Pasco Police Athletic League

5. In the event a Cheer Coordinator is unable to attend an event or meeting, they must appoint a designee to take their place. All decisions will be binding on every league even if they do not have a representative at the meeting.

II. Coordinator Meetings/Failure to Attend Meetings:

1. The PPAL Vice President of Cheerleading will set the schedule of Cheerleading Coordinator meetings at the beginning of each calendar year. League Cheerleading Coordinators will be given a copy of the meetings schedule and should provide the schedule to the local board.

2. Attendance at League Cheer Coordinators’ meetings is mandatory.

3. Failure to attend or send a representative to a Cheer Coordinator meeting will result in $50 fine to the league.

III. Coaches:

1. All coaches should remember that the safety of their squad is their primary concern. No one under the age of 21 may be a Head Coach. No participant may be left with anyone under the age of 21. Assistant Coaches must be 18 or older. Cheer helpers may be younger than 18 but no younger than the oldest age of the group they are working with.

2. Head coaches should recognize their squad’s abilities and talents and structure their routines accordingly.

3. Head coaches should be well versed in all rules that apply to their division including league imposed restrictions and ensure that all coaches and participants have been trained in proper spotting techniques.

4. All coaches must have a background check completed and will have a PPAL accepted ID Badge prior to coaching. Head Coaches are required to have a Coaches Certification that is current.

IV. Squads:

5. League age equals your age on January 1^st. Cheerleaders will be divided into five (5) divisions according to the league ages below:

a. Junior Flyweights 5 and 6 year olds

b. Flyweights 7 and 8 year olds

c. Mighty Mights 9 and 10 year olds

d. Junior Varsity 11 and 12 year olds

e. Varsity 13, 14 and 15 year olds

"Any cheerleader that has cheered with the current league for the 2 previous years and is in the last age year of that division, may move to the next higher age division pending approval from the parent, Cheer Coordinator, and the Director. The VP of Cheer and President must be informed of any such move and that child will be highlighted on the roster card. "

6. Rosters in all divisions are limited to Forty (40) participants. No additions may be made to the roster after Jamboree.

7. There is no cheering/practice permitted across divisions during the PPAL Season. You may cross cheer on your own field as a means of instruction or demo only. They are NOT allowed to stunt together. ONLY if that specific division does not have ANY cheerleaders or football players to cheer for, they may then move 1 division up or down and cheer. VP OF CHEER MUST be notified.

IV. Stunts:

1. All stunts must have proper spotting as outlined in the NFHS Spirit Guide and this Cheer Guide.

2. Junior Flyweights may with two legs be involved in a moving stunt. They may only be involved in stunts up to a prep (half extension) level. No Basket Tosses and or Fulls and one legged stunts are allowed etc. Back spotter must have constant hands on contact. (Exception to the rule is the back spotter may release with a dismount). They may cradle out of stunts but no twisting is permitted. Spotters and bases must have constant eye contact at all times.

3. Flyweights may twist up but may not twist down. They may cradle out of a stunt at prep level. Flyweights can also do a full but no one legged stunts allowed higher than a prep level (half extension). No basket tosses are allowed. Spotters and bases should have constant eye contact.

4. Mighty Mites must have a back spot on stunts shoulder height and above. They are not allowed to do Basket Tosses.

5. Junior Varsity and Varsity will follow NFHS Spirit Guide.

6. Stunting/tumbling is not permitted when it is raining or on a slippery or uneven surface or where there is not enough space per the Spirit Guide. There will be NO Stunting/Tumbling on asphalt, concrete, or any other hard surface without a protective mat.

7. NO stunting is permitted across divisions. No mixing of squads during the PPAL season which ends when the PPAL team you cheer for has ended their season. You may cross cheer on your own field as a means of instruction, not at games/PPAL events. Divisions may cheer together as long as they are separate. They are NOT allowed to stunt together. ONLY if that specific division does not have ANY cheerleaders or football players to cheer for, they may then move 1 division up or down and cheer. VP OF CHEER MUST be notified.

V. Practice and Clinics

1. The PPAL Executive Board will determine the first day of practice.

2. Squad practice schedules will be determined by the local league.

3. Squads may practice no more than ten (10) hours per week before school begins and no more than six (6) hours per week after school begins.

