Cheer terms & scoring glossary

An athlete who stays on the ground and supports, lifts, and tosses the flyer in a stunt. Most stunts use two bases (a main base and a secondary base) working together.

The athlete lifted into the air in a stunt. Flyers need strength, balance, and flexibility — they hold body positions like a heel stretch or scorpion while elevated.

The athlete behind a stunt responsible for the flyer’s safety — controlling the load-in, protecting the head and neck on a fall, and helping lift and catch. Often the tallest or most experienced in the group.

An extra athlete at the front of a stunt who adds support and stability, common in lower levels or heavier stunts.

The set of athletes — typically two bases, a backspot, and a flyer — who build one stunt together. A team is made up of several stunt groups.

Any skill where bases lift a flyer off the ground. Ranges from a simple prep to elite one-legged extended skills, and is one of the most heavily scored sections of a routine.

A stunt held at shoulder (chin) height — the flyer’s feet are roughly level with the bases’ shoulders. The foundational stunt height and the ceiling for Level 1 building.

A two-legged stunt where bases fully extend their arms to hold the flyer at arm’s length overhead. A step above prep height.

A one-legged stunt where the flyer stands on one leg with the other bent, knee up. The base position for many single-leg body positions.

A flyer body position: standing on one leg while holding the other leg extended out to the side near head height, gripping the heel. A common single-leg skill.

Flexibility-based flyer body positions. A scorpion pulls the free leg up behind the back; a bow and arrow pulls it to the side by the foot; a scale extends it behind in an arabesque line.

A stunt where both of the flyer’s feet are held together in one hand of each base (or one base), fully extended. A crowd-pleasing display of control.

A toss where bases interlock hands to launch the flyer high into the air to perform a skill (a toe touch, twist, or kick) before being caught in a cradle. Scored on the difficulty of the skill thrown.

The catch position at the end of a toss or dismount, where bases catch the flyer in a face-up, cradled position across their arms.

The setup movement that gets the flyer into the bases’ hands before a stunt or toss goes up. A clean, synchronized load-in sets up the whole skill.

The controlled way a flyer comes down from a stunt — a cradle, a twist down, or a step down. Illegal or uncontrolled dismounts draw deductions.

A connected structure where multiple stunt groups link together — flyers braced by or connected to each other. Scored separately from individual stunts, with its own legality rules by level.

A dismount in which the flyer performs a full 360° twist while coming down to the cradle. A hallmark higher-level dismount.

Tumbling performed from a standing start with no running approach — for example a standing back handspring or standing tuck. Generally harder for its level than running tumbling.

Tumbling performed out of a running approach and a round-off — for example a round-off back handspring layout. Judged on the difficulty of the pass and how many athletes tumble.

A cartwheel-like entry skill that converts forward running momentum into backward power, setting up back handsprings and other passes. The launch point of most running tumbling.

A backward hand-supported flip through a bridge position onto the feet. Nicknamed a “back handspring” or “flip-flop,” it first becomes legal at Level 2 and anchors most tumbling passes.

A backflip with the knees pulled into the chest, no hands touching the ground. A standing tuck (Level 4) and a round-off back-handspring tuck (Level 3) are common milestones.

A backflip performed with a straight, hollow body and no hands — harder than a tuck because there’s no tuck to generate rotation. A Level 4 hallmark.

A layout with a full 360° twist (a “full-twisting layout”). The signature Level 5 tumbling skill; doubles and beyond appear at the Worlds levels.

A no-handed cartwheel or walkover — the skill is performed in the air without the hands touching the floor. Appears around Level 3.

A front or back bend-through skill where the body passes through a bridge with the hands on the floor, one leg leading. A foundational Level 1 skill.

A connected sequence of tumbling skills performed in one continuous run — for example “round-off, back handspring, full.” Judges score the hardest skill in the pass and how cleanly it connects.

The signature cheer jump: legs extended straight out to the sides in a straddle (despite the name, the hands don’t touch the toes). Scored on height, form, and how synchronized the team is.

A jump with both legs extended straight out to the front, together, with the body folding toward them. Rewards flexibility and height.

A jump with one leg extended straight (front or side) and the other bent. A front hurdler and side hurdler are common variations.

A classic jump with one leg straight out to the side and the other bent toward the ground, named for cheer pioneer Lawrence Herkimer.

The part of a routine where the whole team performs synchronized jumps, often in a connected series. Uniformity and height across the team drive the score.

Team composition divisions. All-girl teams have all female athletes; coed teams include male athletes, whose basing changes what building skills are legal. USASF writes separate building rules for each.

An athlete who competes on more than one team at the same event. Common and legal within limits — the athlete must be age-eligible for every division, and event producers cap crossovers and charge a per-athlete fee.

A complete run-through of the routine at competition intensity — every stunt, tumbling pass, and jump, full effort. The core unit of competition-season practice.

How cheer choreography is timed and taught — routines are broken into sets of eight counts synced to the music. Coaches and athletes reference skills by their count.

The competition surface — a floor with springs or foam underneath that gives tumbling and stunts a safe rebound. Distinct from a dead (hard) floor used for sideline cheer.

The competitive category a team enters, combining an age band and a level — for example “Junior 2” or “Senior 4.” Age comes from the age grid; level comes from skill difficulty.

