Beautiful and impressive are sports dances, for example, you can bring cheerleading, which is familiar to many from American films. Incendiary dances with acrobatic elements can be seen in breaks between the halves of football, rugby and so on. They are designed to entertain the audience.
What is cheerleading?
This term means an organized support group for teams in different sports. Describing what it is cheerleading, it should be said that the term came from the English language and it combines two words: "cheer" - to support and "lead" - to manage. To date, support groups have moved to a new level, as they take part in the World and European Championships. The inflammatory performances of girls with bright pompons are based on rhythmic dances, tricks from acrobatics and other elements.
To better understand what cheerleading is, we offer several interesting facts related to this sporting direction:
- The main attribute of cheerleading - pompons were actively used in the 30s.
- Many stadiums in America and Europe have special sectors for cheerleaders. This was made possible by the initiative of Lindy Bothwell - the coach of the support group from the University of Oregon.
- Many stars of the modern era were involved in the support group, for example, Madonna, Cameron Diaz and Meryl Streep. Many famous men also took part in cheerleading: Ronald Reagan, Franklin Roosevelt, Michael Douglas, George Bush Jr. and many others.
- Approximately 50% of all sports injuries in America are accounted for by cheerleaders, who perform complex tricks and acrobatic elements.
- Cheerleading has its code of honor, which implies a ban on the removal of clothing, the use of profanity, the use of alcohol and smoking, as well as the refusal of underwear .
The story of cheerleading
For the first time, support groups started talking in the late 19th century, and cheerleading immediately became popular. The decision to create the first team was made in 1989 at a meeting of the University of Minnesota. Cheerleading at the first stages was closely connected with American football and, interestingly, it was originally a lesson for men. As a sport cheerleading began to be perceived since 2001, when the World Championship was held.
Cheerleading competitions
World competitions in this sport are held annually. The championship takes a suffering winner. Leading positions in most cases are occupied by teams from America, Japan, Finland and Germany. The championship on cheerleading gave a great impetus to the development of this kind of sports dance, so, already more than in 50 countries around the world have their own sports clubs. Another interesting fact is the International Cheerleading Federation, which was founded in 1998.
Pyramid Cheerleading
In each performance, the team uses several pyramids, which can have different configurations, the main thing is to correctly form it and fix it so that no one falls, and the poses of the upper ones are as flat as possible. At the heart of the pyramid are guys or strong girls, and those who are easier to occupy the top positions. The girls at the base are the "base", the middle level is the "master", and the upper one is the "flyer". The program is built so that cheerleading includes dancing, acrobatics, feasts, and the transitions from element to element should be almost unnoticeable.
Pompons for cheerleading
It is difficult to imagine the performance of a support group without pompons - balls made of thin strips of different sizes. For them, plastic, polyethylene, vinyl, special paper, cotton and so on can be used. Accessories for cheerleading should not only be bright and beautiful, but also convenient for performing different elements: rotations, re-throws and others.
Pom-poms can have different types of holders, which are recommended to be selected individually to be convenient. There is a conventional handle, made in the form of an elongated holder, the dumbbell handle is located, as it were, inside the pompon, and the third option is a handle in the form of a double ring. The handle-loop is suitable in case you do not need to throw pom-poms. In addition, there are different diameters of balls, for example, for competitions using volume pompons, which in diameter reach up to 30 cm.
Clothes for cheerleading
One of the main attributes of the influence of dancers on the audience is their costumes. In most cases, they include short shorts / skirts and t-shirts. Clothing should be bright and colorful, so often for decoration use sequins and other decor. All participants of the team have the same costumes, so as not to get out of the picture. For tailoring costumes are used elastic fabrics, so as not to restrain the movements of dancers. If the performance is aimed at supporting a particular team, then the cheerleading suits will match the club in color.
Cheers for cheerleading
To become a member of the support group, you need not only to have good physical preparation and flexibility , but also to have an excellent diction, delivered by voice and a sense of rhythm. This is due to the fact that cheerleading in sports means using different chants that are pronounced during the performance. These are short rhymes aimed at raising the fighting spirit of the team. They traditionally use bright and expressive words. Chirrups are divided into two groups: chiram - performed only by cheerleaders and chants - are chanted together with the audience. Here are a few examples:
- We will be the first everywhere and always! We are a support group, without us anywhere!
- We are cheerleaders, which means leaders! Look, this you have not seen!
- We will smile at you, wave your hand: and immediately the stands lose their peace!
Films about cheerleading
A bright and interesting topic is often used in cinematography, as besides the beautiful picture with dances, it is possible to touch upon the theme of girls' relationships in the team, rivalry and so on. Understand what cheerleading will help movies from the following list:
- " Make Success " in 2000. The film tells the story of the captain of the cheerleading team, who should at all costs lead his girls to leadership.
- " Light this summer! "2009 The story of how two guys from the football team decided to join the cheerleading team for the summer, where they are waiting for a lot of interesting and funny situations.
- " Bring success: All for victory " in 2007. This film is about the rivalry between two bright teams, which are determined to win in the next competitions. History has not been without a love relationship.