Cheerleading Rules and Safety Overview

Overview

• Document: The Open Championship Series Cheerleading Rules & Guidelines (with Glossary), 2025–2026 season, revised June 9, 2025.
• Scope: Definitions, general safety rules, and detailed skill restrictions for Levels 1–7, Prep, Novice, and International.
• Emphasis: Athlete safety, controlled skill progression, spotter requirements, stunt/toss height and twisting limits, and family‑friendly choreography.

Key Glossary Concepts

• Airborne: Athlete is free of contact with people and/or performance surface.
• Base: Athlete in direct contact with floor supporting a top person; cannot support while inverted or in backbend.
• Top person/Flyer: Athlete supported above performance surface in a stunt, pyramid, or toss.
• Spotter: Trained team member on floor, near stunt, focused on protecting head/neck/back/shoulders; cannot be primary support.
• Stunt: Skill where top person is supported above floor by one or more athletes; one- vs two‑leg defined by points of support.
• Pyramid: Two or more connected stunts; “two high” vs “two and one half high” based on layers and body lengths.
• Toss: Airborne stunt from waist level with 3–4 bases; must end in cradle; cannot travel, flip, or pass over/under other skills unless allowed by level.
• Release move: Top person loses contact with all athletes on floor; must not pass over/under other skills and has strict height limits before becoming a toss.
• Inverted vs Non‑inverted: Inverted when at least one foot above head and shoulders below waist/hips; otherwise non‑inverted under defined conditions.
• Prep level / Waist level / Extended: Defined by lowest connection point between base and flyer relative to base’s waist and extended arm level.
• Downward inversion: Inverted top person’s center of gravity moving toward floor; tightly controlled in all levels.
• Cradle: Face‑up “V/pike/hollow” catch below prep level with arms under back and legs.
• Free flipping stunt: Release move with hip‑over‑head rotation without base/brace/floor contact.
• Rewind: Backward free‑flipping release entry from ground level into a stunt (allowed only at specific levels).
• Twisting (stunts/tumbling): Rotation around vertical axis; counted separately for vertical and horizontal axes in stunts.

Routine & General Rules

• Skills allowed in a level include all skills from lower levels; if prohibited in a level, also prohibited below.
• Safety and proper progression are explicitly prioritized for all skills.
• No equipment may be used to enhance athlete height.
• Mandatory spotters must be team members.
• Athletes starting routine must remain on floor; no mid‑routine substitutions.
• Nothing may be in athletes’ mouths during performance.
• Shoes: Soft, solid‑soled shoes required.
• Jewelry prohibited (cannot be taped/covered); exception: medical ID tags/bracelets.
• Props allowed: flags, banners/signs, poms, megaphones, cloth; others require event producer approval.
• Props with poles/supports cannot be used in stunts/tumbling and cannot be thrown.
• Routine timing:
  • All Star (Elite/International/Performance Cheer): 2:30
  • All Star Prep: 2:00
  • All Star Novice: 1:30
  • Non‑Tumbling: 2:00
  • Global: 3:30 (≤40s opening cheer, ≤20s transition, 2:30 music).
• At routine start, at least one body part must be on floor; limited exception for pre‑set hand‑supported flyers.
• Braces/supports:
  • Unaltered soft braces need no extra padding.
  • Altered supports require ½‑inch closed‑cell foam padding for stunting/tossing.
  • Hard casts, slings, walking boots: cannot stunt, pyramid, tumble, or toss.

All‑Level Rules (Tumbling, Stunts, Pyramids, Dismounts, Tosses)

Common Safety & Movement

• Athletes may jump/rebound over another athlete.
• Drops to knees/seat/front/back/splits from airborne or inverted positions require prior hand/foot support to absorb impact.
• Shushunovas are allowed.
• Tumbling must start and end on floor; no tumbling over/under/through stunts, athletes, or props.
• No tumbling with props in hand or contact.

All‑Level Stunts & Pyramids

• Tiny, Mini, Youth: No extended stunts; may only pass through extended without stopping and finish at prep or below.
• Release moves:
  • Must return to original bases; cannot land on floor without assistance.
  • No intentional travel, no inverted landings, no over/under/through other skills.
  • Multi‑base releases ending non‑upright require 3 catchers; single‑base require 2.
  • Free or assisted flipping transitions/stunts prohibited except Senior/International Level 6.
  • Single‑based split catches prohibited.
• Inversions: Athletes in backbend/inverted on floor cannot contact a flyer.
• Pyramids limited to two high; primary support must be from bases (except release moves).
• Pyramid release skills allowed if connected to base and required support athlete; continuous pyramids, no primary weight solely at second level.
• Bracer connections must be established before skills start and stay during transitions.

All‑Level Dismounts

• Dismount defined as released skill ending in cradle or on floor.
• Cradles:
  • Single‑based: spotter required with hand/arm on shoulder‑to‑waist region.
  • Multi‑based: 2 catchers plus spotter with similar support.
• Multi‑base waist‑level cradles starting under feet must follow toss rules.
• Dismounts must end with original bases (with specific exceptions for assisted floor dismounts, low pop‑offs, and multi‑flyer single‑base stunts).
• No traveling under/over dismounts; no flipping/assisted flipping dismounts; no intentional travel.
• Flyers cannot contact each other when released for dismount (except multi‑flyer single‑base).
• Tension rolls/drops and inverted cradles are prohibited.

