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2007-08 High School Safety Rules

Top Person - A person who is held off of the floor by another person or persons.

Base - A person who supports the majority of a top person’s weight while the top person is off the ground.

Spotter - A person who is responsible for assisting or catching the top person in a partner stunt or pyramid. This person cannot be in a position of providing primary support for a top person but must be in a position to protect the top person coming off of a stunt or pyramid.

Post - A person on the performing surface who may assist a top person during a stunt or transition.

Cradle - A dismount from a partner stunt, pyramid or toss in which the top person is caught in a face-up, piked position before being placed on the performance area or remounting into another stunt, pyramid or loading position.

Loading Position - a position in which the top person is off the ground in continuous movement that puts the bases and top in a position to end the movement in a stunt.

Stunt - One or more bases supporting one or more top persons off of the ground.

Extended Stunt – When the entire body of the top person is extended in an upright position over the base(s).  Chairs, torches, flatbacks and straddle lifts are examples of stunts where the bases’ arms are extended overhead, but are NOT considered to be extended stunts since the height of the body of the top person is similar to a shoulder level stunt.

Cupie/Awesome - A stunt in which both feet of the top person are in one hand of a base.

Double Based Suspended Roll - Dismount with a foot-over-head rotation onto the performance surface or into a cradle.

Helicopter Toss - A stunt in which the top person is tossed into the air and rotates more than 180 degrees parallel to the ground in the same motion as a helicopter blade.

Tension Drop - A dismount from a stunt or pyramid where the top person(s) are directed toward the ground while their feet are held by the base(s) until just before the landing.

Knee Drop – Dripping to the knees without first bearing the majority of the weight on the hands or feet.

Dive Roll - A forward roll where the feet leave the ground before the hands reach the ground.

Basket Toss – A stunt in which a top person is tossed by bases whose hands are interlocked.

Elevator/Sponge Toss – A stunt in which the top person loads in to an elevator/sponge loading position and is then tossed into the air.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

A.      Cheerleading squads should be placed under the direction of a qualified and knowledgeable advisor or coach.

B.      All practice sessions should be supervised by the coach and held in a location suitable for the activities of cheerleaders (i.e., use of appropriate mats, away from excessive noise and distractions, etc.).

C.      Advisors/coaches should recognize a squad's particular ability level and should limit the squad's activities accordingly. "Ability level" refers to the squad's talents as a whole and individuals should not be pressed to perform activities until safely perfected.

D.      All cheerleaders should receive proper training before attempting any form of cheerleading gymnastics (tumbling, partner stunts, pyramids and jumps).

E.      Professional training in proper spotting techniques should be mandatory for all squads.

F.      All cheerleading squads should adopt a comprehensive conditioning and strength building program.

G.      All jewelry is prohibited during participation.

H.      A structured stretching exercise and flexibility routine should precede and follow all practice sessions, game activities, pep rallies, etc.

I.      Tumbling, partner stunts, pyramids and jumps should be limited to appropriate surfaces.

J.  As a general rule, all programs should qualify cheerleaders accordingly to accepted teaching progressions. Appropriate spotting should be used until all performers demonstrate mastery of the skill.

K.  Supports, braces, etc., which are hard and unyielding or have rough edges or surfaces must be appropriately covered. A participant wearing a cast (excluding a properly covered air cast) shall not be involved in a stunts, pyramids, tosses or tumbling.

L. Squad members must wear athletic shoes (no gymnastic slippers).

M. When discarding props (signs, etc.) that are made of solid material or have sharp edges/corners, team members must gently toss or place the props so that they are under control.

PARTNER STUNTS/PYRAMIDS/TOSSES

A. All pyramids and partner stunts are limited to two persons high. "Two high" is defined as the base having at least one foot on the ground.

B. The top person in a partner stunt, pyramid or transition may not be in an inverted (head below the waist) position and cannot transition to another stunt, the ground or a dismount in an inverted position. Exceptions to this rule are the following:

1. Double based suspended forward rolls where the top person has continuous hand-to-hand contact with two primary bases or with two posts who are controlling the top person. The top person cannot have contact with one base and one post.

2. The top person in a stunt may begin in an inverted position on the performing surface and be loaded into a non-inverted position shoulder height or below provided that they have constant contact with a base or spotter until they are in the non-inverted position.  A base or additional spotter if necessary must be in a position to protect the head, neck and shoulder area of the top person.

C. Suspended splits in a transition are allowed provided there are a total of four bases that support the top person; at least three of the bases must support under the legs of the top person, and the fourth base may support under the legs or make contact with the hands of the top person. Top person must have hand contact with bases during transition.

D. Partner stunts and pyramids higher than shoulder stand level must have a continuous spotter for each person over shoulder stand level. Spotters are considered part of the squad with regard to the squad member maximum limitation. For single-based extended stunts, the spotter may hold at the ankle of the top person and / or the wrist of the base. If the spotter is supporting under the sole of the foot in any way, they are considered to be a base and would require an additional spotter.

E. When one person is bracing another (including over lapping of arms), one of the individuals must be at shoulder height or below. Exceptions to this are the following:

1. Extensions (double base or single base) may brace other extensions.

2. Double Cupies/Awesomes (two cupies/awesomes being held by the same base) are allowed. If the stunt is dismounted to cradles, there must be three people for each top person being cradled. This exception does not include variations such as Double Heel Stretches.

