Cheer Stunts: Complete Guide | Cheerleading Positions

I Believe that everybody is pretty much familiar with the word “Stunt” because we all being in touch to some extent means by watching theater, television or movies. It is a very common word and feature use in action movies. But I would still like to define and elaborate this word as the first step of my article is to draw a clear vision and then move on to my actual target Cheer Stunts.

A stunt is an unusual, exciting and dangerous act require a specially skilled person who can take a risk and perform to get rectify and gain publicity. Still, I have to do some touch bases and then jump to a real topic. Because Cheer Stunts have some history and it linked to Cheerleading.

Cheer means to motivate and encourage someone by praising and shouting with joy. Cheerleading is an activity in which cheerleaders perform an organized athletic skill, dance and chanting to motivate and cheer their sports team and to amuse the audience.

The Beginning of Cheer Stunts

Basically cheerleading performance initiated to stimulate and build the team strength at the beginning of the game. It involves waving the pompoms on the sideline to attract the crowd. But, later on when stunting became a part of chanting and cheering, it leads cheerleading itself toward a competition. Cheerleaders found a new platform to show their talent and get recognized with unique innovations.

Cheerleading originated in the US at the school level. And the cheer stunting, a guy named Lawrence Herkimer played a vital role to make it popular. He founded a place known as cheerleading camp where he works on creating and teaching new stunts and finally distribute to all cheerleading teams.

Trust and communication is the key factor of cheer stunt because every athlete relies upon and link to other.

Flyer

In a group stunt you will usually see one flyer, two bases (one main and one side) along with a back spot or sometimes a front spot. Partner stunts will have two athletes, one flyer and one main base. They are usually coed, but all-girl versions exist. Based on the difficulty of the stunt performed and the rules and regulations governing that skill, a third athlete, known as a spotter, will be part of it.

The flyer is at the top of the stunt or pyramid. This is an advantageous attribute to hold being a flyer, as many of the body positions requires immense flexibility. The flyers are usually the shorter, slimmer people on your squad, but it depends on how capable other members of your team are and their requirements.

Bases

Bases are those cheerleaders who stand on the ground and hold the flyers and provide primary support to them. They are the responsible persons who going to keep an eye on flyers. They make sure the safety and also keep an eye contact with other bases to be on one pace. Bases are not gender conscious means it can be either male or female. But they assure that athlete who is going to stand on those positions is a strong cheerleader of the squad.

Main Base

Holds majority part of the flyer’s foot and stand straight under the flyer by bearing most of her weight. To stabilize, the main base will lift his/her heel and toe of the foot up from the ground from moving forward or backward in one leg extension stunt. The main base is a powerhouse in one-leg stunt because he or she carries 80% of the weight of flyer. They hold the flyer foot from toe to heel by forming a cup shape hand under their foot. In order to provide the more stable platform to jump.

Secondary Base

It is also identified as a side base and use in the one-legged stunt. In this, he/she hold the flyer’s foot from the middle /arch of the foot to throw and catch the flyer while main base griping to spin the flyer.

Spotters

Spotters are a group of other athletes whose main job is to stand and watch the stunt, but if the flyer fall, they come in to help catch them. The primary function of the spotter is to prevent any injury to the head and neck of the flyer. Spotters could be involved in almost always maintaining the stunt like a backside spot or at the back of a cheerleading inclusion if an incident were to occur.

Back Spot

It is the position where cheerleader stands behind the cheer stunts to ensure the safety of the flyer. Back spot person attentively observes the Flyer’s shoulder and hip to watch the leaning position of the flyer. They work as a barrier between the flyer and the ground in case of any unwanted event. They boost up the flyer in one leg stunt plus stabilize their ankles and also responsible to count the stunt.

Front Spot

This is the position where cheerleader stands in front of the stunt facing back toward the audience for preventing flyer to fall forward. A front spot is an optional support which cheerleader normally use as an extra help when they require. In order to lift the flyer for higher jumps such as basket toss. This position usually assigns to those people of the squad who are not quite flexible to be a flyer.