Cheer performed to lead a crowd at a sporting event — chants, signs, and crowd engagement — as opposed to the choreographed competitive routine judged on a scoresheet.

USASF's chart mapping each athlete's birth year to an age division (Youth, Junior, Senior, etc.) and eligible levels. Published annually. Used by all USASF-sanctioned all-star events. Different systems (Pop Warner/YCADA, NFHS) have their own age rules.

An invitation to The Cheerleading Worlds awarded by IASF to deserving teams that didn't earn a Paid Bid at a qualifying event. Applied for after the event season. Not guaranteed — IASF selects from a pool.

An invitation to a major end-of-season championship (The Worlds, Summit, NCA, etc.) earned by placing well at a qualifying event during the season. Two types: Paid Bid (gym pays entry) and At-Large Bid (applied for, competitive).

A scoring method used at multi-round events where a team's preliminary score is reset for finals. Each round is scored independently; the final placement is determined solely by the finals score. Prevents teams from "hiding" behind a strong prelim score.

Opposite of comparative: a team's scores across rounds are added together. A great prelim score carries forward. Less common at top-tier events but used at some regional competitions.

Points removed from a team's score for rule violations — most commonly safety violations (illegal skills, improper mats, athletes out of bounds), falls, and time or boundary errors. Deductions are applied after judges submit their raw scores.

In United Scoring, the element within a skill that determines its difficulty value. For a basket toss, the driver is the catching configuration. Judges score based on the driver element, not the wind-up or approach.

USASF's non-traditional competitive division for athletes ages 18+. Allows combining skills from different levels and is designed for adult recreational athletes. Not eligible for Worlds bids.

Competition division for athletes with disabilities (IEP = Individualized Education Program). Offered by USASF, AYC, and others. Rules modified for accessibility and safety. Growing tier at national events.

Separate panel of judges at major events who specifically watch for illegal skills (skills prohibited at a given level). A skill flagged by the legality panel results in a deduction separate from the main judges' scores.

USASF's skill-progression system for all-star cheer. L1 is the entry level (no back handsprings, limited stunts). L7 is the highest (elite skills, advanced pyramids, full-up transitions). Each level has a USASF rules document defining legal vs. illegal skills.

Maximum possible score a team can receive in a given scoring category. In United Scoring, each section has a defined MAX. Judges work down from MAX, deducting for errors and performance deficiencies.

In United Scoring, the tier a team performs at within a category. MOST is the top earned mark for an element (not necessarily perfect); judges decide whether a team is at MOST, MIDDLE, or LESS than the expected standard.

National Cheerleaders Association / National Dance Association — event producers (owned by Varsity Spirit) running high school, college, and open competitions. NCA All-Star Nationals is held in Dallas. Different from NCA/NDA camps.

National Federation of State High School Associations. Publishes the NFHS Spirit Rules Book governing US high school cheer. Partners with USA Cheer. Each state adds its own rules supplement on top of NFHS.

Open Championship Series — an independent all-star scoring system and event circuit used at non-Varsity events and the AllStar World Championship. Uses weighted national rankings so teams on different panels can be compared.

An invitation to The Cheerleading Worlds earned by placing at the top at an IASF-sanctioned qualifying event, carrying financial coverage toward championship costs. The most coveted achievement in all-star cheer.

In United Scoring, a measure of how consistently a team performs throughout the routine versus front-loading or tailing off in difficulty or quality. Judges reward routines that maintain or build pace.

In United Scoring, a chart that defines how many of a given skill type must appear in a routine for a team to receive credit at each value tier. Example: a team must hit a set number of elite tosses to earn the MOST score for tosses.

In United Scoring, the spread of possible scores within a judging category — the difference between a MOST and a LESS score. Larger ranges appear in high-weight categories. Understanding range helps coaches prioritize which elements have the most scoring impact.

All-star routines are 2 minutes 30 seconds maximum. Any skill in progress when the music stops is not counted; skills started after time expires result in a deduction. The clock starts with the first note of music or first team movement.

Varsity Spirit's end-of-season championship for Level 1–5 all-star teams, held in Orlando in early May. Requires a bid. Often called the "Worlds for Levels 1–5." Separate from The Cheerleading Worlds (Levels 6–7).

Universal Cheerleaders Association / Universal Dance Association — event producers (owned by Varsity Spirit) running summer camps and competitions. UCA Nationals at Walt Disney World is one of the most televised school cheer events.

The scoring system used at Varsity Spirit all-star events, organized into Performance, Execution, and Difficulty sections with defined ranges, MAXes, and quantity charts. Its Level Appropriate documents define what skills count for each level.

U.S. All Star Federation — the national governing body for all-star cheerleading. Publishes the rules book, age grid, level definitions, and coach/judge certification programs. Works with IASF on international events.

Youth Cheerleading and Dance Association. Publishes the scoring packets used at Pop Warner-affiliated and Non-Affiliated (NA) recreational cheer events. New packets effective June 1 each year. Separate from USASF.

A specific USASF sub-level between Level 4 and Level 5. Often called "Level 5 Prep" informally. Created to give teams a stepping stone toward certain Level 5 skills without the full Level 5 package. Has its own rules document.