Cheerleading Glossary

A backward tumbling skill passing through the hands to the feet. The building block that separates the lower levels from the upper ones.

The athlete behind a stunt, responsible for the top person's head and shoulders on the way down. Counts toward the stunt group but does not lift from underneath.

An athlete supporting a top person from the floor. Most stunts have two, and their timing decides whether a skill looks controlled or rescued.

A release skill where bases throw the top person from interlocked wrists. Height, shape in the air and the catch are all judged, and the legality of the entry is checked separately.

An invitation to a championship — most often Worlds — earned by placing at a qualifying event rather than by entering directly.

The stunt and pyramid half of a routine, as opposed to tumbling. Usually the largest single block of points on the scoresheet.

The catch position at the end of a release, the top person caught face-up across the bases' arms. A cradle that collapses is an execution fault; a cradle without the required catchers is a legality issue.

The sideline function the sport is named after — leading a crowd with signs, poms and voice. Judged in cheer divisions and absent from performance cheer.

Points removed for something that went wrong: a fall, a bobble, a missed timing. Deductions come off the earned score and are itemised so a coach can see what happened.

What the routine is worth on paper — the level of skills attempted, before any judgement of how well they went. The counterweight to execution.

How a top person comes down from a stunt. Every level restricts which dismounts are allowed, which is why a legal skill in one division is illegal in another.

The competitive category: age band, team size, level and style. A team competes against its own division, so the division defines what the result actually means.

A stunt with the top person's feet at the bases' chest height, hands under the feet. The waypoint between the floor and an extension.

How well the attempted skills were performed — synchronisation, control, technique, landing. High difficulty with poor execution loses to clean, easier work more often than teams expect.

A stunt with the bases' arms locked overhead and the top person standing on their hands. The reference two-leg stunt of the upper levels.

The athlete lifted in a stunt, also called the top person. Rulebooks say top person because the role is defined by position, not by body type.

A full twisting rotation, added to a tumbling pass or a dismount. Counts as a distinct skill on the scoresheet, not as decoration.

A stunt performed by a set group of athletes, often competed as its own event separate from the team routine.

A pyramid or stunt combining different body positions across connected groups. Scored on how many groups are involved and what each is doing.

International All Star Federation — the body behind the all-star Worlds and the level system used by all-star clubs worldwide.

International Cheer Union — the international federation recognised by the IOC, running world championships along national-team lines rather than club lines.

A jump skill performed from standing, such as a toe touch. Judged as a block: height, timing across the team, and the shape at the peak.

A tumbling skill rotating with the body straight rather than tucked. The straight shape is what raises its value over a tuck.

Whether a skill is permitted at the team's level, not whether it was done well. An illegal skill is a rules breach and can cost far more than a fall.

The official who rules on whether skills are permitted. They are not scoring judges — the two roles are separate, with separate appeal routes, and running them together is a structural error.

The skill tier a team competes at, from the entry levels to the elite ones. The level defines the legal skill set, so a routine is not simply harder at a higher level — it is a different rulebook.

A one-legged stunt with the free leg bent up. The base position from which most one-leg variations are built.

The set arm positions used in cheer and pom work. Judged on sharpness and on how closely the team matches, which is why they look drilled.

A stunt with a single base and a top person, sometimes with a backspot. Competed as its own event in some rulebooks.

The dance side of the sport — pom, hip hop and jazz divisions with no stunting or tumbling. Judged on choreography, technique and synchronisation.

Both the equipment and a performance cheer division built on sharp synchronised motion work with poms in hand.

Connected stunts forming a single structure. Rules on how many groups may connect, and at what height, are among the strictest in the sport.

The entry skill that turns forward running momentum into backward rotation. Almost every running tumbling pass starts with one.

The competed performance, usually two and a half minutes, combining building, tumbling, jumps and performance. It is the unit that gets a score.

Tumbling entered from a run, so with momentum. Scored separately from standing tumbling because the two ask for different things.

The official watching for unsafe execution as distinct from illegal skills. Some rulebooks fold this into legality; keeping them apart is what lets an appeal be about one thing.

The rubric the routine is scored against, published in advance. It defines every category and its weight, so a coach can build a routine toward it deliberately.

An athlete positioned to protect a top person without contributing to the lift. Certain skills are legal only with a spotter present.

Tumbling started from a stationary position, without a run. Harder than it looks from the stands, because there is no momentum to borrow.

The reference jump: legs out to the sides, arms in a T, toes toward the hands. Judged on height, hip rotation and how well the team hits it together.

A rotation with the knees pulled to the chest. The entry-level shape for salto skills and the base of the layout and full progression.

The gymnastics half of a routine — the passes performed on the floor. Split into standing and running on almost every scoresheet.

US All Star Federation — the body whose rules most all-star clubs follow. Its published tie procedure numbers places densely, so two teams tied for second are followed by third, not fourth.

The all-star world championship, entered by bid rather than by open registration. The bid system is why a regional result can matter more than it looks.