CHEERLEADING HANDBOOK

1.       Cheerleading Safety Rules

1.1.        General.  Cheerleading squads representing OSAA member schools are required to conform to the rules set forth in the current National Federation Spirit Rules Book.  Copies of the rules book are available for purchase from the OSAA, and should be reviewed at least yearly by cheerleading coaches.

1.2.        Coverage.  The rules set forth in the current National Federation Spirit Rules Book must be followed regardless of the capacity in which the cheerleading squad is functioning.  The rules apply equally to squads performing at competitions and squads performing in a support function at a game or contest.

1.3.        Violations.  In addition to the penalties specified for squads, competing at OSAA sanctioned cheerleading contests (See Cheerleading State Championships Rules section) schools represented by cheerleading squads, which violate the cheerleading safety rules at any OSAA contest, may be subject to sanctions and penalties as determined by the OSAA Executive Board.

1.4.        Questions.  Questions about the legality of a particular stunt should be addressed to the OSAA prior to practicing or performing the stunt.

2.       Cheerleading State Championships Rules

2.1.        Administration.  The Cheerleading State Championships shall be conducted by the OSAA with the cooperation of the Oregon Cheerleading Coaches Association.

2.2.        Eligibility.

2.2.1.             Schools that are registered with the OSAA to compete in cheerleading activities are eligible to participate in the Cheerleading State Championships.

2.2.2.             Students wishing to participate in the Cheerleading State Championships must satisfy the current OSAA Cheerleading eligibility rules.  See also Rule 8, Rules section.

2.2.3.             Penalty for use of an ineligible student.  Any school for which an ineligible student performs shall be disqualified from consideration for awards, and reported to the OSAA Executive Board for possible further sanctions and penalties.

2.2.4.             School Representation.  Only one varsity squad from each Oregon high school shall be allowed to compete.  The squad may be a combination of two or more varsity squads (i.e., football and basketball squads may be combined for the Cheerleading State Championships.)

2.2.5.             Varsity Level Only.  In order to represent a school as a participant or alternate at the Cheerleading State Championships, a cheerleader must have participated on squads at a majority of VARSITY games for at least one season for the year.

A cheerleader who participates on the varsity during the Winter sport season only must have participated on squads at a majority of the entire Winter sport season’s contests prior to the Cheerleading State Championships in order to be eligible to represent the school at the Cheerleading State Championships.  EXCEPTION:  Alternates may be members of a school's junior varsity or freshman squad, and may replace a varsity squad member due to special circumstances (i.e., injury, illness, ineligibility of a varsity team member) if the substitution is reported to and approved by the OSAA prior to participation.

2.2.6.             Previous Qualifying Competition: All squads entering the Cheerleading State Championships must have competed in at least one OSAA sanctioned competition during the school year of that Cheerleading State Championships unless a specific exception to this rule has been granted in writing by the OSAA.

The routine performed at the qualifying competition must include all or most of the team’s planned two and one-half minute Cheerleading State Championships routine, including stunts and gymnastics, so that they may be reviewed by a technical judge prior to the Cheerleading State Championships.  Neither the OCCA All-State Individual and Stunt Team Competition nor any other invitational competition allowing routines of fewer than two and one-half minutes in length or routines that do not include stunts and gymnastics may be used to satisfy the “previous qualifying competition” requirement.

2.3.        Entry Form.  Entry forms and Cheerleading State Championships information shall be posted on the OSAA website www.osaa.org, the Cheer homepage by early December.  School athletic directors shall be notified by the OSAA when the entry forms and Cheerleading State Championships information are posted.  Schools may download the Cheerleading State Championships information and shall submit entry forms online.

2.4.        Entry Fees.  Neither team nor individual entry fees shall be charged to schools competing in the Cheerleading State Championships.  Funds for administration of the Cheerleading State Championships shall be generated from school membership dues, activity fees, contest gate receipts and corporate sponsorship agreements.

2.5.        Deadline.  The deadline for online receipt by the OSAA of entry forms for the Cheerleading State Championships shall be clearly marked on the entry forms available on the OSAA website, www.osaa.org, on the Cheer homepage.

2.6.        Divisions.  The divisions at the Cheerleading State Championships shall include varsity level squads based upon school classification, squad size and squad gender as indicated below.  NOTE:  Squads with only one male squad member may participate in either a Female Division or a Coeducational Division; squads with two or more male squad members shall participate in a Coeducational Division.

