List of cheerleading jumps

Last updated

Toe Touch (Austria) Austrian Bowl XXX - 124.JPG
Toe Touch (Austria)

Jumps are a fundamental part of cheerleading. They are often performed within cheerleading routines to add visual interest, meet a given competition's requirements, and/or score well. [1] Cheerleading jumps range in difficulty. Basic jumps teach the fundamentals of jumping techniques, proper arm positioning, timing, and safe landings; examples include the "Spread Eagle" and "Tuck Jump". [2]

Contents

More advanced jumps demand more flexibility, precise technique, and body control; examples include the "Pike" and the "Toe Touch". [1] In most competitions, jumps are categorized under "tumbling" and judged based on two key aspects: difficulty and execution. Jumps are often performed in combinations to improve a team's score. [1]

List of common cheerleading jumps

Pencil/T/Straight jump

The Pencil/T/Straight jump is one of the easiest jumps and is often the first jump learned by beginner cheerleaders. It is mainly used for correcting the body position from the torso down to the toes for learning the main jumps. This jump involves the cheerleader jumping up while holding their body completely straight and putting their arms out (to resemble a T) or above their head in a point.

X/Spread Eagle jump

Spread Eagle (Philadelphia Eagles) USMC-080607-M-6334M-079.jpg
Spread Eagle (Philadelphia Eagles)
The X/Spread Eagle jump is a beginner jump that involves the cheerleader putting their arms up into a V shape and jumping with their legs spread apart. When done correctly, the cheerleader's body will look like an X. This jump is generally used to practice group timing and quickly bringing legs together when coming down from a jump. [3]

Tuck

The Tuck is a jump in which the cheerleader uses their stomach muscles to pull their legs up as close to their chest as possible. [3]

Hurdler

For this jump, the cheerleader jumps up and puts one of their legs out straight and perpendicular to the ground. This leg is either put out in front with arms in candlesticks (a Front Hurdler) or out to the side with arms in a T (a Side Hurdler). In both versions of the Hurdler jump, the cheerleader's other leg is bent. With the Front Hurdler, the cheerleader's bent knee faces the ground, whereas with the Side Hurdler, the bent knee faces the crowd. [4]

Pike

This jump is among the most difficult of jumps. Both legs are straight out, knees locked. Arms are in a touchdown motion out in front to create a folded position in the air, this motion is also called "candlesticks". This is often performed at a ninety-degree angle to the audience in order to show off the air position.

Around the World

The Around the World, or the pike-out, is a jump where the performer hits a pike and then whips his or her legs quickly back around into a toe touch. This jump is regarded as difficult to accomplish, because two positions must be reached in the very short time while the jumper is in the air. It is not commonly used as it is so difficult to perform well.

Herkie

Herkie jump with knee bent on one leg and other leg straight out with arms being placed in different motions. Original Herkie jump was the same but had a specific motion of Right Punch. (Yokota High School) Yokota cheerleaders.jpg
Herkie jump with knee bent on one leg and other leg straight out with arms being placed in different motions. Original Herkie jump was the same but had a specific motion of Right Punch. (Yokota High School)
Named for Lawrence Herkimer, the founder of the National Cheerleaders Association, this jump is similar to a side-hurdler, except that instead of both arms being in a T-shaped motion, both arms are opposite of what the leg beneath them is doing. An example of this would be the straight arm would be on the side of the bent leg, and the bent arm is on the side of the straight leg. One other variation of this includes the bent leg is pointing straight down, instead of out like the side-hurdler. The jump is speculated to have been invented because Herkie was not able to do an actual side-hurdler.

Toe Touch

The Toe Touch is one of the more well-known cheerleading jumps and is very similar to what is known in gymnastics as a 'straddle' jump. With this jump, the cheerleader's legs are straddled and straight and become parallel to the ground. Their toes are pointed and knees are pointed up/backwards, and their hands are in fists or blades while their arms make a T shape. Despite its name, a cheerleader does not touch their toes during a Toe Touch; instead, their hands should reach out in front of their legs.

Left Side

The leg to the audience is tucked in while the other is out.

Right side

Same as left also turn the left/right while approaching the jump.

Cheerleader jump

This jump is commonly used in cheerleading and on a dance team, you typically will have your arms up in a "V" above your head and then rotate one of your arms backwards and right after kick one of your legs up and pointed straight in the direction of your face.

Double Hook

A jump where the legs are in the "cheer sit" position.

Triple Jump

This is the name for any jump with three jumps in a row connected by the "swing". This is most commonly used among the elite divisions.

Power Jump

A jump where there is no swinging of the arms in preparation for the jump. All the power for the jump comes from the legs. This jump is also known as a "Dip Jump".

Turntable

A jump where the cheerleader's legs are up and are rotated from side to side while the arms are swished back and forth.

