Have you ever been to a cheerleading competition? Well they are exciting. It’s not just for cheerleaders it’s for dance too. If you haven’t ever been to one this is your chance.

I am a Dell Rapids high school cheerleader. I have competed in two competitions; we have got 1st in both of them. There are 2 DRHS competition squads JV, and varsity. The JV squad is made up of freshmen; varsity is made up of one freshman, sophomores, and a junior.

For our first competition we did a short dance. It had a prep as the only stunt. A prep is when there is a flyer and 2 bases, the flyer jumps into the bases hands and the bases bring her up above there chest. The key is for the flyer to be tight. After she is in a prep we does a cradle out of it. A cradle is when the bases bend there knees and then throw her in the air, and the flyer leans back, and we catch her.

Next we do a cheer; in the cheer we do another prep. Our cheer was sweet and simple. It started in a prep, and we would cradle her out as we say DRHS. As a cheerleader you have to do many jumps. In the cheer we do a toe touch.

The last thing we do is another dance. This one starts out with a quarter up. A quarter up is a when there is a flyer, and 2 bases still. Sam was a base and I was base, Jackie was the flyer, and Rachel was the back base. The flyer would face me, and Sam would stand facing her back. The flyer would give me one foot, and the other would be on the ground. Rachel was the back base and she would hold the ankle I had in my hand, and the other hand on her butt. Sam would put her hands on Jackie waist, and Jackie would grab and hold Sam’s wrists. We would count and she would bounce twice and we would lift where she was in a prep again. We would cradle her out, and move on.

Our next competition is on October 4, 2007. Our coach made one big squad and now we are all varsity. We still have 2 dances and a cheer, but they aren’t so simple and the stunts are more challenging.

In our first dance, we have two stunts go up at once. Amanda does a backhand spring into a reload, and Jenna and Sam put her in a prep. Then they sponge her down and move like 3 steps over. While that stunt is going on, Megan and I are the main bases, Jackie is the flyer, Rachel in the front base, and Julie is the back. Megan and I have our hands on the ground and Jackie pretty much stands on them and then we slowly pick her up and into an extension. An extension is where we take here all the way above our heads. And she has to be so tight, cant move a muscle. Then we sponge her down from that and put her back in a prep. Then we move 3 steps the opposite direction that Amanda’s stunt moved. Our next stunt Jenna and I are the bases, Jackie is the back, and Marisa is the flyer. Marisa goes in a prep, and she just cradles out of it, and then we reload her, and she goes back in a prep, and she kicks out of it. Then we do our dance, and then get in the cheer formation.


Next is the cheer and we starting out by doing a toe touch. For the cheer we make a chair. Jenna is the base and I am the side base, Jackie is the flyer. Jenna has one hand on her butt, and my hand is on Jenna’s wrist and the other right below her butt. And he bounces twice and she goes up, like she is sitting.


There is one more dance, we start of by doing a pike, and then you turn and does a double toe touch. The stunt is at the end and we do a prep, sponge, and in to an extension lib. The extension lib is when we put Marisa in a extension, and she has to stand on one foot, and put the other pointed by her knee.


So that is our competition squad and I hope we keep getting first and win state. We are going to put our stunts to a higher level, and try to push our selves farther.