CHEERDANCE

Definition

Cheerdance

The word “cheerdance” is coined with the words “cheer” and “dance”. To
cheer is to shout out words or phrases that may help motivate and boost the morale of
a playing team and perform better during a game. Dance, on the other hand, is a
physical activity where one expresses emotions or gestures while performing bodily
movements usually in time with rhythm.

Cheerleading

Cheerleading is the performance of a routine, usually dominated by gymnastic

skills such as jumps, tumbling skills, lifts and tosses combined with shouting of
cheers and yells to lead the crowd to cheer for a certain team during a game or sport,
to entertain audience or for competition. It can range from chanting slogans to intense
physical activity.

Difference between Cheerdance and Cheerleading

 Cheerdancing is rooted from cheerleading.

 Cheerleading originally emerged in United Stated and Philippines developed
cheerdancing.
 Cheerdancing is also a dance portion in cheerleading.
 Cheerleading has more sharp, precised, and strict movements unlike
cheerdancing.
 Cheerdancing is more graceful and free unlike cheerleading.
 Cheerleading has more difficult aspects than cheerdancing.
 Cheerleading often comes with a chant, cheer, or shouted slogans.
 Cheerdancing often comes with a music or rhythm.

History

Before this well-known definition of cheerleading as a sport, cheerleading

originated as a venue for promoting school spirit. This sport originally emerged in the United
States in 19th century before spreading into various parts of the globe. It was originally all-
male, until women were allowed to come in starting in the 1920s.
 Johnny Campbell, an undergraduate of University of Minnesota, encouraged the
crowd to chant and yell to encourage their team. His famous "Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-u-mah,
Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Varsity, Minn-e-So-Tah!” made him the very first
cheerleader or “yell-leader”. Soon after, yell-leader squad of six male students was organized,
a practice that gained currency at numerous other universities in America.

In the 1920s, drums and noisemakers were used by the yell leaders. Moreover, for
the first few decades of its history, cheerleading was an all-male activity, but by this time,
women also became active. Nowadays more than 90% of America's cheerleading participants
are female, though guys still make up half of the yell squads at the college level. It was also
during this time when cheerleaders began to incorporate gymnastics and tumbling into their
cheers and the first flash-card cheering section was directed by Lindley Bothwell at Oregon
State University.

In the 1930s, universities and high schools began performing pom-pon routines
and using paper poms.

In the early 1940's, when men went to war, women not only went to work, but
also on to cheerleading squads. Cheerleading then became more as a female sport. Women
were revitalizing the spirit when it was needed. When the men returned from war, new twists
and turns were added. Gymnastics were always done by men, while the girls danced. This
gave rise to dance teams.

In 1948, Laurence "Hurkie" Hurkimer (founder of the spirit industry) formed the
National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) as a way to hold cheerleading clinics) He
organized the first cheerleader camp, held in Huntsville, TX, which drew 52 girls and one
boy.

In the 1950s, as collegiate sports grew in popularity, so did cheerleading.

Cheerleaders were a common sight on the basketball court as well as the football field.

In the 1960s, the cheerleaders began using pom poms, as its most widely
recognized prop at present. Though early crepe pom poms were first introduced in the 1930s,
it was in 1965 where the modern vinyl pom was invented by Fred Gastoff.

In the 1970s, cheerleading was building up an unstoppable momentum. In

addition to cheering for the traditional football and basketball teams, cheerleaders began
supporting all school sports, sometimes selecting several different squads to cheer for
wrestling, track and swimming. It was during this period when the first nation-wide television
broadcast of the Collegiate Cheerleading Championships by the International Cheerleading
Foundation was seen. In 1976, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders performed at Super Bowl X
and started an evolution of "dancing cheerleaders." In addition to this, high school and
collegiate cheerleading competitions began during this period.

In the 1980s, cheerleading competitions, organized by the National Cheerleaders

Association and other groups, started to grow in popularity. For the first time, teams got off
the sidelines and took center stage, facing off against like-minded teams from all over the
U.S.

Over time, the stunts and tricks that make up the cheerleading repertoire have
grown increasingly elaborate and adventuresome; leading many to worry that the sport has
become too dangerous. Hence, universal standards were set and safety guidelines outlawed
many dangerous tumbling moves and pyramids.

At present, the sport has spread from the U.S. to many other countries, making its
way to our country, the Philippines.

Cheerleading in the Philippines

Cheerleading in the Philippines officially emerged in 1993 when the Cheerleading

Philippines Federation (CPF) was officially founded. The CPF is the “is the national
confederation of Cheerleading organizations. It is the national governing body of
Cheerleading and Cheer Dance in the country. Its primary activities are organized
through standing Commissions that are each responsible for some aspect of the sport's
development in the country. The CPF is mandated to sponsor and sanction
cheerleading & cheer dance competitions and a variety of national and international
cheerleading competitions, including the Cheerleading World Championships, the
Asia Cup, the IFC World Cup.”

Cheerleading in the Philippines has three major competitions. These three

competitions are the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP)
Cheerdance Competition, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
Cheerleading Competition and the National Cheerleading Championships (NCC).

The UAAP Cheerdance Competition, founded in 1994, is an annual one-day event

of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines for cheerleading, usually
 held at the Araneta Coliseum. The participating schools of this competition are
Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), De La Salle
University (DLSU), Far Eastern University (FEU), National University (NU),
University of the East (UE) and University of the Philippines (UP).

