Stunting is the skill of lifting, tossing, or supporting a teammate in the air during a cheerleading routine. It’s one of the most recognizable and crowd-exciting elements of cheer, and it’s also one of the most technically demanding. Every stunt involves a group of athletes working in precise coordination, each filling a specific role to keep the flyer safe and the formation sharp.
How a Stunt Group Works
A standard stunt group has four or five people, each with a distinct job. The flyer (sometimes called the top) is the person lifted into the air. Flyers need strong body control, balance, and the ability to hold tight positions while elevated. The bases are the two athletes on the ground who bear most of the flyer’s weight, typically gripping the flyer’s feet at chest or overhead level. The back spot stands behind the stunt, supporting the flyer’s ankles or lower back and watching for any shifts in balance. Many groups also use a front spot, who assists from the front and adds stability during more difficult skills.
The division of labor matters because stunting is a trust exercise as much as a physical one. The flyer has to commit to locking out her body, and the bases have to absorb and control the load evenly. If one base lifts a fraction of a second late or a flyer breaks position, the whole stunt can come apart. That’s why teams drill timing relentlessly before adding difficulty.
Types of Stunts
Stunts range from beginner-level holds to elite-level sequences that combine multiple skills in the air. They generally fall into a few categories based on height, complexity, and movement.
- Prep-level stunts: The flyer is held at the bases’ chest or shoulder height. A basic prep (also called an elevator or half) is usually the first real stunt a team learns. The flyer stands with both feet in the bases’ hands at about chin level.
- Extension stunts: The bases press the flyer overhead with arms fully extended. A full extension, or “liberty” when performed on one leg, is a staple of competitive routines and requires significantly more strength and balance than a prep.
- Tosses: The bases launch the flyer into the air, where she performs a skill (a kick, twist, or flip) before being caught in a cradle position. Basket tosses, where all four group members interlock hands to create a launching platform, are among the most dramatic moments in a routine.
- Pyramids: Multiple stunt groups connect to form a larger structure, often with flyers linking arms or standing on each other. Pyramids are scored as a separate element in competitive cheer and have specific height and connection rules depending on the level.
- Transitions: These are movements that shift a flyer from one position to another without coming down, such as spinning from a two-leg prep into a one-leg liberty or switching which foot she stands on. Clean transitions add difficulty points in competition and make routines look fluid.
Stunting Levels and Difficulty
Competitive cheerleading is divided into levels, typically 1 through 7 in allstar programs, with each level permitting increasingly advanced skills. At Level 1, stunts are limited to waist-height holds and simple dismounts. By Level 3, teams can perform full extensions, single-leg stunts, and basic tosses. Levels 5 through 7 allow elite skills like release moves (where the flyer briefly leaves the bases’ hands and is recaught), twisting tosses, and inverted stunts where the flyer rotates upside down during a transition.
High school and college cheerleading follow slightly different rule sets governed by organizations like the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) or the NCAA. College programs, particularly at the Division I level, regularly perform advanced stunts that rival top allstar teams, with the added challenge of performing on hard sideline surfaces rather than spring floors.
Key Skills for Each Position
Flyers often get the most attention, but every position in a stunt group demands specific athletic abilities. Bases need strong legs, a stable core, and the grip strength to hold a person overhead for several seconds while potentially moving or turning. Good bases also have a quick reaction time, since they’re responsible for catching the flyer during dismounts and saving stunts that start to wobble.
Flyers benefit from being lightweight relative to their bases, but body control matters more than size. A flyer who can squeeze every muscle tight, lock her joints, and make micro-adjustments in balance is easier to hold than a lighter flyer who is loose or inconsistent. Flexibility is also important, since many stunt variations involve heel stretches, scorpions, or scale positions where the flyer pulls one leg behind or above her head.
Back spots are sometimes overlooked, but they play a critical safety role. They’re usually the tallest person in the group, giving them the reach to support the flyer’s ankles at full extension. They also call the timing for the group, counting the load-in so everyone moves together.
Common Stunting Terminology
If you’re new to cheer, the language around stunting can be confusing. Here are terms you’ll hear constantly at practices and competitions:
- Load-in: The starting position where the flyer dips into the bases’ hands before being lifted. A clean load-in sets the tone for the entire stunt.
- Cradle: The most common dismount. Bases pop the flyer upward, and she pikes slightly before landing on her back in the bases’ arms.
- Liberty: A one-legged stunt where the flyer stands on one foot in the base’s hands, with the other leg bent at the knee. It’s a foundational single-leg skill.
- Cupie (or awesome): The flyer stands on one foot with both bases holding that single foot together overhead. It looks clean and impressive but requires exceptional balance.
- Tick-tock: A transition where the flyer switches from standing on one leg to the other without coming down, rocking side to side like a clock pendulum.
- Full-up: A transition to an extended stunt that includes a 360-degree twist by the flyer on the way up.
Safety in Stunting
Stunting carries real injury risk, and cheerleading accounts for a significant share of catastrophic injuries in women’s sports. The most dangerous moments are during dismounts, tosses, and transitions where the flyer is briefly unsupported. Falls from extension height (roughly eight feet off the ground) can cause concussions, fractures, and ligament tears.
Rule-making bodies limit what skills are legal at each level specifically to reduce these risks. Teams are required to have trained spotters, and practicing on appropriate surfaces (spring floors or mats) is standard. Stunt progressions, where athletes master each component of a skill before combining them, are the most effective way to build difficulty safely. A well-coached team spends weeks on drills before ever attempting a new stunt at full speed, and athletes learn how to fall and how to catch a falling flyer before they learn the stunt itself.
Wrist, shoulder, and ankle injuries are common among bases from the repetitive overhead lifting. Flyers frequently deal with hip flexor strains and ankle sprains. Conditioning programs that target grip strength, shoulder stability, and core endurance help reduce the frequency of these injuries over a season.