All‑Level Tosses (Youth–Senior Levels 2–6)

• Requirements:
  • Flyer has both feet in/on bases’ hands at initiation.
  • One flyer per group; 3–4 bases, all with feet on floor.
  • Spotter/base behind flyer during toss and at head for cradle.
  • Bases/spotters essentially stationary; only limited base turns for twisting skills.
• Tosses cannot intentionally travel, flip, or invert.
• No over/under/through other skills or props.

Skill Progression by Level (Summary Table)

Note: All lower‑level allowances carry upward unless specifically prohibited.

Level‑Specific Highlights (Beyond Table)

Levels 1–3: Foundational Safety Emphasis

• Strict “over/under” rule: torso or head may not move over/under another torso/head in stunts/pyramids.
• Level 1:
  • No extended stunts; extended two‑leg only as continuous “show‑and‑go” with no stop.
  • Single‑base, multi‑flyer stunts prohibited.
• Level 2:
  • Extended single‑leg only when pyramid braced at prep or below.
  • Log/barrel rolls regulated and only from/to cradle or waist‑level.
• Level 3 Pyramids:
  • One‑twist pyramid transitions to extended allowed when braced at prep or below with arm/hand connection.
  • Release transitions cannot change bases and must keep same bracers until caught.

Levels 4–6: Increased Inversions and Twisting

• Level 4:
  • Helicopters allowed with ≤180° rotation and no twist.
  • Athlete‑supported flipping pyramids allowed with strict bracer, catcher, and non‑downward‑travel requirements.
  • Dismounts: up to 2 twists from two‑leg, 1 twist from single‑leg; flips in dismount cannot twist.
• Level 5:
  • Pyramids: up to 2 twists into extended single‑leg when braced at prep or below.
  • Athlete‑supported flips: 1 flip, 0 twist, can change bases if continuously supported; must not travel downward inverted.
• Level 6:
  • In stunt release moves, limited twisting from inverted to non‑inverted (½ twist max).
  • Pyramids: release moves with athlete‑supported inversions allow combinations of 1 flip + limited twist.

Level 7: Highest Difficulty, Strong Catch/Spot Requirements

• Spotters mandatory for:
  • One‑arm stunts above prep (except specified cupie/liberty).
  • Multi‑twist releases, inverted release to prep+, free flips, and coed tosses to new base.
• Free flipping transitions:
  • From ground: up to 1 flip + 1 twist; cartwheel/round‑off/standing BHS rewinds allowed with no prior tumbling.
  • From stunt: up to 1 flip + ½ twist, starting at prep, ending in cradle/horizontal/floor.
• Pyramids:
  • Two‑high and tower pyramids allowed with multi‑side spotters.
  • Free‑flying pyramid mounts subject to flip/twist caps and no over/under.
• Dismounts:
  • From stunts and two‑high pyramids: up to 2 twists; limited free‑flipping dismounts with prescribed catchers.
  • No landing on floor from above waist level without assistance (except simple hop/straight drops from waist or below).

Prep, Novice, and International Divisions

All Star Prep

• Max routine time: 2:00.
• Tosses (including sponge) and all waist‑level cradles prohibited, except waist‑level log rolls.

All Star Novice

• Max routine time: 1:30.
• Evaluated by rating, not rankings.
• Tosses and all waist‑level cradles prohibited (except log rolls).
• Tumbling allowed but not required; follows corresponding level rules.
• Level‑specific Novice restrictions:
  • Level 1 Novice:
    • No single‑leg above waist level; no travel through extended.
    • Max ¼ twists; no extra twisting exceptions.
    • No transitions to flat body/prone; no straight pop‑down dismounts.
    • Tiny Novice: all building skills prohibited; only cartwheels and forward rolls; no backbends/bridges.
  • Level 2 Novice:
    • Single‑leg may not travel through extended; no barrel/log rolls.
  • Level 3 Novice:
    • No twisting in/out of extended single‑leg.
    • No multi‑base suspended rolls with twist.

International Divisions

• Minimum 10 athletes per team.
• Routine length: 2:30 (Non‑Tumbling: 2:00).
• Non‑Tumbling divisions:
  • No tumbling, except forward rolls, handstands, cartwheels, round‑offs used for stunting/formations.
  • These skills must still follow inversion rules for the level.

Appropriate Choreography

• All choreography and music must be family‑friendly.
• Prohibited movement examples:
  • Mimicking gun violence or promoting gun use.
  • Hip thrusts, inappropriate touching, suggestive gestures, slapping, or provocative body positions.
• Prohibited music content:
  • Profanity, sexual innuendo/behavior, drug references, explicit body‑part mentions, or violent descriptions.
  • Censoring explicit lyrics with effects or alternate words may still be ruled inappropriate.
• Coaches are expected to remove any questionable content preemptively to avoid violations.

Action Items

• Coaches:
  • Map team skills to level restrictions, especially stunt twisting, inversions, and toss heights.
  • Audit routines for over/under violations and release‑move height limits.
  • Verify spotter numbers/positions meet level‑specific requirements.
  • Review and clean choreography and music for appropriateness.
• Event producers:
  • Approve any non‑listed props in advance.
  • Enforce minimum team size for International divisions.
• Athletes:
  • Remove all jewelry; ensure footwear and braces meet rules.
  • Practice safe progressions before adding higher‑level skills.