IESA Headlines

2008 IESA Cheerleading Championships Set For Saturday

BLOOMINGTON - The field in the eighth year of the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) State Cheerleading Championships ties for the largest number of competing squads ever. There will be 82 performances on Saturday (December 13) in the Exhibit Hall of the Peoria Civic Center. A year ago there were 73 performances. In 2006 there were 82 and in 2005 there were 48.

The 2008 Championships get under way at 9:00 a.m. in the Exhibit Hall. Tickets to the Championships will be on sale at the Peoria Civic Center. Admission is $5.00 for adults, $2.00 for senior citizens and students K-8. Preschoolers are admitted free. Admission gates open at 8:00 a.m.

This year's schedule of events will be:

Note: The awards ceremony in Cheer and Routine will follow the final performance in the respective category. Times listed for the award ceremonies are approximate.

In Cheer, there are 16 Small Team squads scheduled to compete, along with 13 Large Team squads. In Routine, there are 22 Small Team squads scheduled to compete along with 17 Medium Team squads and 14 Large Team squads.

Six-time defending Small Team Cheer champion Shelbyville Moulton is one of 16 squads entered in this division. No other school has won Small Team Cheer in the history of the Championships. Shelbyville Moulton is scheduled to perform at 9:16 a.m. Defending Large Team Cheer champion Edwardsville Liberty is scheduled to perform at 9:04 a.m.

Jerseyville Illini, last year's Medium Team Routine champion, is competing in Small Team Routine this year and is scheduled to perform at 2:37 p.m. Lockport Oak Prairie, last year's Small Team Routine champion, is competing in Medium Team Routine this year and will perform at 1:21 p.m. Defending Large Team Routine champion Orland Hills Bernardin is scheduled to perform at 3:37 p.m.

There are two event categories of competition in IESA cheerleading. One is Routine (with three divisions based on squad size) and the other is Cheer (with two divisions based on squad size). In the Routine category, Small Team is for school squads with 5-12 cheerleaders, Medium Team is for school squads with 13-16 members, and Large Team is for squads with 17-25 members. In the Cheer category, Small Team is for school squads with 1-12 members and Large Team is for school squads with 13-25 cheerleaders.

Following is a breakdown of what is involved in each event:

Cheer - The squad performs a routine without music for a time period from 1-3 minutes in length. The cheer may include stunts, tumbling and jumps. A school may enter either the small team or large team.

Routine - The squad performs a routine with music for a time period from 1-3 minutes in length. The normal full routine starts with music, then a cheerleading/sideline portion, followed by music to finish the routine. A school may enter either the small team, medium team or large team in the event.

Criteria used by the judges in IESA Cheerleading competition allows for them to award up to 100 points to a squad's performance. Categories of points include Communication (15 points), Fundamental Skills (45 points), Group Techniques (15 points), Overall Effect (20 points) and Sportsmanship (5 points). Deductions may occur if the time limit is not met (-5 points), a squad member being physically out of bounds (-10 points per incident), or if a stunt is in violation of a NFHS Spirit Safety Rule (-50 points).

The order of competition in each event is on the Cheerleading Page of the IESA Web Site. Go to www.iesa.org for complete information regarding the 2008 IESA Cheerleading Championships. Click on the underlined "Cheer" in the (orange screened) box at the top of the page. Once on the Cheerleading home page, you can click on the underlined "Order of Competition" to view the performance schedule for all squads by event. Results of the competition will be posted Saturday evening.

Year-By-Year IESA Cheerleading State Champions