Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to entertain the audience, or for competition. Cheerleading routines typically range anywhere from one to three minutes, and contain components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting. Cheerleading originated in the United States, where it has become a tradition. It is less prevalent in the rest of the world, except via its association with American sports or organized cheerleading contests.
A drill team can be one of four different entities:
- A military drill team is a marching unit that performs routines based on military foot or exhibition drills. Military drill teams perform either armed or unarmed.
- A dance drill team creates routines based on precision dance movements rather than military drill. These teams usually do not carry anything, but may use props in field production numbers. They may perform to recorded music, or the live music of an accompanying marching band.
- A team that execute routines carrying either one or multiple flags or pom-poms. This team's movements are also based in dance and may also have a heavy influence of gymnastics as well. These teams also may perform to music, either live or recorded.
- A team that is mounted or advances some type of mobile object. May also include teams of dogs and handlers.
Exhibition drill is a variant of drill that involves complex marching sequences which usually deviate from drill used in the course of ordinary parades. Teams performing exhibition drill are often affiliated with military units, but the scope of exhibition drill is not limited to military drill teams. Exhibition drill is often performed by Armed Forces Precision Drill Teams, the drill teams at service academies and ROTC and JROTC units, and civilian drill teams that perform at parades, drill meets, and half-time shows and other public venues.
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are the National Football League cheerleading squad representing the Dallas Cowboys team.
Bethpage High School is the only high school in Bethpage, in Nassau County on Long Island, in New York, United States. The school is situated at the corner of Stewart Avenue and Cherry Avenue, across from the Bethpage Community Park. On average, each class size is between 25 and 30 students. Bethpage High School was once ranked by Newsweek at number 267 of the Best High Schools in America.
Pep flags, also known as flaggies, short flags, small flags, or twirl flags, is the performing art of twirling one or two flag(s) as part of a choreographed routine. In the early 21st century, some school flag squads have implemented a third or even fourth flag in routines. This performing art is mainly prominent in Southern California high schools. It is mainly in high schools but a few are in elementary, middle school, and college/university levels.
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Spirit Squads comprise the cheerleading organization at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. Being the first program ever to form worldwide, the University of Minnesota is consequently considered the "Birthplace of Cheerleading". Today, the Gopher Spirit Squads consist of four separate squads: a cheer squad, a dance team, a hockey cheer squad, and the school's mascot, Goldy Gopher. The squads consistently perform well at national competitions including 21 national championships in dance since 2003, a 2nd-place finish for All-Girl in 2013, a fifth-place finish in 2017, and four-time national champion Goldy Gopher in 2011, 2013, 2017, and 2018. The current head coach is Sam Owens.
A kickline is a show dance figure consisting of a series of dancers who throw their legs synchronised up to eye level in the air, forming a straight line. The challenge in performing a kickline is not only the process of lifting the leg in a coordinated manner in order to create a uniform impression, but also lowering it again quickly enough to switch between the standing and throwing leg in quick succession.
The National Cheerleading Championship, commonly known as NCC, is the Philippines’ first and oldest National cheerleading competition. The annual competition, which started in 2006, is modeled after U.S. competitive cheerleading competitions.
Several Green Bay Packers cheerleading squads have performed in Green Bay Packers' history. The Packers became one of the first professional football teams to have a cheerleading squad, having first used cheerleaders in 1931. The squad performed for 57 years under three separate names. In 1988, it was decided that the team would cease having a professional squad cheer for them. Since 1988, the team uses collegiate squads in a limited role to cheer during home games.
Cheerleading is a sport that is practised all throughout the world, with increasing popularity within the United Kingdom. Cheerleading has over 89,000 athletes within the United Kingdom, with just over 900 teams in England alone, with the newfound success and passion of UK based teams on the international stage helping to change perceptions within the region. Teams from the United Kingdom have gained international recognition, with the Olympic Channel producing a 10 minute short documentary following Unity Allstars' team Ruby to highlight the increase momentum of competitive cheerleading within the United Kingdom.
The Kilgore College Rangerettes, also known simply as the Rangerettes, are an American precision dance team from Kilgore College in Kilgore, Texas, created by Gussie Nell Davis in 1939. The Rangerettes have performed in 74 Cotton Bowl game halftimes in a row, and make regular appearances at NFL pre-game and half-time shows for the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans. The Rangerettes perform at Kilgore College football games, and in many other athletic and special events, including the Cotton Bowl game, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and five presidential inaugurations. They have taken several world tours since the 1970s, including South America, the Far East, Romania, France, Canada, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, England, Scotland, and Ireland.
The US National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) was established as a way to bring cheerleaders together to learn new skills. Since 1951, the NCA has held summer camps, and is credited with the invention of the herkie jump, the pom-pom, the spirit stick and being the first uniform manufacturer.
A pom-pom – also spelled pom-pon, pompom or pompon – is a decorative ball or tuft of fibrous material.
The Texas State University Strutters, more simply known as the Strutters, are an American collegiate dance team from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. They are the first American Precision Dance Team to be founded at a four-year university, and are currently the largest team of its kind in the United States. They have performed nationally and internationally in twenty-six countries spanning four continents, and are the first U.S. dance team to perform in the People's Republic of China. Other performances include three presidential inaugural parades, three Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades, several NBA and NFL halftime shows, America's Got Talent, MTV's Total Request Live, and appearances in five movies.
The National Dance Alliance (NDA), originally named NCA Superstar, was established in 1999. NDA is the sister company of the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA), which was founded by Lawrence Herkimer in 1948. In 1976, NCA created NCA Superstar to make a distinction between the dance and cheerleading aspects of the company. Eventually in 1999, NCA Superstar changed its name to the National Dance Alliance.
Kay Teer Crawford (1914-2001) was an American choreographer known as the "mother of drill team".
Also known as U.S. Nationals & Pageant, this national dance competition for precision dance teams, dance-drill teams, and dance studios is recognized as the origin of the competitive dance industry. The event was trademarked under the name Miss Drill Team U.S.A. and registered as a non-profit organization in 1973 by Dr. Kay Teer Crawford. In 1989, the competition re-branded itself as Miss Dance Drill Team USA in an effort to recognize the varying performing arts interests of the many out-of-state teams that regularly traveled to Southern California to attend the annual event, which over the years has been held in the cities of Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Irvine.
Gussie Nell Davis was an American teacher best known as the founder of the Kilgore College Rangerettes, who in September 1940 became the first all-girls drill team to perform on a college football field with the forward vision of Miss Davis. The organization created a unique combination of dance moves and precision drills that quickly earned them the reputation not only as the originators of dance/drill teams, but also as the best in the world, with the highest kicks in the world. Known for their high kicks and the jump splits, the organization has traveled around the world, has entertained millions and spurred a multi-billion-dollar dance/drill team industry worldwide.
In Australia, competitive cheerleading is a minor sport, seeing over a 10,000% increase in athlete participation between 2000 and 2022. This growth happened through a 15–20% increase in participation each year between 2006 and 2016.
