#12- Numeracy

 Numeracy in cheerleading 

 Cheerleading has it all. Stunting, tumbling, jumping, dancing: it constantly requires physical activity. Even the most basic of tumbling “tricks” a cartwheel or an elementary level stunt, such as a thigh stand, requires a cheerleader to have sufficient training in cardio, strength, and flexibility. This is one of the many reasons that supporters give for considering cheer a “real sport.” Although not every team competes a key component to most sports, no doubt every aspect of regular, game day cheerleading from the pyramids to the round-off back handsprings -requires athleticism, coordination, and perhaps surprisingly, a basic knowledge of math.

Physics and mathematics can be found everywhere in cheerleading: 8-counts govern a dancing routine; weight distribution determines a three-level pyramid. The highly organized nature of cheerleading, with all of its formations and different groupings of girls based on their “job” in that stunt back spot, base, or flyer can hardly be divorced from the concepts of math. Rather, a cheerleader with a true knowledge of physics and mathematics will undoubtedly be more successful in her endeavors such as keeping a stunt from falling, building a pyramid, putting together a stunt group, performing a back tuck, or choosing the right surface for tumbling, which will all be explored in the body of this project.