Cheer Guide
Tumble- either one or a serious of various backflips/gymnastics skills
Stunt- when one to four people lift (generally) one person in the air, where the flyer performs any number of tricks or skills in the air
Pyramid- a series of difficult stunts put together, typically near the end of the routine and the flyers hold hands/hold on to each other a lot; a great place for scoring points and a major part of the score sheet
Needle- when a person has a very flexible back and can lift their leg behind their head at a 180° or more angle with their other leg.
Dorito- what a beginner’s scorpion is called, typically when they do not have a flexible back; similar to a needle, though the person’s legs make a 90° or so angle instead of 180.
Stick- when a cheerleader lands a tumbling pass perfectly and keeps their feet glued to the floor once the pass or skill is over.
“Whip it out”- what people say when you are working on a new tumbling pass and it’s time to just do it already
Hit hit hit pull- what people yell during a level four or five jump sequence, to help the cheerleaders remember to be sharp in the jumps and set high during the connected tumbling skill.
Hit hit squeeze- what people yell when the flyer is doing a kick double basket toss.
Werk- what you need to do to be a good cheerleader
Elite stunt- a stunt typically in the middle of the routine, often after running tumbling, which is a great place to wow the judges and earn some killer points.
Running tumbling- hen a person takes one or more steps into a round-off and then does a series of tumbling skills.
Standing tumbling- when a person does a one singular or a series of tumbling skills from a stand-still position.
Comp- short for competition, because “competition” is just too long to spell every time.
Uni- short for uniform; it sounds like you know what you’re talking about when you use this.
Tick tock- when the flyer switches feet while in the air; the bases release the foot and then catch the opposite foot a second later.
Set- when a tumbler spots a place on the wall for a second and goes straight up, using their arms and shoulders to lift them off the ground, performed after a round-off or back handspring to prepare for a higher skill; what every tumbler needs to learn to do.
Dip- a very small bounce where the bases prepare to go up or down in a stunt.
Pop- a slightly bigger dip, usually used when preparing for stunts that involve a lot of power such as a slip or double down.
Sponge- when the flyer is in starting position in a squat at the base’s belly buttons
Half/Prep- when the bases have their elbows bent and their hands at their chest, and the flyer’s ankles are about at the base’s mouth level
Extension- when the bases have their arms straight and elbows locked above their heads in a stunt.
Lib- stands for liberty; when one leg is bent and the foot is placed next to the other leg’s knee.
Bow and Arrow- when the person’s leg is held by the opposite side’s hand over the head, and the other hand is in front of the leg usually making a fist.
Tilt- when an extremely flexible person hyper-extends in a heel stretch; what most people think they can do when really they can’t at all.
#—OD- stands for “#— or die,” a pretty nasty yet common saying for fierce teams
Mat- the big (generally) blue spring floor we cheer on
Eat mat- when a person completely falls and wipes out during a standing tumbling pass
Line- the tape that holds together each panel on the mat; also see: if you have to tumble on these, god bless
Space- between each line on the mat
Tight- what every cheerleader should be; when you squeeze your body and tense all muscles.
Bobble- when a stunt shakes and may fall
Touch down- when a person touches the mat at the end of their tumbling pass
Bust- when a person fails to finish a tumbling pass
Full- when a person rotates their body sideways during a backflip
Tease- hair that is combed backwards and makes you look fierce
Sloppy- what my coach screams at me as i’m trying not to throw up during the routine
Voice overs- the only thing that will save your terrible music
Honey- what to call me if you want to get slapped; typically used in sassy voice overs
Tea- the shit; amazingness
What’s the tea?- what you ask when you know you are the shit
to serve- what you should do 24/7, especially in cheer routines. also see werk.
SAVE IT!- what people scream as a stunt is falling and they want you to keep it in the air.
Partner stunt- when one single base lifts one single flyer
Beast mode- as in beast mode activated; typically when two girls participate in a partner stunt or when an unexpected tumblr pulls out an amazing pass.
Full out- did you mean death?
“Lets work on the dance”- the biggest sigh of relief you will ever hear
Ride- when you pull your arms and shoulders up while flying up in a basket toss
Cupie- when the flyer’s feet are right next to each other in a stunt; flyer usually goes to cupie when sponging
8 Count man- what we hear when we fall asleep
*ding ding ttthhhrrrr*- girl you know that was just a kick double
Flexi- short for flexible; also see: Gabi Butler; Kelcie Burch
Hand- short for back handspring
Toe- toe touch, as in “toe hand tuck”
Whip full whip double- eddie will be calling you for smoed
USAFS- the devil of the cheer world
Basket toss- are you read to bruise your wrists?
Pike jump- you better have flexible calves
Toe touch- jump where the cheerleader splits their legs wide open to each side; where i most commonly say “i hope i didnt unexpectedly get my period
