Sideline cheer and competitive cheer may share the same foundation, but they serve entirely different purposes and demand unique skill sets. While sideline cheerleaders aim to energize the crowd at sporting events, competitive cheerleaders focus on executing a flawless two-and-a-half-minute routine to impress judges on a national stage. This distinction, however, is often misunderstood by those outside the cheerleading world.

According to CHS head coach Kaley Cunningham, sideline cheer focuses on crowd engagement.

“Our goal is to get the crowd to yell encouraging chants with us to help pump up the team and create a fun atmosphere,” she said. “We do more fun, visual stunts and skills on the sideline that the crowd will enjoy.”

Competitive cheer, she said, is more rigorous, requiring strength, endurance, and precision.

“Competitive cheer is very difficult and takes a lot of strength and endurance,” Cunningham said. “I believe people would respect cheerleaders as the athletes they are if they saw our competitive routines.”

For junior cheerleader Ayumi Yamazaki, the two activities offer different kinds of fulfillment.

“Sideline cheer is all about hyping up the crowd and supporting the football and basketball teams,” Yamazaki said. “But with competitive cheer, it’s more about pushing yourself and your team to hit the perfect routine at a competition.”

Senior cheerleader Ashley Lindamood agreed, emphasizing the mental aspect of competitive cheer.

“In competition, every single movement matters,” Lindamood said. “You have to be completely in sync with your teammates, and there’s a lot of pressure to hit every stunt perfectly because the judges are scoring every detail.”

Both sideline and competitive cheer require discipline and commitment, but the training schedules differ.
Sideline cheerleaders practice twice a week during their season, focusing on perfecting cheers, pyramids, and game-day stunts. In contrast, competitive cheer involves nearly year-round training.

“We practice three times a week over the summer and four times a week during the school year,” Cunningham said. “On top of that, we have games and competitions almost every weekend. It’s a lot, but it’s worth it.”

Balancing academics and cheer can be challenging, especially during the hectic competition season. Yamazaki shared that the cheer program’s mentorship system helps underclassmen adjust to the demanding schedule.

“The upperclassmen give us advice and check in to make sure we’re managing everything okay,” Yamazaki said. “Our coaches also send out weekly Google forms to see how we’re doing.”

Despite their differences, both sideline and competitive cheer remain equally challenging and rewarding.

“I still have the same standards, values, and expectations for both programs, it just looks different because each team has a different goal and purpose.” Cunningham said.