F. If a person in a partner stunt or pyramid is used as a brace for an extended stunt, that brace must not be supporting a majority of the top person's weight. (To demonstrate this, the foot of the top person’s braced leg must be at or above the knee of their supporting leg.)

G. Extended Straddle Lifts must have an additional spotter for the head and shoulders of the top person (similar position to a Double Based Elevator/Extension Prep).

H. The bases of any extended stunt must have both feet in direct weight-bearing contact with the performing surface.

I. Hanging pyramids (Example: Diamond Head) must have a continuous spotter for each shoulder stand involved in suspending another person.

J. In pyramid transitions where the top person is released from their primary bases and assisted in an up and down transition the following rules apply:

1. At least 3 bases must be under top person throughout the transition.

2. Person(s) bracing the top person in the transition must have a spotter in place during the transition movement.

3. The top person must be in contact with the bracers during the up and down transition. The top person may not be supporting on any other body part of the person(s) assisting (i.e. Shoulders of the bracer).

4. The top person must be continuous in motion and cannot be supported so that they pause at the top of the transition.

K. Basket tosses, toe pitch tosses, elevator/sponge tosses or similar tosses are limited to no more than four tossers and must be dismounted to a cradle position by two of the original bases, plus an additional spotter at the head and shoulder area. These tosses may not be directed so that the bases must move to catch the top person. The top person may not hold any objects (poms, signs, etc.) during the toss.

L. Participants may not pass over or under other participants from tosses. Exceptions to this rule are the following:

1. Single based tosses can go over another person.

M. Free falling flips or swan dives from any type of toss, partner stunt or pyramid are prohibited.

N. Partner stunts, pyramids and participants may not pass over, under or through other partner stunts or pyramids.

O. Single based stunts in which the top person is parallel to the performing surface and the bases’ arms are extended must have a continuous spotter at the head and shoulder of the top person. (i.e. Bird, Side T, Single Based Flatback, etc.)

P. Multi-based tosses that land in stunts (i.e. basket to elevator/extension prep, etc.) are allowed; however, they cannot significantly exceed the height of the intended stunt. Multi-based tosses cannot land in a loading position. Exception to this rule:

1. A single based toss (one base touching during the toss movement) is allowed into a loading position to that original base.

Q. Backward suspended rolls and single based suspended rolls are prohibited.

R. Cradle dismounts from partner stunts or pyramids shoulder height or above require one spotter in addition to the original base(s).

S. Cradle dismounts from partner stunts (other than basket tosses, elevator/sponge tosses or similar tosses) to another set of bases must be caught by three bases. Any type of gymnastics movement (1/2 turn, twist, toe touch, etc) is prohibited.

T. The total number of twists in a dismount from stunts or tosses cannot be greater than two rotations. Exception to this rule:

1. Side facing stunts and tosses (i.e. Arabesque, Scorpion, Kick Double Full Basket, etc.) may add a one-quarter twist in order to cradle to the front.

U. A minimum of two catchers are required when the top person falls away from the bases to a horizontal, flat-body position.

V. Tension drops are prohibited.

W. Helicopter tosses are prohibited.

X. Single based split catches are prohibited.

Y. The use of mini-trampolines, springboards, spring-assisted floors or any other height-increasing apparatus is prohibited for competition or performance. These devices may be used for skill development and practice under the supervision of a coach trained in their use.

Z. Basket tosses, elevator/sponge tosses and similar multi-base tosses are prohibited on surfaces other than a mat, grass or rubberized track.

TUMBLING/JUMPS

A. Dive rolls are prohibited.

B. Flips greater than one rotation are prohibited.

C. Twists greater than one rotation are prohibited.

D. A forward three-quarter flip to the seat or knees is prohibited.

E. Participants may not tumble over, under, or through partner stunts or pyramids, or over or under individuals.

F. Participants may not land in a partner stunt or in a catching position from an aerial tumbling skill. (Example : A back flip from a tumbling pass into a cradle is prohibited, however, rebounding from a back handspring into a cradle is allowed.)

G. Landings for all jumps including knee drops must bear weight on at least one foot. (Example : A toe touch jump or kick to a hurdler position, to the seat, knees, or landing with both feet back, or to a push-up position are prohibited.)

H. Any type of hurdler position or the position with both feet back (sitting, landing or lying) is prohibited with the exception of a "Z" sit.

Copies of these guidelines should be distributed to all squad members and any administrators involved with the cheerleading program. All guidelines should be understood and accepted by all parties involved in the cheerleading program including advisors, coaches, assistants, squad members, parents, and administrators.

Note: The above safety guidelines are general in nature and are not intended to cover all circumstances. All cheerleading gymnastics including tumbling, partner stunts, pyramids and jumps should be carefully reviewed and supervised by a qualified adult advisor or coach.

Cheerleading jumps, gymnastics and stunts may involve height and inversion of the body and there is an inherent risk of injury involved with any athletic activity. While the use of these guidelines in coordination with the AACCA Safety Course will help minimize the risk of injury, the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators makes no warranties or representations, either expressed or implied, that the above guidelines will prevent injuries to individual participants.

If you have any questions regarding the legality of a specific skill, contact us at 800-533-6583. For the latest safety updates, visit us on the web at "http://www.aacca.org".

All content is the property of The American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators unless otherwise noted. Reproduction without consent is expressly prohibited with the exception of personal use for cheerleading and dance teams.

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Memphis, TN 38115
800-533-6583

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