2.7.        Alternates.  Each squad may bring two alternates to the Cheerleading State Championships in addition to the maximum number of participants allowed by the division constraints.  Alternates must be listed on the entry form and shall satisfy the same eligibility requirements as other Cheerleading State Championships participants, except that alternates may be members of the junior varsity or freshman squads.

2.8.        Minimum Division Entry.  If fewer than eight squads register to compete in a 4A division, or fewer than five teams register to compete in a 3A/2A/1A division, that division shall be canceled.  Any squad entered in the canceled division shall be placed in the "Large" division of the classification appropriate to that school.  EXCEPTION:  If fewer than the required number of squads register to compete in a Coeducational Division, the two divisions shall be combined.

2.9.        Performance Requirements.

2.9.1.             Content of the Routine.  Each squad shall perform a routine containing at least the following elements within the specified time limit.  Elements may be presented in any order.

(a)    One cheer.

(b)    Dance routine.

Penalty for Violation: Any squad that performs a routine that does not include both of the required elements shall be disqualified from consideration for awards.

2.9.2.             Time Limit.  A two and one-half minute maximum time limit shall be allowed each squad; there shall be no minimum time limit.  The timing shall begin at the first word, motion or note of music; timing shall end when the advisor or designee signals the timekeeper.

Entrances on to the performance floor are neither timed nor judged. To help keep the Cheerleading State Championships on schedule, it is requested that teams be prepared to take the floor immediately when introduced, and to vacate the floor quickly at the conclusion of the performance.

Penalty for Violation: Any squad whose performance exceeds the maximum time limit shall have 10 points deducted from the final average score.

2.9.3.             Safety Rules.  Squads are required to conform to the rules set forth in the current National Federation Spirit Rules Book.  Copies of the Rules Book are available for purchase from the OSAA, and should be reviewed carefully prior to the Cheerleading State Championships.

Penalty for Violation: Any squad that performs a stunt in violation of the rules set forth in the current National Federation Spirit Rules Book shall have 10 points, five points, or three points deducted at the discretion of the technical judges from the final average score.

2.9.4.             Props.  Pom-poms, megaphones and flash cards or the equivalent are the only acceptable props.

Penalty for Violation.  Any school using props other than pom-poms, megaphones and flash cards or the equivalent shall have 10 points deducted from the final average score.

2.9.5.             Spotters.  Qualified and experienced spotters shall be provided on the performance floor to help reduce the chance of injury to participants.

2.9.6.             Practice Area.  When feasible, a supervised practice area shall be maintained at which all squads shall be scheduled for equal practice time.  Teams may not practice on the actual performance floor before the Cheerleading State Championships or during breaks.

2.10.     Determination of Rules Violations.  The OSAA representative (or his designee) at the Cheerleading State Championships has the authority and responsibility to determine if the Cheerleading State Championships rules have been violated.  If it is determined that a Cheerleading State Championships rule has been violated, the consequence listed in the "Penalty for Violation" section following each rule shall be imposed upon the offending school.

The decision by the OSAA representative (or his designee) regarding violations and deductions is final and is not open to review, debate or appeal.

2.11.     Performance Procedures.

2.11.1.         Music.  Music should be recorded on a high quality, new cassette tape or CD.  Recordings should be labeled with the name of the school, and the music should start at the beginning.  A squad representative shall be responsible for starting and stopping the recording during the routine; the volume shall be controlled by the venue technician.  The squad representative should have a "back-up" recording in-hand in case of the failure of the original.

2.11.2.         Performance Order.  The order of performance shall be randomly drawn by the OSAA prior to the Cheerleading State Championships and posted on the OSAA website, www.osaa.org, on the Cheer homepage.

2.11.3.         Performance Surface.  A wrestling or cheerleading mat shall be required for all levels of competition.

2.12.     Judges

2.12.1.         Qualifications

(a)    Judges must be out of high school for at least three years or have been recommended by their high school coach.

(b)    Judges must be currently unaffiliated with any participating squad in the division they are judging.

(c)     Judges must have experience as cheerleading coaches, squad members and / or camp instructors and must have completed the OCCA Judges' Workshop.

