🎯 The Funniest Cheerleading Rules (S3.14)
- janie724
- Nov 27, 2025
- 3 min read
Episode from December 2, 2025
In this episode of the Kick’s Cheer Podcast, Janie, Nadia and Keaven dive into a topic that brings both laughter… and a bit of cringing: the funniest, oddest cheerleading rules. From regulations inherited from the 1980s to rules created because someone once tried the impossible, plus all the little absurdities that still exist today, the team breaks down what coaches, athletes and parents rarely suspect.
Somewhere between safety, logic… and questionable creativity, this episode reveals the hidden side of the rules that shape our sport-one laugh at a time.
📘 Quick refresher: how do the rules actually work?
Cheerleading is structured into 7 levels, from Level 1 to Level 7.
If a skill is legal in Level 1, it’s automatically legal in Levels 2, 3, 4, etc.
The rules are now standardized across Canada and the United States (IASF / USASF).
In competition, coaches can review legalities (violations of technical rules) and deductions (performance errors like falls).
And yes… some rules come straight from another era, and it shows.
😂 Top list of the funniest cheerleading rules
🏃♂️ 1. No using objects to boost yourself
Yes, this rule exists because back in the 80s, teams used… mini trampolines. Athletes would run, jump on the mini tramp, fly over a pyramid, land, and keep going like it was no big deal. We’re VERY far from modern cheer.
🎩 2. Props? Now limited… and for a very good reason
Teams used to push creativity to extremes:
capes
hats
flags
removable uniform pieces
custom signs
theatrical staging
Result: total chaos for judges. Today, the rule is simple: signs, megaphones, or pom-poms. That’s it.
🔄 3. The “tension drop roll”… now reserved for circus performers
Picture three people stacked in height, dropping forward in sync and rolling together. It used to be legal. It isn’t anymore. We all understand why.
🦵 4. The toss where the flyer was caught by the inside of the thighs
Yes, something like that existed. Yes, it was dangerous. Yes, it’s banned. No further explanation needed.
💇♀️ 5. A routine must start with… anything touching the floor except hair
A rule states that an athlete must have at least one foot, one hand or another body part but not their hair touching the floor at the start.
If it’s written, it’s because someone tried to get away with something. We don’t even want to imagine what.
📏 6. The 18-inch (46 cm) limit
In Levels 5 and 6, during a release move, the flyer cannot rise more than 18 inches above the fully extended arms of the bases.
Evaluating that in real time? A nightmare. Judges have to mentally measure the proportions of leg/torso/height. We salute their patience.
🥿 7. The rule about… the lost shoe
Athletes must wear cheer shoes at all times. Why? Because some tumblers used to take them off to tumble more comfortably… then put them back on afterward.
If a shoe falls off accidentally: no problem. If you take it off on purpose: penalty.
👀 Why do these rules even exist?
Because:
cheer has a very “creative” acrobatic past,
safety always comes first,
some coaches love testing the limits,
and every rule exists because someone has broken it before.
Judges often say: “If it’s written, it’s because we had to add it.”
⚠️ Unsportsmanlike behaviour: yes, it costs points
Whether it comes from an athlete, a coach or a parent. It includes:
trash-talking another team
disrespecting volunteers
entering through the wrong doors
yelling at a judge
provoking during another team’s performance
Teams can and will lose points.Respect is non-negotiable.
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