The NCAA Cheerleading Competition, previously known as NCAA Cheerdance

Competition is an annual one-day event of the National Collegiate Athletic
Association for cheerleading, which was recently founded in 2004. The event was
sanctioned by Cheerleading Philippines Federation (CPF) and thus adopted the
official scoring criteria used in international cheerleading. The participating schools
of this competition are Arellano University (AU), Colegio de San Juan de Letran
(CSJL), De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), Emilio Aguinaldo
College (EAC), Jose Rizal University (JRU), Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT),
San Beda College (SBC), San Sebastian College - Recoletos (SSC-R) and University
of Perpetual Help System Dalta (UPHSD).

The National Cheerleading Chamionship (NCC) was recently founded in 2006.

The competition first started small, with 10 teams and divisions: high school and
college. By 2008, 29 teams participated in the NCC, which featured squads from
around the country; thus making NCC the first and only true National Cheerleading
Organization in the Philippines. Just like the NCAA, the NCC uses the official
scoring criteria used in international cheerleading.

Essentials of Cheerdance

 Arms/Hands Movements
 L

 Legs/Feet Positions

Feet Together, Feet Apart Dig (Left, Right) Side Dig (Left, Right)

Hitch (Left, Right) Liberty (Left, Right) Scale (Left, Right)

Front Lunges (Left, Right) Side Lunges (Left, Right) Knees

Knees (Side Hitch)

 Knees (Front Lunges) Knees (Diagonals)

Benefits of Cheerdancing/Cheerleading
1. Maintain a healthy level of fitness
Cheering the team to victory as well as staying healthy and physically fit are some
examples of how cheerleading helps boost self-esteem and gives you a healthy life style.
Doing a physical activity is the best way of keeping fit, healthy and inspired. Cheerleading
also gives you the opportunity to meet people and build relationships with your team mates.
2. Strength Training
In Cheerleading there are a range of roles that different members of the squad carry
out but whether you are a base, a backspot or a flyer, physical strength is probably the most
important element of cheerleading. Bases and backspots lift and support the bottom of a stunt
or pyramid sequence, which involves strength, focus and balance. Flyers must work with the
bases to get into the air and they also require balance and control of their bodies during any
move. Many cheer teams carry out strength training and conditioning exercises regularly to
build the muscles needed to perform stunt sequences, tumbling passes and jumps. Over a
period of time these moves will build powerful muscles in the lower body, shoulders and
core.
3. Coordination
Like dancing, cheerleading teaches coordination through cheers, dancing and stunt
sequences. Most cheers and dances follow emphasised rhythms or counts, which help
cheerleaders learn to perform the actual steps and more importantly they learn how to keep in
time with each other! Coordination is also a key factor when performing the stunt sequences,
as the flyers need to be thrown on certain counts otherwise the stunt will fail.
4. Flexibility
Cheerleaders are well-known for their flexibility, which is seen when performing high
kicks, jumps, splits and stunt sequences. Stretching and body conditioning are two elements
of cheerleading practice that build flexibility in the limbs. Also for safety reasons having
flexible ligaments and muscles, help prevent muscle strains and other injuries involved with
tumbling, jumping and dancing. To avoid injury, every cheerleader must always stretch
before and after practice, games and performances, this will also improve and maintain
flexibility.
5. Improves Posture
Having good posture is important in every day life not just for sport and dancing.
Most cheerleading workouts require lots of mobility and flexibility that exercise all areas of
the back, especially the lower back. These moves strengthen the spine and improve the way
individuals stand and walk.
6. Team Building
 Cheerleading is a fantastic way of connecting a group of people together and it also
promotes team building in a positive way. Every member is important and there should never
be any favouritism, because at the end of the day the flyers cannot fly without their bases and
visa versa. Being part of a cheerleading squad will give you brilliant team building skills and
you will be able to carry these skills with you throughout your working life. Being a good
member of a team is a very valuable trait to have as a person and cheerleading is one of the
best ways to practise these skills.
7. Improves Confidence
Having confidence will make you feel good and it is part of having belief in yourself.
Confidence comes from within and will give you that extra boost when dealing with every
day things. If you play a sport or do an activity such as dancing or cheerleading, these
activities can automatically give you confidence and will keep you fit and healthy. Having
supportive team mates will give you the confidence and drive to reach your personal goals.
When you are feeling happy and confident, it will rub off on the people around you. With
those positive vibes you will know that you can do and achieve anything.
8. Learn to take Direction
Listening to your instructor is extremely important within Cheerleading, as it teaches
you to pay attention and for safety reasons also. Throughout your cheer training you will
learn to do a range of different jumps and lifts, which when done without the correct
supervision can be very dangerous. Your instructor has got the experience and knowledge to
safely coach you on these moves, so listening to them and giving them your full attention at
all times is a must! Listening and concentrating is also a great skill to have throughout your
life and you will be noticed for having a good work attitude.
9. Set yourself goals
Anything is possible in life and by setting goals for yourself, you will be able to keep
track on the progress of your achievements. The feeling when you have achieved a goal is
truly amazing and you will be so proud of yourself! Cheerleading is the perfect way of giving
yourself a challenge and will physically and mentally benefit you in your future.
10. Build relationships with fellow team members
Cheerleading not only forms relationships among the members of the team, but it also
helps bring the families of team members together. Through the ups and downs of winning
and losing, practice time and travelling to and from competitions; cheerleading helps team
members bond and form friendships as well as building a school spirit and a sense of
community in their lives.