WHAT IS CHEERLEADING?
All Star Cheerleading is a combination of gymnastics style tumbling, dance, jumps and stunting (one or more ‘bases’ lifting a ‘flyer’ into the air), all combined into one 2 minute 30 second routine!
Routines are scored based on a predetermined rubric of skills and routine creativity. There are seven official levels in cheerleading, and MCA offers each of these, including the Novice program (beginner Level 1) and also CheerSport, a more recreational version of All Star Cheer, with slightly different rules and requirements for competitions.
WHAT IT’S NOT…
There’s a lot of common misconceptions about what cheerleading is. We often hear things like:
What team do you cheer for?
Where are your pom poms?
Cheerleading isn’t a real sport.
All Star cheer is very different from what many people think of when they hear the word ‘cheerleading’. We don’t use pom poms or chant, and our routines are much more like that of gymnastics or dance, not supporting another sports team. And to those who say that cheerleading isn’t a sport, we will see you at the olympics in a few years time!
BENEFITS
There are a multitude of documented benefits of team sports as well as activities like cheerleading in general, including but not limited to:
MAKE NEW FRIENDS
Cheerleading is a great way to meet new people! Teams are made up of athletes from a variety of different backgrounds and age ranges, giving athletes the opportunity to befriend and interact with people both older and younger than themselves, and make lifelong friends.
GET FIT
Cheerleading training includes cardio, strength and flexibility – although most of the time you’re having so much fun you don’t even realise you’re exercising! Plus, you don’t need any previous experience or baseline strength/flexibility to join CheerSport or Novice, we will teach you everything you need to know.
WORK AS A TEAM
Team sports have so many benefits! Athletes develop important life skills like communication, respect and patience, as well as sportsmanship and resilience. In cheerleading, every single team member plays an important role and is vital to the success of the routine.
BUILD CONFIDENCE
Cheerleading also has an individual skill aspect, elements such as tumbling, jumps, strength and flexibility all something athletes can develop at their own pace. Athletes build self confidence through the mastery of new tricks or skills, and with the opportunity to perform to an audience at events and competitions!
GO FURTHER
There are so many opportunities for athletes within our sport! Moving through the levels, team captaincy, our Coach-In-Training program, even interstate or international team trips, all the way through to representing Australia at a global level – and these are not just limited to our highest level athletes.
MAKE NEW FRIENDS
Cheerleading is a great way to meet new people! Teams are made up of athletes from a variety of different backgrounds and age ranges, giving athletes the opportunity to befriend and interact with people both older and younger than themselves, and make lifelong friends.
GET FIT
Cheerleading training includes cardio, strength and flexibility – although most of the time you’re having so much fun you don’t even realise you’re exercising! Plus, you don’t need any previous experience or baseline strength/flexibility to join CheerSport or Novice, we will teach you everything you need to know.
WORK AS A TEAM
Team sports have so many benefits! Athletes develop important life skills like communication, respect and patience, as well as sportsmanship and resilience. In cheerleading, every single team member plays an important role and is vital to the success of the routine.
BUILD CONFIDENCE
Cheerleading also has an individual skill aspect, elements such as tumbling, jumps, strength and flexibility all something athletes can develop at their own pace. Athletes build self confidence through the mastery of new tricks or skills, and with the opportunity to perform to an audience at events and competitions!
GO FURTHER
There are so many opportunities for athletes within our sport! Moving through the levels, team captaincy, our Coach-In-Training program, even interstate or international team trips, all the way through to representing Australia at a global level – and these are not just limited to our highest level athletes.
SO WHAT DO CHEERLEADERS DO?
TUMBLING
Cheerleading tumbling is very similar to what you might see in gymnastics. Athletes propel themselves across the floor doing skills like rolls, flips and saults – often in combination with other skills!
Tumbling tends to progress faster in cheerleading than in gymnastics, as whilst we have a similar focus on technical perfection and safety, there is less overall skills and variations to master per level.
JUMPS
The jumps section of a cheerleading routine is very specific to the sport, and requires a team to complete a combination of specific jump skills in unison.
Whilst similar to dance or even some gymnastic skills, cheerleading jumps require distinct power and force as well as technical precision to complete to a high standard.
DANCE
Every All Star cheerleading routine features a ‘dance break’ – typically 32 counts of fast paced, high energy moves. The choreography in these sections borrows elements from hip hop, traditional pom-style cheerleading, as well as the many other elements within a cheerleading routine.
STUNTS
Stunting is the most unique aspect of All Star cheerleading. Within a stunt, one or more bases will lift or throw a ‘flyer’ into the air, with a variety of heights, tricks and variations depending on the team level. This requires significant trust between teammates, as well as working as a team!
PYRAMID
A pyramid in cheerleading is essentially multiple stunt groups working together or connected to form one large stunt. The pyramid section usually requires every team member to be actively involved to be successful, and is always very exciting to watch.