| | Bases - Cheerleaders that stay on the ground providing the primary support for the flyer during a stunt. Bases should be watching the flyer at all times in the case of a mishap. Also, bases should keep eye contact with each other at all times, so they have an understanding on what to do next. Bases can be male or female, but they are usually the strongest athletes on the squad. The bases are usually two females or one male. No talking should be happening during a stunt, except for the backspot's counts. |
| | Main Base - The term main base only applies when doing a one-legged stunt. This base has the majority of the flyer's foot, and the majority of her weight. The main base will be almost directly under the stunt until it is cradled or brought down. In a one leg extension stunt, the main base will lift the toe and heel of the foot to increase stability from moving forwards or backwards. With single base extensions the main base with grip onto the heel of the flyers foot having a nice and stable transition. |
| | Side Base - The term side base only applies when doing a one-legged stunt. The side bases help lift the flyer up into the air and support an equal amount of weight as the main base. The hand position for the side base can vary depending on preference. The more common placement is to have one hand under the middle of the foot and the other hand on top of the foot for stability. Another common option is to have one hand under the middle of the foot and the other hand pushing up on the wrist of the main base to lift from underneath. The side base's hand positioning functions to lift and to stabilize the flyer's foot from shifting from side to side. |
| | Flyer - This is the person that is in the air during a stunt. The flyer must control their own weight by keeping their abdominal muscles tight to stabilize the spinal column while in the air. If they don't stay tight, there is a greater risk of them becoming off of their center of balance and falling. They must keep a steady focus on what they are doing. A strong core and good sense of balance are key qualities for a flyer to possess. Flyers should be extremely flexible and have a slender muscular body. Flyers are typically the shortest and smallest people on the team, but other members can act as a flyer depending on their exceptional abilities. |
| | Back Spot (Back Base or Third in some regions) - This is the person standing behind the stunt. They help to position the flyer in the bases hands. They do so by using their hands to support the flyer's waist, and then push her up into the air. Once in the air, they will hold the flyer's ankles, providing support. When the flyer cradles, they catch her under the arms. If the flyer falls backwards, it is crucial for the back spot to attempt to catch the head and shoulders to prevent head/spinal injury. Because of the back spot's responsibilities, they are generally the tallest members of the team. |
| | Front Spot - This is the person standing in front of the stunt facing the backspot preventing the flyer from falling forward. The front spot often provides extra support to wrists of the bases in higher stunts such as extensions. The front spot has somewhat of the job of the back spot. Though the front spot is there, a flyer should never fall forward, rather backwards. There is not always a front spot in a stunt, and many squads only use front spots for basket tosses because it helps to throw straight upwards. Front spots are typically the smaller members of the squad, who have not been trained or are not flexible enough to fly, and are also not at the right height to side or back |
| | Additional (hands-off) Spotter - This person does not actually touch the stunt unless something goes wrong. The free standing spot can stand behind, in front, or beside the stunt. Eyes stay on the stunt at all times even though the stunt is not touched unless the flyer is falling. This position is sometimes called a general spot. |
| | X Jump/Spread Eagle - You simply prep, swing, and jump with your arms in a high V and your legs spread apart. Just jump off the ground and it will look like an X. This jump is generally used to practice group timing and snapping legs down from a jump. |
| | Pencil/T/Straight Jump - This jump is probably the most simple jump. It involves jumping completely straight with your arms in T-motion or in a point above your head. This jump is usually the first you would learn. Mainly used for correcting the body position for the main jumps. |
| | Toe-Touch - In this jump, the legs are straddled and straight, parallel to the ground, toes pointed, knees are back, and your hands are in daggers and arms are straight in front of you. Despite its name, you do not touch your toes during a toe touch, you reach out farther in front of your legs. keep your back straight and bring your legs up to you. This is the most common jump. |
| | Tuck - A jump in which the cheerleader uses stomach muscles to pull the legs up with thighs as close to the chest as possible, knees facing upward as if in a tucked position. |
| | Hurdler - The straight leg is either forward (a front hurdler) with arms in a touchdown, or out to the side (a side hurdler) with arms in a T. The bent knee faces the crowd in a side hurdler and the ground in a front hurdler. |
| | Right hurdler - a right hurdler is basically the same as a hurdler you're just facing the right, and the same with left side. |
| | Pike - This jump is among the most difficult of jumps. Both legs are straight out, knees locked. Arms are in a touchdown motion out in front to create a folded position in the air, this motion is also called "candlesticks". This is often performed at a ninety-degree angle to the audience in order to show off the air position. |
| | Around the World - The Around the World, or the pike-out, is a jump where the performer hits a pike and then whips his or her legs quickly back around into a toe touch. This jump is regarded as difficult to accomplish, because two positions must be reached in the very short time while the jumper is in the air. Not commonly used. |