Additional Spot

This person is a safety precaution in the stunt. He/she just stand beside, front or behind the stunt to observe the flyer and rush into the stunt in case of any mishap. This position in the stunt usually stay vacant. It occupies when they work on some new stunts or cheerleaders are new to each other in the group.

Types of Cheer Stunts

There is a number of cheer stunts which cheerleader add to their routines for more excitement. Whether they performing at the school level to cheer the team and audience or in competition for scoring. To be a part of cheer stunts, one have to be physically healthy to carry out demanding acrobatic performances.

To be the best in cheer stunts you have to be best in basics means that you don’t really have to perform advanced nature stunt to impress the audience. A simple but well performed can capture the attention easily. Once you had a full command of beginner’s stunts than later on, you can move to an advance and challenging stunts.

Athletes involve in cheerleading stunts work as a group and the presence of each person is really important. If anyone is missing then the stunt cannot be performed or practiced. Trust and communication is the key factor of cheer stunt because every athlete relies upon and link to other. It can be elaborate further by explaining cheerleader’s positions.

Basic Two Leg Stunts

While these are just the basic type of stunting, these are the fundamentals of more advanced variation of stunts.

• Thigh Stand. Among the most basic of all stunts is a thigh stand. The bases can be seen kneeling on one knee, or in a lunge position with their front legs bent enough for the flyer to stand on their thighs. It is a common stand which is for the lower levels and little kids.

• Cupie or Awesome. It is a variation with the flyer holds above the base’s heads at close to feet. In a partner stunt, the flyer will have her feet together in one straight arm from a single base. As a partner stunt, the difference between a cupie and an awesome is what the guy’s other hand is doing. If the free hand is on the hip, it is a cupie, if the free hand is in a high V, then it is awesome.

• Split-Lift or Teddy Sit. The flyer sit in a straddle, and the two bases are holding one hand on her thigh and the other on her ankle/foot. Back base is where you will support her buttocks or waist with your hands. Her weight must be the focus of the flyer. This move is also known as Straddle Sit. It is a stunt that only happens in NFL cheer or lower.

• Shoulder Stand. In a shoulder stand the flyer is standing on their base shoulders.

• Shoulder Sit. The flyer is on the base’s shoulders with her feet around their waist It’s quite a stunt and an effective way to get your audience attention.

• Sponge. A basic stunting position used in cheerleading. A loading position where the flyer is weightbearing on straight arms on the base’s shoulders, and the bases are holding onto the flyer’s feet near their hips. Typically, a group of stunt people will leap into this sponge position before descending to roll into another stunt position. It is a mount or a way you can enter some stunt it might also be refer to as smoosh, squish, load, or crunch.

• Pony Sit. It is also famous as pony mount and it can be the first stunt to start with. For details or if anyone interested need to get professional training.
• Thigh Stand Variation. Once you get a perfect hold on Double thigh stand then u can play around and execute various variations.

• Hanging Stage. This stunt use can use by itself or you can attach with double thigh stand.

One Leg Stunts

• Liberty. Liberty or “Lib” is the most basic leg stunt. Two bases hold one of the flyer’s feet, with the main base almost always gripping the heel and toe and the secondary (or side) base holding onto the middle of the foot. Stunt is performed at chin (prep) level or extended.
• Tick-Tock. In this stunt the flyer starts in a Liberty (one leg) and is softly release to change legs to stand on the other leg. Can be done as a group stunt with two bases and back spot or a partner stunt with just one base underneath. It will look like the flyer does an immediate switch of legs, floating from one foot to another.

Basic and Advanced Cheerleading Stunts

The level of cheerleading motions toward the high jumps varies and restrict to some extent to the schools. For example, the junior school’s cheerleaders do not perform difficult stunt due to the risk of injury, same goes to high school and so on. Anyway, the advance cheers stunts are mainly the extensions of the basics.

So, every cheerleader needs to be a master in their nuts and bolts if they looking forward their career as a cheerleader. Following are some of the easy stunts that beginners can perform but it can be dangerous so the presence of supervisor is obligatory.

