Competitions

Competitions are the best part of cheerleading. A competition is the main reason most cheerleaders cheer. They can be really big or really small. Either way, they’re fun. Allstar cheerleaders look forward to traveling and spending time with their teams. There is no better way to bond with your team then to hit a perfect routine with your team.

A typical competition day starts off stressful. You have to do your hair and makeup perfectly. You should be tan to look good on the stage. Then you have to make sure you have eaten and had enough water. After leaving, you have to meet with your team where you discuss the competition, watch other teams from your gym, and stretch before warm ups. Then, you go to warm ups. Warm ups are always the most stressful part. A team can either have an amazing warm up or it can be terrible. Usually, if one person isn’t having a good day, the rest of the team isn’t either. After warm ups, you wait to go on. The wait time can be up to 15 minutes, making nerves at an all-time high.  A team will pray, have a pep talk, and/or dance around to get rid of the nerves. Then you’re up next! The announcer calls your team and you take the floor. If the routine hits, your team breaks out in tackling hugs before exiting the stage. After your routine, you go behind the stage, talk to your coaches, watch your competition, and then wait for awards.

While this is a stressful day, it’s one of the most fun days we have. When you’re not competing, it’s an amazing way to bond with your team. Then hitting a routine is so exhilarating. 

Cheerlebrities?

What do you get when you mix cheer and celebrity together? Cheerlebrity. As ridiculous as it sounds, it is a popular term in cheerleading. A cheerlebrity is a cheerleader with a large social media following.

For example, Carly Manning has 488,388 followers on Instagram. Carly Manning was on Cheer Athletics Panthers for 3 years until last year when she made Wildcats. Carly has won the World Championships twice and continues competing to win again.

Cheerlebrities promote products and are spokesmodels for different brands. They get paid to post photos onto their very popular accounts to help the company sell things. The girls are treated as celebrities and if spotted, fans will run up and ask for autographs and pictures.

They are often criticized to no end. How can somebody be so famous and not an all-around amazing cheerleader? The girls are popular but there will always be something to say about why they’re “cheerlebrities.”

Allstar VS. High School

                               Vs. 

The ongoing debate between allstar and school cheerleading is a debate that will live on. Allstar cheer is skill, skill, skill while high school is all about crowd engagement. The difference is monumental.

High school cheer is usually classified into two types: sideline and competition. Some schools require the varsity sideline team to compete as the competition team, while others allow the two teams to be separate. High school coaches are less experienced and rely on more traditional techniques. The teams are made up of girls who all have different skills. One member may be competing a back-handspring while another is competing a full-twisting layout. The teams are expected to have the same stunting ability.

Allstar c                heer is fast-paced, and challenging. The coaches are certified in safety and often very experienced. Cheerleaders are judged by levels. The levels are set by skill level in tumbling and stunting. Level one is the lowest and level 5 as the highest. The judges are harsh and are only looking for certain things. The technique is more advanced and is judged harsher. The two minute and 30 second routine is creative and challenging to even the best of athletes.

The fight is the technique, skill, and difficulty. Coaches usually don’t like having athletes that participate in both because of the tremendous time commitment. Allstar coaches will work with the athletes who participate, allowing them to miss little bits of practice for the high school team to practice.  

Introduction

Cheerleading is a controversial sport taking the world by storm. The NFHS (National Federation of State High School Associations) reports almost 400,000 cheerleaders in the United States. Numerous people say cheerleading is not a sport when it has been decided it is one of the most dangerous sports falling short to football. The sport is made up of two types of teams: competitive and sideline. They are even farther divided into rec, allstar, and high school. I’ve been an allstar cheerleader for seven years. This year I made a level five team at Allstar Legacy. 

This blog will follow the important news, gossip, and ideas of the ever-changing cheer world.