STUNTS
Cheerleading stunts consist of three positions: flyer, bases, and spotters. The flyer is the person who performs the stunt. She is held up by the bases and/or thrown up into the air. The base is the person who holds up the flyer. There is most often more than one base, depending on the difficulty of the stunt. The spotter helps the flyer into the stunt, steadies the stunt, and helps to catch the flyer in order to prevent injury. The more spotters there are in a stunt, the safer the stunt is for everyone, especially the flyer. The key to a successful stunt is timing. Each person must be exact and synchronized with everyone else. Otherwise, the stunt will not be executed, and the risk of injury increases. There is most often a count off to help in timing, for example, "one, two, down, up!"with the execution of the stunt occurring on the "up". In cheerleading, we are advised to have a "stick it" mentality, which means that if you go into the stunt with the mentality of executing the stunt, it is more likely to be successful. It is though hours of trial and determination that a stunt is perfected. A cheer squad must unite as a team to work towards perfection in both their routines and in stunts.
There are many stunts that can be performed. One of the basics is the extension. The 2 bases each hold one of the flyer's feet at their chest level and the spotter stands in back. From this position, we can move into the full extension. The full extension is where the bases' arms are straight, holding the flyer above their heads. The spotter pushes up with a firm grip on the flyer's ankles to steady the stunt. From a full extension we can do a liberty, where the flyer stands on one foot with the other foot bent next to it, and one base holds all of the weight. The other base and the spotter help to steady the stunt. There may be a need for more spotters as the stunt becomes more difficult. The cheer squad can perform stunts in routines, timing each stunt to music and/ or a cheer. There are a variety of other stunts that can be done. For now we will stick with the basics.
In the extension, the weight of the flyer is held up by the upward force exerted from the bases through the flyer's feet. In order to lift the spotter, a force must be exerted by the bases that is greater than the force of the flyer. (But not too great a force, otherwise the flyer will fly upwards out of their hands!) Each base holds 50% of the weight of the flyer at her chest, making the stunts easier to hold. If the weight is not equal on both sides, it will be physically apparent: one of the flyer's hips will be shifted higher than the other. If the stunt is properly executed and the weight is equally distributed, the flyer will look balanced. The spotter also helps to exert the force needed for lifting. In order for the bases to exert the right amount of force for an extension, it is important for the flyer to try to hold her own weight when she is jumping into the bases' hands to prevent her weight from pushing down too hard and too fast. To get the flyer down, the bases and the spotter "pop" her up into the air and catch her. This is especially applicable to physics. In the dismount, the flyer accelerates upward, stops, and then accelerates downward at 9.8 m/s squared, making the force greater on the way down than the force exerted to pop her up into the air. So the bases and the spotter must be especially careful to catch her in a cushion-like manner so as to prevent the flyer from hitting their arms with too abrupt a force. If they are not careful and prepared for the force of the landing flyer to hit them, the possibility of dropping the flyer is increased. This is to be prevented whenever possible.
For the full extension, more force must be exerted upward to place the flyer above the bases' heads, and a greater amount of downward force can be expected from the dismount. The dismount is similar to that of an extension, but instead of "popping" the flyer with mostly arm strength, the bases bend their knees and the straighten their legs again, letting go of the flyer. They carefully catch the flyer underneath her back and legs (cushioning to absorb some of the force) just as in the dismount from an extension. In the liberty, the weight is distributed differently, and the base and spotter help to take the weight from off the main base by pushing up on the flyer's leg. It is also important for the flyer to balance her own weight as much as she can. The dismount is exactly like that of a full extension.
As you can see, physics plays a huge role in cheerleading. As forces are exerted upward from the bases to the flyers, it is important to remember that the flyer is exerting the exact same amount of force downwards to the bases. The forces of gravity act upon both the flyer and the bases. These forces pull the bases to the ground while basing the stunt, and pull the flyer towards the ground when the bases let go of her. These are important factors to consider when performing cheerleading stunts. Each element plays an important role in both the safety and accuracy of the stunt.