| | Herkie - Named for Lawrence R. Herkimer, the founder of the National Cheerleader's Association, this jump is similar to a side-hurdler, except that instead of both arms being in a "T" motion, both arms are opposite of what the leg beneath them is doing. Example of this would be the straight arm would be on the side of the bent leg, and the bent arm is on the side of the straight leg. One other variation of this includes the bent leg is pointing straight down, instead of out like the side-hurdler. The jump is speculated to have been invented because Herkie was not able to do an actual side-hurdler. |
| | Left Side: the leg to the audience is tucked in while the other is out. Right side: same as left also turn the left/right while approaching the jump |
| | Double Nine - A jump similar to a pike except one leg and one arm are bent in to form two "nines". |
| | Double Hook - A jump where the legs are in the "cheer sit" position. |
| | Double Jump - This is the name for when one performs any jump twice in a row. |
| | Power Jump - A jump where there is no swinging of the arms in preparation for the jump. All the power for the jump comes from the legs. This jump is also known as a "Dip Jump." |
| | Toe Touch basket toss - During the basket toss, when the flyer is thrown into the air she stays in the "pencil" position. once starting to fall, she does the toetouch jump, quickly pops back into pencil, and then into the cradle. |
| | Pretty Girl/Show off basket toss - When in the air, the flyer will do her legs like in a lib[erty] and put one hand on her waist and one behind her head, laying down. |
| | Kick twist basket toss - At the height of the basket before falling, the flyer will kick one leg up then twist her body into a cradle. The flyer may twist up to two times. |
| | Pretty Girl Kick Twist basket toss - During the ride the flyer does the pretty girl and at the height of the basket performs the kick twist. |
| | Tuck basket toss - while in the air the flyer will perform a tuck (front or back) then pop into cradle. |
| | X-out basket toss/X-Full - same as tuck basket toss, but while upside down in the tuck the flyer will perform the jump "spread eagle" which will make the body look like a X. |
| | Pike basket toss - same as toetouch basket toss but the flyer will perform a pike. |
| | Star basket toss - in the air, once starting to fall, the flyer will put a leg up like in a scale, and the other will be straight facing diagonally downward. the hands will be in a high V, then she'll pop back into pencil. In some variations, the flyer will spin while in the Star jump. |
| | Ball Up - The bases launch the flier in the air. She stays in a ball until she hits her peak, and stands up in a one leg extension. These are commonly followed by a tick tock. |
| | Launch - Almost like a basket toss except hands are in formation of a prep or extension. |
| | Pop Cradle or Cradle Down - Dismount from a stunt in which the base/bases toss the flyer straight up from a stationary stunt then catch the flyer in a seated position pike position. |
| | Dismount - A way to return the flyer to the floor or complete a stunt. |
| | Squish (or Sponge) - Two bases will each hold a different foot of a flyer at their waist level. The flyer is squatted down so the flyer is not taller than the bases. This is how the flyer loads in to the stunt, before jumping and pushing off the bases shoulders, and the bases drive their arms upwards and extend the flyer. |
| | Retake or Double Take - When a stunt is extended in the air, and then goes back down into a load-in position placing both feet in the bases hands, if previously in a one-footed stunt, and being pushed back upwards into another stunt. |
| | Show and Go - Two bases will each hold a different foot of a flyer and bring it up to a full extension. The flyer only stays up for two counts and returns back into a squish position. Also known as 'fake-outs' or 'flashes'. Depending on the stunt, the flyer can throw any number of tricks in a show and go. If loading in with both feet, most times the flyer will "show" a cupie, and after reloading, come back up to a cupie in either a prep or extension level. Another variation is the one-legged show and go, where a flyer starts as if in a one-legged stunt, and "shows" one leg kicked up to the heel stretch position (without grabbing the ankle or instep). As this variation is brought back down, the flyer brings in her leg from the flash and reloads in either a two or one legged sponge, "going" back up to prep or extension level. |
| | Tick-Tock - When a flyer switches the foot being stood on in mid air after being popped by bases. |
| | Full Down (Twist Cradle) - Variation on a pop cradle. It is a dismount from a stunt in which the base/bases toss the flyer straight up from a stationary stunt, the flyer does a 360 degree turn in the air, and then the bases catch her in a cradle position. Called a Single Down, Single, or Full Down in some Regions. |
| | Double Down (Double Twist Cradle) - Variation on a pop cradle. The same as a full twist cradle, but two 360 degree turns are completed before cradling. There are also increasing numbers of twist downs possible, often as many as five, witnessed especially when four males are basing a basket toss, however no more than two twists are allowed in competition at any level. |
| | Leap Frog or popcorn - Usually a transition where the bases "hop" top person over the backspots head and catch her in either a smush or cradle. |
| | Reload - A transition that connects two stunts when a flyer cradles out of the first stunt, and the bases dip and pop the flyer back into a load position. A similar stunt is a barrel roll. Sometimes called a 'cradle pop'. |
| | Barrel Roll - Seated in a pike position, (as if she had just cradled down) the bases toss the flyer, she lays flat and does a 360 degree spin in the air. |
| | Full up - A variation on the double take in which the flyer does a full turn in the air to the right in between stunts while staying in contact with the bases. Also called a 360 up in some regions. |
