimes it is another division of competition or unjudged exhibition to give the judges time to tally scores. Some larger competitions compute the scores electronically. However, the "big reveal" comes at the end of the day when you find out who won the competition! Remember that if you don't win, you still gained a lot by coming to competition.

Sometimes, there is a time where cheerleaders can get together after a competition to talk, and congratulate one another. Whether you've won the top prize or came in dead last, it's important to be gracious.

Some Major Cheerleading Competitions

Most states have their own cheerleading association, and most of those associations host a cheerleading competition during the year. Here are some of the more regional and nationally known competitions.

• USASF Cheer and Dance Worlds is the big competition that’s televised by ESPN. They take place every year in late April at a venue in Disney World in Orlando, FL.

• AmeriCheer hosts a variety of competitions throughout the United States. They have competitions that focus specifically either on All Star or school cheerleading squads.

• Atlantic Cheer and Dance hosts competitions up and down the Atlantic Coast.

• Cheer Ltd. hosts the Soffee open competitions for school and All Star squads. They host competitions throughout the southeastern United States.

• JAMFest has one of the largest competition companies across the United States, holding events in every region of the United States.

• United Spirit Association holds camps and competitions in cheerleading and dance. Competitions are based in the West, concentrating on California.