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. Competitive routines typically range anywhere from one to three minutes, and contain components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting.
A drill team can be one of four different entities:
- A military drill team is a marching unit that performs routines based on military drill. 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.
A pep rally or pep assembly is a gathering of people, typically students of middle school, high school, and college age, before a sports event. The purpose of such a gathering is to encourage school spirit and to support members of the team. It is generally seen as an American phenomenon.
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are the National Football League cheerleading squad representing the Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are widely regarded as one of the best cheerleading squads in the NFL. They are also the first cheerleading squad in the NFL to start the trend of having young attractive women in revealing outfits dancing in front of fans.
The Washington Redskins Cheerleaders were second only to the Pittsburgh Steelers in professional NFL cheerleaders, but continue to be the longest running professional National Football League cheerleading organization.
A dance squad or dance team, sometimes called a pom squad or song team, is a team of participants that participates in competitive dance. In a routine, a squad will incorporate a specific dance style, technical work, and, depending on the routine, pom-poms and/or cheers. A pom squad slightly differs from a regular dance squad in that it uses pom-poms in all its dance routines, whilst a regular dance squad may or may not do pom work in a dance routine. Dance teams are also popular in performance dance, especially at sporting events, most commonly performing during the pre-game and halftime periods of football and basketball games.
Uniform fetishism is a particular type of clothing fetishism in which an individual is sexually aroused by uniforms. It is a form of sexual fetishism. Uniform fetishism has been associated with a variety of different uniforms, including schoolgirl and cheerleader uniforms, French maid uniforms, and uniforms associated with police or military organisations.
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.
National Football League Cheerleading, or simply NFL Cheerleading, is a professional cheerleading organization in the United States. 26 of the 32 NFL teams include a cheerleading squad in their franchise. Cheerleaders are a popular attraction that can give a team more coverage/airtime, popular local support, and increased media image. In 1954, the Baltimore Colts became the first NFL team to have cheerleaders. They were part of the Baltimore Colts Marching Band.
A cheerleading uniform is a standardized outfit worn by cheerleaders during games and other events. These uniforms typically include the official colors and mascots of the school or team and are designed to make the wearer appear physically attractive.
Bring It On: In It to Win It is a 2007 teen film directed by Steve Rash and starring Ashley Benson, Cassandra Scerbo and Michael Copon.
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 five separate squads: a co-ed squad, a small co-ed squad, an all-girl squad, a dance team, and a hockey cheer squad. The school's mascot, Goldy Gopher, is also a part of the program. The squads consistently perform well at national competitions including 18 national championships in dance since 2003, a 2nd-place finish for All-Girl in 2013, a fifth-place finish in 2017, and three time national champion Goldy Gopher in 2011, 2013, and 2017. The current head coach is Sam Owens.
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.
A majorette is a baton twirler whose twirling performance is often accompanied by dance, movement, or gymnastics; they are primarily associated with marching bands during parades. Majorettes can also spin knives, fire knives, flags, light-up batons, rifles, maces and fire batons. They do illusions, cartwheels, and flips, and sometimes twirl up to four batons at a time. Majorettes are often confused with cheerleaders; baton twirling, however, is more closely related to rhythmic gymnastics than to cheerleading.
Memphis Pom is a collegiate dance team from the University of Memphis. The team has won 14 national titles.
The Jacksonville Roar is the professional cheerleading squad of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. The group was established in 1995, the team's inaugural year, and regularly performs choreographed routines during the team's home contests.
The Chicago Honey Bears were a cheerleading squad for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The group performed at Bears games at Soldier Field, and also at one away game in Tampa Bay Florida with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their Cheerleaders the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Swashbucklers until Super Bowl XX, which was their final appearance. The Chicago Honey Bears donated numerous hours of service to charities, as well as made guest appearances on T.V, including the Richard Simmons Show, the WGN Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon and performed and signed autographs at various other events, including at the Great Lakes Naval Station for the Navy Servicemen. They did various ads and posters, including a Kodak film ad, a Chicago Buckingham Fountain Post Card, a Stroh's Beer poster, and a poster of The Chicago Honey Bears official head shots featuring hair and make up by Vidal Sassoon, who was the official hair stylist of the NFL Chicago Honey Bears. Vidal Sassoon, selected Chicago Honey Bear line Captain/ and assistant choreographer Sharon Shackelford to be a hair model and he cut, colored and styled her hair live on the Phil Donahue Show. These examples are just a few of the numerous charities, T.V shows and events that the Honey Bear squad participated in. Aside from the Chicago Honey Bears being dancers and cheerleaders, at the Honey Bear auditions, Cathy Core and a panel of judges, including talent agents, narrowed their search by making the contestants display an additional talent, such as singing, playing instruments, acrobatic abilities or other dance forms and talents, before making their final selections of who would be on the squad each season. They also did modeling, including an incident when a member of the squad appeared topless in a Playboy magazine. After this incident, the Cheerleaders signed contracts that forbade posing nude and also forbade fraternizing with the Chicago Bears Football players except at approved events. After Super Bowl XX the squad was disbanded, and currently, the Bears are one of the six NFL teams that do not have cheerleaders, along with the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders are the official cheerleading squad of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. The squad performs a variety of dance routines at Raymond James Stadium, the home of the Bucs, with the team's mascot Captain Fear. The squad debuted alongside the Buccaneers during their inaugural season. The squad was originally known as the SwashBucklers until 1998.
