The Dimension of Cheerleader
Spirit Raisers: When cheerleaders spread a sense of pride for their school both on and off the field, they are helping others build a connection to their place of learning and the community within it. Spirit raising is taking the pride cheerleaders have for their school and sharing it with others. Whether it means making signs and encouraging their peers to attend the big game, planning and hosting pep rallies, organizing spirit weeks or keeping the positivity up in and out of the classroom, spirit starts with the cheerleading team.
Ambassadors: As some of the most visible students on campus, it is important for cheerleaders to be positive role models for others both inside the classroom and out in the community. As examples for other students, cheerleaders can help raise the bar for academics, school spirit and behavior. At games, the cheerleader’s primary role is to support from hillsidejrcomets.org the success of others. How many other athletes can say that? Cheerleaders celebrate other team’s victories just like it’s their own. Win, lose or tie, cheerleaders understand the value of sportsmanship and the importance of supporting others, teaching them to be better role models both on and off the field.
Ray, Ray, Ray!
Tiger, Tiger, Tiger!
Sis, Sis, Sis!
Boom, Boom, Boom
Aaaaah! Princeton, Princeton, Princeton!
Cheerleading Becomes Female
While women were permitted to be on cheerleading teams, yell leaders were predominantly male up until World War II. With “the men going off to war”, women filled the role on the sidelines. Once the war was over, cheerleading remained overwhelmingly a female activity. Today, females account for approximately 85% of participants.
The early 1970’s saw the passage of Title IX, which prohibited federally-funded educational institutions from discriminating against students based on sex. High schools and colleges began adding female sports to their athletic departments. What this meant for cheerleading was that cheerleaders who participated in other athletics became stronger and more agile. They brought this athleticism from their other sports back to cheerleading.
In the late 70’s and early 80’s, the first televised cheerleading competitions gave cheerleaders across the country visions of what skills the best cheerleaders were able to perform. Now, instead of regional pockets of talent, cheerleading tumbling, jumps, and pyramid skills began to take off all across the U.S.
Expanding Beyond The Sidelines
Along with the increased athleticism and popularity of competition came a demand for more opportunities for cheer. While more and more would be cheerleaders were trying out for the team, school programs were limited to the set number of athletes they allowed. In the late 1980’s, the first cheer programs outside of the school setting were formed and called “All Star”. While some all star programs were initially developed to assist in making the school cheer program, all star quickly developed into its own discipline that attracted athletes who wanted to focus on the competitive side of cheer without cheering on a crowd in support of another team.
To address All Star cheer programs, the USASF was formed in 2003. The USASF developed training programs and rules for the various levels of All Star.
In 2018, USA Cheer brought the AACCA under its governance and continues safety education through the rules process, the USA Cheer Safety & Risk Management manual and course, and additional safety training.
USA Cheer was formed in 2007 to be the governing body representing the USA in the ICU. Its three-fold mission is to promote safety and safety education for cheer in the United States; help grow and develop interest and participation in cheer throughout the United States; and represent the United States of America in international cheer competitions. Formal recognition as the governing body for the USA was granted by the ICU in 2009.