Jump Tumbling

The level you're competing at determines the difficulty of the tumbling element out of the jump. Toe-touch jumps (or any jump) can be immediately followed by a back handspring (Level 3), back tuck (Level 4+), standing full (Level 5+). Or front tumbling can be performed out of a jump, for example to front walkover, front handspring, aerial, etc. however this is less common. There are multiple elements to be chosen out of a jump. Level 4 from USASF is the first level that includes a jump to back tuck. These are scored as 'standing tumbles' and are prestigious as they are often performed by the majority to most of the team at once, and are a classic and recognizable feature of a high level routine.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somersault</span> Acrobatic exercise

A somersault is an acrobatic exercise in which a person's body rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the head. A somersault can be performed forwards, backwards or sideways and can be executed in the air or on the ground. When performed on the ground, it is typically called a roll.

Because ballet became formalized in France, a significant part of ballet terminology is in the French language.

Trampolining terms are used to describe various positions and types of skill performed in the sport of trampolining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Handspring (gymnastics)</span> Acrobatic move

A handspring is an acrobatic move in which a person executes a complete revolution of the body by lunging headfirst from an upright position into an inverted vertical position and then pushing off from the floor with the hands so as to leap back to an upright position. The direction of body rotation in a handspring may be either forward or backward, and either kind may be performed from a stationary standing position or while in motion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yurchenko vault family</span> Type of vault in artistic gymnastics

Yurchenko, also known as round-off entry vaults, are a family of vaults performed in artistic gymnastics in which the gymnast does a round-off onto the springboard and a back handspring onto the horse or vaulting table. The gymnast then performs a salto, which may range in difficulty from a simple single tuck to a triple twist layout. Different variations in the difficulty of the salto lead to higher D-scores. This family of vaults is the most common type of vault in gymnastics and it's named after Natalia Yurchenko, who first performed it in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Split jumps</span> Jumps in figure skating

A split jump is a sequence of body movements in which a split is performed after jumping, while the performer is still in the air. Split jumps are commonly found in dance, figure skating, and gymnastics, and may also be used as a form of exercise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunge (exercise)</span> Type of exercise

A lunge can refer to any position of the human body where one leg is positioned forward with knee bent and foot flat on the ground while the other leg is positioned behind. It is used by athletes in cross-training for sports, by weight-trainers as a fitness exercise, and by practitioners of yoga as part of an asana regimen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Static trapeze</span> Type of circus art

Static trapeze, also known as fixed trapeze, is a type of circus apparatus. In contrast to the other forms of trapeze, static trapeze the bars and ropes mainly stay in place.

The herkie is a cheerleading jump named after Lawrence Herkimer, the founder of the National Cheerleaders Association and former cheerleader at Southern Methodist University. It is similar to a side-hurdler and to the abstract double hook, except instead of the bent leg's knee being pointed downward, it should be flat while the other leg is straight in a straddle jump (toetouch) position.

Karate has many different stances, each used for different types of power and movement. In Japanese the general term is tachi (立ち) changed to dachi when used as a suffix. Some stances focus more on mobility than stability, and vice verse.

The following is a glossary of figure skating terms, sorted alphabetically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jumping position</span>

The jumping position is a position used by equestrians when jumping over an obstacle, involving a combination of both a "forward seat" and "2 point" position. A rider in jumping position has their body centered over the horse's center of gravity and the saddle. Continuing a line upwards from the stirrup leathers, the head and shoulders fall in front of the line, as do the knees and the hips fall behind it.

Stances are a highly fundamental part of all Chinese Martial Arts. Wushu is characterized by low, wide stances designed for mobility and protection. Stability is another key concern of Chinese martial arts, and the wushu stances reflect this sensibility. There are five key stances utilized in both contemporary wushu and traditional wushu. Many others exist, and different styles of wushu prescribe a particular protocol for "correct" stance.

This is a general glossary of the terms used in the sport of gymnastics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridget Sloan</span> American artistic gymnast (born 1992)

Bridget Elizabeth Sloan is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2009 world champion in the all-around, the 2009 United States national champion, and a silver medalist with the American team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basket toss</span> Cheerleading stunt

A Basket Toss is a stunt performed in cheerleading using 3 or more bases to toss a flyer into the air. Two of the bases interlock their hands. While in the air, the flyer does some type of jump, ranging from toe-touches to herkies before returning to the cradle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flip (acrobatic)</span> Acrobatic jump

An acrobatic flip is a sequence of body movements in which a person leaps into the air and then rotates one or more times while airborne. Acrobatic flips are performed in acro dance, free running, gymnastics, cheerleading, high jumping, tricking, goal celebrations and various other activities. This is in contrast to freestyle BMX flips, in which a person revolves in the air about a bicycle.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Cheerleading Jumps for Beginners: Types and Scoring Explained". TheCheerBuzz.
  2. America's Leaders. Cheerleading Mastery Series: Cheerleading Jumps! (Volume 1) (PDF). CIC.
  3. 1 2 TeamSnap. "Basic Jumps: Tuck and Spread Eagle". YouTube. PlaySportsTV.
  4. Ninemire, Valerie. "A Full Glossary of Cheerleading Terms". LiveAbout. Dotdash Meredith.