4. The school start date will be determined by the first day of school in Pasco County.

5. Cheerleaders may not cheer at a game until their file has been certified and they have completed the required ten (10) hours of conditioning.

6. Squad cheering at playoff games will be allowed to practice 2 additional hours that week.

7. Practice attire will be determined by the local league and approved by the VP of Cheer. Hair must be off face behind ears, bangs above the eyebrows and half up and down acceptable.

8. Game and Event Uniforms – As a minimum the cheer uniform will consist of a top, skirt/skort, bloomers, socks & shoes and all must match and be of a color matching the league football program. This uniform will be required at all PPAL functions. Disregard to this rule will result in disqualification and fines.

9. Participant Attendance:

a. Participant may miss 1 practice and remain eligible for that weeks game.

b. Participate in 6 of the 10 regular games to be eligible for Cheer-Off.

10. No stunting during the first ten (10) hours of practice/conditioning.

11. Individual teams may not conduct pre-season practice or conditioning of any kind.

12. Clinics require prior PPAL approval. Clinics may be sponsored by a local league, but must be open to all PPAL leagues. The details of the clinic should be submitted to PPAL for review and distribution to the other leagues.

VI. Games/PPAL Competitions:

1. PPAL Cheerleading is governed by the NFHS Spirit Guide and the PPAL Cheer Rules/Cheer Off rules.

VII. Rosters

· Each team must provide a hard copy roster and 3 copies of their PPAL Official Team roster showing all games cheered. The 3 copies will be given to the Cheer Coordinator. All Cheerleaders must attend a Roster Sign In prior to the start of the game to be verified for that game. For the first game, this will happen 30 minutes prior to the start of that game and at one hour prior to the start of all ensuing games.

1. A typed roster of each cheerleading squad will be given to the announcer prior to the beginning of the game.

2. Cheerleaders will stay in areas designated by the home team. If both squads are on the same side of the field, each squad will stay on its appointed side of the fifty yard line.

3. During 4^th quarter, non-aggressive inter-league cheer interaction is permitted.

4. Half-Time:

a. Each squad will perform a routine not to exceed two (2) minutes at half-time.

b. The routine may not be aggressive. There will be a white hat from each league on the field during half-time.

c. There will be no more than three (3) home greeters to the visiting side.

d. Visiting squad will go to the home side and perform first.

e. Visiting squad will return to its side followed by the home squad to perform for the visitors.

5. End of Game:

a. Home and visitor squads will go between the home team’s goal line and thirty yard line or the home team’s sideline for a squad handshake.

b. White hats and coaches must be present on the field during handshakes.

c. Cheerleaders are not allowed near the fifty yard line when the football players are crossing.

d. Cheerleaders will return to respective sidelines by way of the furthest directions from where the football players are crossing.

e. Any unsportsmanlike conduct will result in suspension of a minimum of 1 game. Continued unsportsmanlike conduct will result is dismissal from PPAL.

6. Cheer-off:

a. An Annual Cheer-Off will be conducted with all leagues competing.

b. Participation is mandatory. Any team not performing will be fined $150.00.

c. Cheerleaders must participate in 6 of the 10 regular season games in order to be eligible for Cheer-Off.

d. Rules for Cheer-Off are contained in the document entitled “Cheer-Off Rules.”

e. A Cheer Coordinators/Coaches’ clinic will be held to answer questions and discuss judging prior to Cheer-Off.

7. Super Bowl:

a. Participation of 1^st,2^nd, and 3^rd places teams from Cheer-Off is mandatory.

1) A specific time will be allotted to allow all three teams to perform.

VIII. Non-PPAL Competitions:

1. PPAL events take precedence over all non-PPAL activities. No squad may attend a non-PPAL event over a PPAL event.

2. There will be no squad mixing until after Super Bowl. This includes practices.

3. Squads containing participants who have moved up to their next division may not practice together until after Super Bowl.

4. PPAL must be informed of all outside competitions or PPAL insurance will not be in effect for these events.

5. No competitions may be entered into after April 1 of each year