University of South Florida Scholar Commons Outstanding Honors Theses Honors College 4-1-2011 The uideG to Cheerleading Jaclyn Wright University of South Florida Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/honors_et Part of the American Studies Commons Scholar Commons Citation Wright, Jaclyn, "The uideG to Cheerleading" (2011). Outstanding Honors Theses. Paper 46. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/honors_et/46 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Honors College at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Outstanding Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Guide to Cheerleading Written by: Jaclyn Wright Honor’s Thesis | P a g e Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 1 The History of Cheerleading .................................................................................................................................... 3 A Season in the Life of a Cheerleader: .................................................................................................................. 7 Pre-Tryouts ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Tryouts........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Forms........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 10 Camp and Team Bonding ................................................................................................................................................................. 11 Practice and Conditioning ............................................................................................................................................................... 13 Fundraising and Building School Spirit ..................................................................................................................................... 14 Competition and Games ................................................................................................................................................................... 14 End of the Season ................................................................................................................................................................................ 15 Qualities ........................................................................................................................................................................ 17 Qualities Needed .................................................................................................................................................................................. 18 Qualities Learned ................................................................................................................................................................................ 20 Are You Cheerleading Material? ................................................................................................................................................... 22 The Types of Cheerleading .................................................................................................................................... 26 Pre-High school .................................................................................................................................................................................... 27 i | P a g e High school ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 27 All Star ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 27 College ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 29 Professional ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 32 STUNT ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32 Rules ............................................................................................................................................................................... 33 Pre-High School Rules ....................................................................................................................................................................... 34 High School Rules ................................................................................................................................................................................ 34 All Star Rules ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 34 College Rules ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Professional Rules ............................................................................................................................................................................... 35 STUNT rules ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Web Sites ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 36 Where Can I Cheer? .................................................................................................................................................. 37 How To Find a Squad If You Chose: ............................................................................................................................................. 39 The Basics .................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Motions .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 42 Jumps ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 46 Tumbling ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 49 ii | P a g e Stunting ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 51 Dangers ......................................................................................................................................................................... 59 Most Common Injuries ...................................................................................................................................................................... 60 Less Common Injuries ....................................................................................................................................................................... 60 Why is Cheerleading so Dangerous? ........................................................................................................................................... 61 Prevention .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 61 Is Cheerleading a Sport? ......................................................................................................................................... 63 The Debate ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 64 Final Thoughts ............................................................................................................................................................ 67 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................................................