| | Double up - The more advanced version of the Full up where two complete 360 degree turns are made |
| | Rewind - An advanced stunt load where the flyer is tossed into the air by her base/bases, she then does a back tuck and brings her feet in contact with her base/bases |
| | Walk Down - A dismount where the flyer does a full turn to the left in a standing position while having her right foot in contact with the bases. |
| | Deadman - When the flyer falls backwards or forwards out of a stunt where 3 or 4 people catch the flyer and could possbly push the flyer back up to the bases hands.[4] |
| | Swedish Falls - Center bases face each other, legs shoulder width apart, arms straight and hands on each other's shoulders, a flyer stands behind each base, facing the bases' backs. Flyers place hands on bases' shoulders, each flyer has a second base. These bases squat in between the other base and the flyer. They hold the flyers' waists, third base holds the flyers upstage leg—one hand on her thigh and the other on her ankle. On 1, 2, down, up, the flyer bends her knees and jumps. The second and third bases lift the flyer up, fully extending their arms. The flyer's arms are also fully extended. The center bases have the flyers' weight on their shoulders. They support each other to maintain balance. Both flyers lift their downstage leg (the base is only holding the upstage leg). The second and third bases lower the flyer on the dismount. |
| | Prep or Extension Prep - (Also called an "elevator" "double-base" or "half" in some regions)[verification needed] A stunt in which flyer stands with one foot in the hands of each base held at shoulder level. The two bases, facing each other, hold the feet of the upright flyer at collar-bone level, so the flyer is standing about shoulder-width apart. The back spot holds the ankles of the flyer. |
| | Cupie or Awesome - The Cupie is almost identical to the Full Extension except that the flyer's feet are together, in one hand of a single base or with one foot each in the hands of two bases. In a partner stunt the difference between a cupie and an awesome has to do with what the male is doing with his free hand. If the free hand is on the hip then it is a cupie, if the free hand is in a high V then it's an awesome. |
| | Extension - Flyer stands with each foot in the hands of a base while her arms are in an extended overhead position. The back spot can either hold the ankles of the flyer, or support the wrists of the bases. In a single based stunt, the base will hold both of the flyer's feet above his/her head, with arms locked. |
| | Split-lift or Teddy Sit - The flier is in a seated straddle with one base holding each leg and the backspot holds the same way as a sponge. |
| | Thigh stand - (beginner level): A Thigh Stand is one of the simplest stunts. The bases kneel on one leg or are in a lunge position. The bases have their feet touching each other by the sides of their shoes. The back spot will hold the flyer at the waist. She will then jump onto the bases thighs. |
| | Liberty - One or more bases holds up the flyer by the foot and the flyer balances weight on one straight leg. The flyer's other leg is bent with the foot positioned at about the knee level of the flyer, nestling it alongside the standing leg's knee. The name of this stunt is often shortened to 'Lib'. |
| | Scorpion - This is a liberty variation facing the side. One or more bases holds up the flyer by the foot and the flyer balances weight on that one straight leg. The flyer then grabs the loose foot and bends that leg upward behind the body until the toes are close to the back of the head, in a position resembling a scorpion's tail. The foot is secured in place by the opposite hand. A more advanced variation of the scorpion is the "Chin-hold," where the flyer tucks her foot underneath her own chin. |
| | Scale - This is a liberty variation facing the side. One or more bases extend one of the flyer's feet. The flyer's other leg is held by the flyer's hand to the side and the leg is fully extended. The position is similar to the Scorpion, but one of the flyer's hands holds her ankle or calf (instead of her toes) and the other arm is in the High V position. |
| | Crazy Eight - Similar to a scale, but the ankle is supported by the flyer's wrist while her hands clasp to form a circle above her head. The resulting pose is resembles an Eight, due to the two circles, one formed by her arms, and the other by her leg and side. |
| | Torch - The base group faces forward holding the foot as a side base would. While the flyer is holding a one-legged extended stunt while facing 90 degrees sideways from the base. |
| | Heel Stretch - Variation of a liberty. It is a stunt in which the base/bases holds one foot of the flyer while she holds the other foot in an elevated stretch position with her same hand. |
| | Bow and Arrow - Variation of a heel stretch. The flyer grabs her foot with the opposite hand. Then she pulls her arm through and puts it in front of her leg, holding it straight. |
| | Needle - Variation of liberty facing the side. The main difference in a regular scale and a needle is the flyer's position in the air. Where in a normal scale the chest is either parallel or higher than the hip on the supporting leg, a needle scale the chest is down beside the main support leg. Also, the leg that was supported by hands in a regular scale is now "free" and is pointing to near as north or "12 o'clock" as flexibility allows the flyer to obtain. The flyer also maintains balance by holding onto the bases hands and her own ankle. Sometimes called a spike. |
| | Arabesque - Variation of liberty facing the side. From a lib, the flyer points their leg out behind them and their arms are in a "T" position. |
| | Hitch - A hitch is a variation of the prep or extension. One of the side bases turn to face forward and lifts the flyer's foot in an extension; or high enough so that the flyer's knee is bent at a 90 degree angle. So this doesn't leave all of the weight on the other base, the back swiftly moves her hand so that both of her hands are supporting the non-bent leg. |