Synchronization and trust among the team members play an important role to perform an advanced proficient stunt. It does take some time when the cheerleader are new to each other and of course the practice makes the man perfect. I will mention the names of some stunts such as toss to hands, chair, ground up full, liberty, scorpion, bow, and arrow, Superman, basket toss, pyramids, kick basket toss and many more. The cheerleader squads can come up with any practical idea and then they all can work on it under the supervision.

Body Positions

While a liberty, or “lib” is the standard one leg stunt, flyers will often execute body positions that demonstrate their flexibility. These are some of the tougher positions that help boost a team’s score in a competition. Each of these body positions can be performed at prep (on the chin) or extension (above head) level.

• Scorpion. The flyer captures their foot and curves their leg upward behind the body to touch the toes behind their head, much like a scorpion’s tail. The other hand securely holds the foot in place.

• Needle or Spike. This is an advanced version of a scorpion with the leg held perfectly straight behind her back.

• Scale. The hand grips the flyer’s outstretched leg alongside his/her body. This is like the Scorpion except one of the flyer arms holds her ankle or calf (not her toes) and the other arm is free.

• Heel stretch. Airborne, the flyer is pulling her foot as near to eye level as possible – either just from the heel or middle of her foot – with that leg extended in front of her.

• Bow and Arrow. It’s a variation of heel stretch. The flyer takes the opposite side hand from her foot and pulls her leg straight up next to her head. Then, she pulls the arm of her whole torso through the hole that was created when aligning a leg and arm and holds it straight.

• Arabesque. The flyer flies out the leg behind them and attempts to externally rotate their hip socket so that when they are flying straight the side of the leg is facing the witnesses.

• No-hands/Chin Chin/Cry Baby. The flyer places her foot, holds it under her chin, and then balances that way hands-free.

Tosses

The basic basket toss is an easy skill but carries with it a lot of risk if not executed properly. A basket toss earned its name from having bases interlock their hands to grip and launch a flyer into the air. The flyer comes from a load in position at the waists of the bases.

After being tossed, they may perform some skills or tricks before being caught in a cradle position. These are some of the most typical skills executed during a basket toss but there are many different variations and teams constantly developing new and creative basket skills.

Straight Ride Basket

The flyer is released from overhead position. This pause allows her to lock out all the way overhead, with arms sounding close to your ears and body as straight as a pencil. After this the flyer will end up in a cradled position. The most fundamental stance for all basket tosses, and typically utilized by intermediate groups. Or as a warm-up stunt setting prior to undertaking the more complicated basket tosses.

Pike Basket

With the flyer at the top of the toss, she will tuck her knees into her chest to make her body a pike shape. On the way down, the flyer will then bend back (open) and land in a cradle position.

Toe Touch Basket

At the peak of the toss, this flyer will bring her legs up into a straddle or toe-touch behind you. During the descent, she may snap her legs back together vary arch the back to further embellish the image.

Kick-Single/Double Full Basket

This is basket toss skill on a more advanced level. As they reach the top of the toss, the flyer will kick her leg up and do an L-like motion with her arms. Then either rotate once or twice by wrapping her leg/arm across her body, which causes her to spin.

Back Tuck Basket

This is a flip basket toss, where the flyer is doing a hip-over-head rotation in the tuck position. This is usually a back tuck, but there exists a front flipping basket variation of this skill.

The X-Out Basket

This is a back tuck basket variation. Right at the ending split second of the back tuck, the flyer gets into an “X” position with their arms and legs open all wide. Once they hit the “X” portion the flyer rotates their body back towards a regular cradle position to be caught by the bases.

Pyramids

However, pyramids are two or more stunt groups falling with the top people holding hands, feet waist or legs. There are many types of pyramids from waist level skill by younger teams to multi person high pyramids done by elite college squads.

Particularly, pyramid segments often involve all competitors on a team. Since, it requires a considerable measure of individuals to lift, spot and catch a pyramid. Pyramid sequences are usually quick, and can include different levels, mounts, transitions, release moves and dismounts.

Two High Pyramid

This is the basic pyramid and mostly done in cheer stunts. Flyers are supported by a base or bases standing on the surface where the stunts are performed. The flyers might link up in various ways, from handholding to one person grasping another’s outstretched foot or leg. One flyer can also use another flyer as a bracer while she executes a flipping or twisting release skill.

