Thanks to their skill and practice, cheerleaders make complicated maneuvers like handsprings and tosses look easy. Tumbling through the air and performing human pyramids is no easy feat, and it's even harder to keep everyone safe while doing it. Cheerleading safety rules help keep participants as well as spectators safe and prevent cheerleaders from overextending themselves while performing.
General Safety Rules
Cheerleaders must always practice with a certified and trained coach or instructor and should never attempt maneuvers that are too advanced or with which they're not comfortable. Cheerleaders should always be aware of their surroundings, especially during the game, in order to prevent putting other people, including players, spectators and coaches, at risk. Since illness or injury can severely limit a cheerleader's ability to perform stunts and tricks, cheerleaders should never perform if they feel sick or physically limited in any way.
Tumbling and Jumping Rules
According to the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators, certain jumps and tumbles, or jumps and tumbles of a certain number of rotations, are prohibited because of the risk they pose to cheerleaders. Any flips or twists of greater than one rotation are prohibited in cheerleading. Dive rolls of any kind are not allowed in official competitions, according to the AACCA. Cheerleaders are also prohibited from diving, rolling or tumbling over props, including pom-poms.
Indoor Rules
Because cheerleaders often perform at indoor events, such as basketball games, certain provisions apply due to the lack of space. Cheerleaders are prohibited from performing certain routines and skills while on the sidelines, such as basket and elevator tosses, any stunt in which a partner holds up a cheerleader with only one arm and any type of pyramid stunt. These tricks may be allowed if they are performed in the middle of the basketball floor during timeouts or halftime, when there is no obstruction by players, equipment or spectators.
Partner Stunts and Pyramid Rules
Any partner stunts and pyramids must be, at the most, two people high. Any partner stunts performed above shoulder-level height require a continuous spotter. Free-falling flips and swan dives are completely prohibited from cheerleading performances and competitions, according to the AACCA. When performing a dismount from a stunt or toss, the maximum number of twists allowed by rule is two. When a cheerleader performs any stunt in which she falls from a base and her body goes horizontal during the jump, a minimum of three catchers are required to perform the stunt.
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