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National Federation of State High School Associations
2006-07 Spirit Rules Changes
NOTE: The entire picture section of the rules book has been updated.
Please order your Spirit Rule Safety Book at NFHS Spirit or OACC Order
2-2-6 (new) (Apparel)
When standing at attention, apparel must cover the midriff.
2-8-2 (old) 2-10-2 (old) (Dropping head backward)
DELETE RULE "A top person, including the flyer in a toss, must not drop the head backward out of alignment with the torso. The head must remain in a neutral position with the eyes looking forward."
RATIONALE: Dropping the head back out of alignment with the torso has not been shown to produce over-rotation or loss of kinesthetic awareness. The arch is still subject to the inverted flyer rule.
2-8-2 (old 2-8-3) (Inverted flyer)
CHANGE to "A flyer must not be in an inverted position except for the following:
a. During a forward suspended roll;
b. During a mount that begins from an inverted position on the performing surface to a non-inverted stunt shoulder height or below. It must include a base or spotter who protects the head/neck/shoulder area of the flyer."
RATIONALE: This change would allow a variety of low level mounts that do not present unreasonable risk to participants.
2-8-6 d (Pendulums and pendulum-type stunts)
CHANGE to "There are at least three stationary catchers who remain in their original
positions."
RATIONALE: Reducing the number of required catchers does not present unreasonable risk to the flyer, since all pendulums and pendulum-type stunts must begin from shoulder height or below.
2-9-1 a,b (Forward Suspended Roll)
CHANGE to:
a. It begins from a single or double base stunt with the flyer standing at shoulder
height or below. (Adds "single")
- The flyer maintains continuous hand-to-hand/arm contact with two bases/post. (Deletes "original")
RATIONALE: In suspended rolls from props (see 3-6-3), there are no "original" bases to assist the flyer during the dismount. Allowing similar forward suspended rolls from partner stunts provides consistency within the spirit rules and adds no additional risk to participants.
2006-07 NFHS Spirit Rules Changes
2-10-2 (new) (Restricted Surfaces for Tosses)
Basket tosses and other similar multi-base tosses are permitted only on appropriate mats, grass, rubberized and soft yielding surfaces.
RATIONALE: This change is consistent with the NFHS focus on risk minimization and is a result of an increase in cheerleading injuries.
2-10-11 (Helicopters)
CHANGE to:
A helicopter is legal provided all the following conditions are met:
a. The rotation in the horizontal plane is not greater than 180 degrees.
b. The flyer does not twist.
c. The flyer is in a face up position.
d. There are at least four bases who serve as both tossers and catchers.
e. At least one catcher must be in position to support the head, neck and shoulder area. This person(s) must be in position at the beginning of the toss and may not be involved in any other skill.
RATIONALE: There is sufficient time to allow a flyer to complete a 180-degree horizontal rotation when the toss is initiated by at least four tossers. Risk to the participants is minimized by the conditions required for the skill.
2-11-1 c,d,f (Loss of contact transitions)
CHANGE to:
c. The flyer has at least two bases. Exception: A single base tick tock is permitted provided the flyer remains vertical.
d. The flyer and each bracer have a separate spotter.
f. The flyer is not released to a toss.
RATIONALE: This change reinstates a skill that was inadvertently made illegal by the consolidation of the transition rule.
3-1-7 (new) (Dance apparel)
When standing at attention, apparel must cover the midriff. Note: the exception that would allow bare midriff for costumes worn by teams in character or novelty routines has been removed.
RATIONALE: The exception for specific dance/drill routines was removed so that the midriff rule applies equally to all spirit teams.
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