Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Cheer Terms

Try to incorporate your sport's terms into the decorations!
Aerial -Used to describe a cartwheel without hands touching the ground or floor. Sometimes refers to a walkover or roundoff without hands.
Arabesque -One leg is down straight and the other is behind you almost at a ninety degree angle to your back.
Arch: A position in which the back is curved.
Attack the Crowd:A technique used to get the audience involved in a cheer, dance or song.
Banana: arch your back and reach upwards. You usually only do a banana when you are doing a combination jump or riding up a basket toss.
Base: The bottom person in the stunt who remains in contact with the floor, supporting the mounter in a stunt.
Basket-toss: Toss of a flyer into the air involving 3-4 tossers, 2 of which have their hands interlocked.
Candle Sticks: motion where you extend your arms out in front of you with your fists facing each other as if you were holding a lit candle in each hand.
Captain: leader of a squad or team.
Chant: A short repetitive yell performed continually throughout a game. short routines with words sometimes involving the crowd.
Cheer: A longer spirited yell performed only during official breaks of a game. Sometimes using motions and stunts.
Cradle Catch: Occurs when the catcher(s) catch a mounter/flyer by holding her around the back and under the thighs.
Dismount: A method used to return to a floor position following a stunt.
Extended Stunt: One in which the supporting arms(s) of the base)s) is fully extended above the head. Stunts such as chairs, Russian lifts and T-lifts are extended stunts.
Extension: A stunt in which the arms of each base are fully extended above the head, supporting the mounter/flyer standing in the palms of the base(s).
Flash cards: Cards that show which words the spectators should shout back.
Flyer: The person that is elevated into the air by her base(s) to perform a mount.
Gymnastics Cheer: A cheer involving any use of gymnastics.
Hand Spring: A spring from a standing position to the hands, and back to a standing position.
Jump: A spring into the air with both feet off the ground to a given position with landing on one or both feet; any move where both feet leave the ground. Examples of jumps are toe-touches, side hurdlers, front hundlers, pikes, around-the-worlds, and double nines.
Layout: A straight or arched position.
Leap: A moving spring position in the air from one foot to the other.
Mount: Any skill in which one or more persons is supported in the air. Another word used is stunt.
Mounter (flyer): The person in a stunt, who is supported by one or more persons. (Also called a flyer)
Pike: A position in which the body is bent at the hips and legs are straight out in ninety degree angle.
Pirouette: A turn in standing position on one leg to a different direction.
Pom Pom Routine: A dance routine performed with pom poms.
Pyramid: A stunt involving one or more [multiple] mounters/flyers supported by one or more bases and linked together.
Routines: A choreographed combination of dance steps. A sequence of moves.
Split: A movement or sitting position in which the legs are spread apart in alignment or sideways one in front of the other.
Spotter: A person who is in direct contact with the performing surface and may help control the building of, or dismounting from, a mount. This person may not provide primary support, meaning the mount or pyramid would remain stable without the spotter. The primary responsibility of the spotter is to watch for safety hazards.
Straddle: A position where the legs are straight out and apart.
Stag: A leap or pose in which one leg is bent and the other is straight.
Stunt: Any maneuver or 'set piece' including tumbling, mounting, a pyramid or a toss.
Toss: A throwing motion by the base(s) to increase the height of the top person with the top person becoming free of contact with the base(s).
Tuck: A position in which the body is bent at the hips and the knees are held tightly up to the chest.
Tumbling: Forward or backward rolls, inverted skills and flips.
Vault: A stunt in which the hands of the top person are used to assist in clearing a base(s) or prop(s)

Monday, July 27, 2009

Welcome to Julie












Here are some great ideas from an artist that helped with Locker Decorating this past season at Collins Hill. Her kids have played a variety of sports, so I am thrilled to show off her examples! Julie loves making her decorations larger than 8 1/2 X 5 1/2, so they make a big impact! She also uses Fun Foam and lots of die-cuts! The foam comes in sheets and cuts in many different sizes, shapes & colors. Fun Foam can be found at arts & craft stores.
Die cuts are shapes which have been machine punched out of card or paper, using a die pattern. You can buy die cut decorations in packets, or you can buy die cut machines and punches to use at home. In our NE Atlanta suburb area, we have found that the public schools have these machines in the teacher's workroom. Call your high school to see if they have this equipment and what access is needed to use it. Usually, you will need to bring your own paper and sign in at the main office. The patterns will vary depending on the school, location and mascot. If your high school doesn't have the machine, don't hesitate to contact the lower grade schools because they use this type of gadget more than the older classes! Some scrapbook stores also allow use of their tools if you buy your other supplies there! Please let us know if you have any questions!
Enjoy!
Thanks Julie!(Send her some comment love!)