United States Governing Body for Sport Cheering
Recognized by the International Cheer Union
Serving the cheer, dance team, and spirit community.
Rules FAQ2020-04-13T09:28:06-05:00

Rules Videos FAQ

How can I submit a video?2019-09-25T10:03:51-05:00

We are working on a video submission form. However, for clearance on any video, especially for NFHS rules, you should send your video to your state association rules person or through their process. We will not “clear” a rule video for safety for a state unless we are the official rules interpreters for that state.

We’ve come up with something I’ve never seen before. I can’t find anything like it on your site. How do I find out if it’s legal?2019-09-25T09:58:11-05:00

First, understand that if you are performing something that no one else is performing, there is a high probability that it is not allowed. This may not be the case if a new rule change has allowed skills that previously weren’t allowed in cheer, but more often than not, we will have video examples of the new skills on the site.

To be sure that your video is legal, you should submit it through your local rules process. If you don’t want the video to be posted publicly, be sure to inform the recipient of your video that it is not to be posted or shared in any way.  If your rules question is in reference to USA Cheer rules interpretation, you may submit it through our form (coming soon) or email it to jlord@usacheer.org.

How do I find a video?2019-09-25T09:58:29-05:00

There are two ways to find rules videos.

  1. Find the rule number in your rule set and click on the corresponding rule number. This process helps you to learn where the rules are that pertain to the skills you are doing. For example, if you want to look at different rulings on braced flips, you will find in the NFHS rule book under “Rule 3” for cheer, “Section 3: Inversions”, then “Article 5” which references braced flips. Click the “3.3.5 Braced Flips” under NFHS Rules. Not all articles are referenced by name on this site, and sub-articles will not have keywords. There is also an index in the rule book to reference.  As a coach, you are responsible for understanding the rules.
  2. Use the search bar at the top of the list of rules. You can type in any keyword, like “Braced Flips”. You can also limit the search results by category. For example, you can search for “Dismounts” and limit the results to “Rule 3, Section 3” for inverted dismounts.
If the video says “Legal”, am I cleared for my competition routine?2019-09-25T09:59:40-05:00

Not necessarily. Like other sports/activities, cheerleading at the high school level and below is governed by the individual state association you’re in. Additionally, within a state there may be a separate governing group for public schools and private schools. Those associations are responsible for the interpretation of the rules for all sports in their state. Though they may use the same rules as another state (NFHS or USA Cheer), there may be a different interpretation of a rule that has some subjectivity. Further, states may be more restrictive, or even less restrictive, than the national sets of rules. It is important that you know who governs cheer in your state and what rules are followed.

These videos are reviewed by USA Cheer and by members of the NFHS Spirit Rules committee, but they are not binding in every state. They are provided to help educate coaches and rules interpreters about the rules.

Some states, coaches associations, or event producers may explicitly state that the videos on this site are an extension of the interpretations found in the rule book.

Finally, understand that your skill may also be slightly different in a way that makes your version illegal while the version on this site is considered to be legal.

For these reasons, if you are attending a competition, it is important that you clear any skills – especially skills related to recent rules changes or skills you have never seen being performed elsewhere – through your local rules process.  In some cases, that is the state association; in other cases, that is the event producer such as a cheerleading or coaches association.

Go to Top