Two and a Half High Pyramid

This is a third layer of pyramid, backed by anyone under the ground level. The middle level of flyers is kept level with the bases – typically in a shoulder level stunt, just like in a two-guy tall standard pyramid. These guys will then have other flyers (usually around waist level).

Due to the height of this pyramid, these types are normally only executed by very advanced college or club squads as the injury potential is extremely high. Other names and variations of the two and a half high pyramids are used. Such as the Swedish Fall, and the Wolf Wall (which has an added component called L Stand).

Cheerleading Guideline/Rules and Safety

As we all know that when cheerleading originated it was not introduced as a sport so there was not a certain set of rules and regulation. But now, cheerleading becomes a sport which demands more strength and gymnastic skills with the risk of injuries. Such guidelines are assure to follow while making cheerleading movies as well because only a trained athlete shall do such advanced moves.

The USA Cheer have designed a safety program which includes some general guidelines for cheer stunts such a;

• Trained by a qualified coach or advisor
• Practice should be supervised and carried out in a safe environment.
• Each team member should have access to check the capability of individuals to plan the stunts according to their level.
• Jewelry should not be allowed.
• Professional training in spotting should be compulsory
• Warm up routine should be carried out by the supervisor before and after the game
• Right surfaces should be used for pyramids, tumbling, partner stunts and jumps
• Evaluation of individuals should be in practice quite often to keep a track that they have mastered the skills

Cheerleading Injuries

Cheerleading initiated in 1898 and since then it start earning popularity plus technical complexity involves gymnastic tumbling and complex high flying stunts that put these athletes at the high risk for injuries.

Research shows that Pediatric lately report that cheerleading injuries are more severe as compare to other sport plays at high schools such as football, basketball, volleyball etc. The most common injuries are

Sprain/Strain

The most frequent type of injury occur in cheer stunts is the ankle sprain. It usually takes place when the flyer unable to balance herself and land on the outside of the foot and twisting ankle inside. Use rice treatment straight away to reduce the swelling. But, if athletes feel severe pain and cannot walk on the twisted ankle, then need to consult the doctor. Because it is common to have bone injuries rather than ligament especially in younger athletes, so X-Ray might require.

Knee Injuries

Normally occur when cheerleader lands awkwardly from a jump which might tear the ligament and you will feel a sudden pain. Knee injury must be look after properly because it takes time to heal and can get worst. There are some other knee injuries can happen too due to the overuse of knee such as patellar tendonitis very obvious in such kind of jumping sport.

Wrist and Elbow Injuries

While performing tumbling moves, flyers support the whole weight of the body on the wrist and elbow. It can end up in an injury and same applies to the cheerleaders standing in the bases to support the flyers. In this situation the ligament tear, wrist fracture can take place. But it happens mostly when falling on the outstretched hand.

Back Fracture

Falling from the height leads to vertebrae fracture and severity depends on what sort of damage happens to the vertebrae. Usually, it causes spine instability which requires an operation and after surgery, the cheerleader will not be able to continue her/his career in cheerleading.

Head Injury

If the cheerleader while performing accidentally fall and during the fall if its head hits the ground, an injury called concussions can occur disrupt normal brain function on the temporary or permanent basis.

Clothes

Cheer stunts are not an easy task, it requires plenty of practice to learn and polish the stunt to get the best out of it on the day of competition. Most cheerleaders have a uniform with the school logo to represent their school for the day. But as I mention earlier that they need regular practice so uniform doesn’t wear on daily bases otherwise it will be ruin.

During regular practice, it is advisable to have comfortable and breathable clothes. Such as microfiber pants and tops because they are very flexible plus its wick away your sweat and keep you cool during the practice. Cheer stunts are the activity that requires maximum movement so Soffe shorts introduced because it has maximum stretch-ability.

Some routines and dances that include gymnastic techniques barefoot are preferable but you can wear running shoes with anti-slip sole. Once you join the cheerleading, the coach will guide you in details about their requirement. Hair needs to tie up nicely so it does not play a hurdle role while practicing or performing.