Floor Cheers for Cheerleading

Floor cheers for cheerleading are used as crowd pleasers and spirit builders when the game gets too loud for conventional cheers to be heard. They are also useful for increasing the variety of cheers available to a squad, something that keeps both crowd and cheerleaders interested.

Performing Floor Cheers for Cheerleading

Floor cheers have both more movements than regular cheers and less movement by the cheerleader. That is, the cheer itself is literally performed on the floor, with the cheerleaders sitting with both legs in front of them, bent at the knees and on the floor with the knees pointing in the same direction. This is also known as a "pinwheel" seat. However, since it's designed to work even when the voices can't be heard, the cheer depends more on the hand motions, claps, and other percussive techniques to get the crowd involved. The objective is to get the crowd to match the rhythm, hopefully shaking the bleachers with enthusiasm.

How to Get Into Floor Cheer Position

Most floor cheers are performed by the cheerleaders moving or "spiriting". Spiriting is moving into a single line directly between the audience in the bleachers and the court while clapping, smiling and shouting cheers. Since floor cheers often involve pounding on the floor, they are performed mainly at court events such as basketball games. Once seated, the cheerleaders should all look to the captain to give the "Ready, OK!" or some similar "go" signal before starting the cheer.

Unlike most other cheers, there are no pom poms used in floor cheers. They may be discarded before moving into the line, or may simply be placed behind the cheerleaders as they sit in the pinwheel position.

The Nuts and Bolts of a Floor Cheer

Here's an example of a floor cheer used by East High School in Madison, WI. It's choreographed as follows:

• Clap hands twice on thighs
• Clap hands together at chest level
• "Brush" the left hand on the left thigh, back and forth with one beat for each motion.
• Clap hands twice on thighs
• Clap hands together at chest level
• Brush the right hand on the right thigh
• Brush both thighs with both hands, one-two beats
• Clap hands together at chest level
• On the last beat, raise a spirit fist and shout "E!"
• Continue with the rest of the letters in the school name, ending by shouting the word.

Rhythm and Spirit

The most important element in a floor cheer is the rhythm. Even if a crowd isn't able to match the rhythm completely (and they rarely do), they may be able to add in claps or stomps with the basic beat laid down by the cheerleaders. In some floor cheers, after the first steady beat is laid down, the tempo can gradually be raised to go faster and faster, dissolving a crowd's rhythm into a wild and raucous cheer. This would be a good way to finish a series of floor cheers, with the cheerleaders jumping up at the end of the cheer to "spirit" off as the game resumes.

Here's an example of this type of cheer, using both hands to pound out the beat:

• Hands slap thighs
• Hands clap together
• Hands snap fingers
• Hands clap together
• Hands slap thighs
• Hands snap fingers (note this is a different order than the first three)
• Hands clap together while cheerleaders shout "Go!"

The rhythm is repeated with the words "Fight!" and "Win!" substituted at the end, and then the sequence goes a final time with a three-part "Go-Fight-Win!" shouted at the end. The sequence can be repeated at a faster rate each time, over and over until the crowd can't keep up.

It is important to remember that the crowds may not be able to match the rhythms of the floor cheers, and may not even try. However, the tradition of the floor cheer remains, providing spirit and variety to games all across the U.S..

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