2.12.2.         Selection.  Judges for the Cheerleading State Championships shall be nominated by the OCCA and approved by the OSAA.

2.13.     Determination of Winners.  The Official Scorer shall compute the adjusted average score for each squad by dropping the high and low judges' scores for that squad, then computing the average of the remaining judges' scores.

2.13.1.         Deductions due to violations, if any, shall be subtracted from the adjusted average score prior to determining placement.

2.13.2.         The highest adjusted average score in each division shall be first, the second highest score shall be second, and so on.

2.13.3.         In the case of a tie, duplicate trophies shall be awarded for that position, and the following position shall not receive an award.

2.14.     Awards.  School awards shall be provided to 50% of the teams in a division up to a maximum of five awards per division.  Individual medallions shall be provided to the members of the top two squads in each division.

3.       Other Cheerleading Competitions

3.1.        Sanctioning.  Any organization wishing to host a cheerleading competition in the state of Oregon must apply for sanction of the competition by the OSAA.  Form is available for download from the OSAA website, www.osaa.org, Handbook and Forms section.

NO OSAA MEMBER SCHOOL MAY ATTEND A CHEERLEADING COMPETITION IN OREGON, WHICH HAS NOT RECEIVED OFFICIAL SANCTION BY THE OSAA PRIOR TO THE CONTEST.  Schools wishing to confirm sanction of a specific event may consult the “OSAA Sanctioned Cheer Competition Calendar” on the OSAA website, www.osaa.org, on the Cheer homepage.

3.1.1.             Timeline.  Sanction Applications for the following school year may be submitted to the OSAA at any time, but shall not be processed until at least one month following the State Championships for the preceding year.

3.1.2.             Maximum number of events per date.  The OSAA shall grant a maximum of THREE event sanctions for any particular date.

If more than three-contest sponsors request sanction for events on the same date, sanctions shall be granted to only three contests using the following criteria the order of priority listed:

(a)    Priority shall be given to events for which the sponsor has previously hosted a contest on that date.  In order to receive priority, the previous host shall be required to apply for an event sanction by September 15 of the school year during which the event is to be held.

(b)    To the extent possible, avoid sanctioning two contests in the same region of the state on the same date.

(c)     Priority shall be given to sponsors from whom the fewest requests for sanction have been received this season.

3.1.3.             Maximum number of events per sponsor.  The OSAA shall grant a maximum of THREE event sanctions per season to any particular sponsor.

3.2.        Required Contest Conditions.  Organizations applying for OSAA sanction shall agree to the following contest conditions.

3.2.1.             Safety Rules.  Participating squads must be required to conform to the rules set forth in the current National Federation Spirit Rules Book.

3.2.2.             Eligibility.  Participating squads must represent high schools registered with the OSAA to compete in cheerleading, and the individual squad members must satisfy the OSAA student eligibility rules for cheerleading.  The signature of the school principal on the entry form for the competition shall constitute fulfillment of this requirement.

3.2.3.             Rules Interpretations.  An OSAA representative or designee shall be named as Technical Judge prior to the competition.  That person or a committee formed by that person shall be the only and final interpreter of the safety rules at the competition.

A decision of the Technical Judge is final and is not open to review, debate or appeal.

3.2.4.             Judges.  Judges for locally sponsored contests (including the Technical Judge) shall be assigned from the "OCCA Judges List" available from the current OCCA Judge / Competition Coordinator.

Scores assigned by the Performance Judges are final and are not open to review, debate or appeal.

3.2.5.             Spotters.  At least two qualified and experienced spotters shall be provided on the performance floor to help reduce the chance of injury to participants.

3.2.6.             Performance Surface.  A wrestling or cheerleading mat is required for all levels of competition.

3.2.7.             Awards.  Students may only accept awards of a symbolic nature without resale value such as letters, medals, ribbons, certificates, plaques, trophies and other emblems.  Awards with monetary or resale value must be presented to the school.

3.3.        Contest Recommendations.  The following are suggestions which sponsoring organizations may wish to include in their competitions.

3.3.1.             Coaches appreciate a short meeting on the morning of the competition to introduce competition personnel, answer last minute questions, etc.

3.3.2.             Depending upon the quantity of squads entered, divisions may be subdivided based upon school size, squad size and / or squad gender.

3.3.3.             Coaches appreciate having score sheets and specific competition results available to them immediately following the competition.