New AACCA Rule Changes for 2009 and 2010

Cheerleading Change is Afoot - The language of the Cheerleader

The American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA) adopted rule changes for elementary, middle and high school cheer sports. For these grades and skill levels safety will be enforced through more concentration on the fundamentals, as opposed to multi-cheerleader stunts.

American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators introduces first rules for elementary, middle and junior high school squads.

These rules and rule changes apply to school activities and do not apply to non-school or recreational style organizations. Well that may be true officially, but from a civil liability standpoint any recreational coach not following them will expose themselves to greater scrutiny and the standard being created will apply, no matter what the style of the organization. A safety standard is a standard is a standard.

There are three changes: a ban on released stunt transitions, a requirement to have three catches when a top person performs a controlled fall into a flat-body position and specs for using religious or medical medallions.

This week we will reprint the AACCA rules in separate blog posts. Today let's focus on the definitions.

If you're a parent of a cheerleader you need to learn the language of cheer.

1. Base - A person who is in direct contact with the performing surface and is supporting another person's weight.
2. Basket Toss - A stunt in which a top person is tossed by bases whose hands are interlocked.
3. Bracer - A top person that is supporting another top person in a pyramid.
4. Cradle - A dismount from a partner stunt, pyramid or toss in which the top person is caught in a face-up, piked position before being placed on the performance area or remounting into another stunt, pyramid or loading position.
5. Cupie/Awesome - A stunt in which both feet of the top person are in one hand of a base.
6. Dive Roll - A forward roll where the feet leave the ground before the hands reach the ground.
7. Double Based Suspended Roll - Dismount or transition with a foot-over-head rotation.
8. Elevator/Sponge Toss - A stunt in which the top person loads in to an elevator/sponge loading position and is then tossed into the air.
9. Extended Stunt - A stunt in which the entire body of the top person is extended in an upright position over the base(s). Chairs, torches, flatbacks and straddle lifts are examples of stunts where the bases' arms are extended overhead, but are NOT considered to be extended stunts since the height of the body of the top person is similar to a shoulder level stunt.
10. Hanging Pyramid - A pyramid in which the top person's weight is primarily supported by another top person. Examples of hanging pyramids are: a person being suspended between two shoulder stands; a "whirlybird" stunt where one person's weight is being supported by the legs of a top person in a shoulder sit; and a "diamond head" where two persons are suspended from one shoulder stand.
11. Helicopter Toss - A stunt in which the top person is tossed into the air in a horizontal position and rotates parallel to the ground in the same motion as a helicopter blade.
12. Inverted - A body position where the shoulders are below the waist.
13. Knee Drop - Dropping to the knees without first bearing the majority of the weight on the hands or feet.
14. Loading Position - A position in which the top person is off the ground in continuous movement that puts the bases and top in a position to end the movement in a stunt.
15. Post - A person on the performing surface who may assist a top person during a stunt or transition.
16. Prop - Any object which can be manipulated or used as a base (ex: poms, signs, flags, megaphones, etc.)
17. Quick Toss - A toss technique where the top person begins the toss with both feet on the ground. The bases can apply an upward force on any part of the body other than under the feet.
18. Released Pyramid Transition - A pyramid in which the top person in a braced stunt is released from their bases and is in a descending mode before being caught in a cradle, stunt or loading position prior to being transitioned to another stunt.
19. Spotter - A person who is responsible for assisting or catching the top person in a partner stunt or pyramid. This person cannot be in a position of providing primary support for a top person but must be in a position to protect the top person coming off of a stunt or pyramid.
20. Stunt - One or more bases supporting one or more top persons off of the ground.
21. Tension Drop - A dismount from a stunt or pyramid where the top person(s) are directed toward the ground while their feet are held by the base(s) until just before the landing.
22. Top - A person who is either being supported by another while off of the performing surface or who has been tossed into the air by another person.
23. Two Persons High - A stunt or pyramid in which the base has at least one foot in weight-bearing contact with the performing surface.

The AACCA high school rules committee made three changes to help align their rules with rules from the NFHS. These include a ban on released stunt transitions, a requirement to have three catchers when a top person performs a controlled fall into a flat-body position, and specifications for the use of religious or medical medallions.

"These changes are important to help align the two major sets of rules used by high school teams," Lord said. "While we felt that the previous rules for these skills were safe, having consistency between these sets of rules is also important."

With these changes, the only one major difference remains between the NFHS and AACCA rules, Lord said. The AACCA restricts all released twists on basketball court surfaces without a mat, while the NFHS Spirit Rules currently allow up to one and one-quarter twists on the basketball court surface.

Link to Safety Rules in pdf format.

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