Pop Warner Spirit teams have participated for several decades on the football sidelines (Pep Squads, Majorettes, etc.); however, cheerleading was not officially introduced until the 1970’s.

Today, thousands of youth participate in Pop Warner Cheerleading & Dance teams around the United States.

The Cheer & Dance Program offers teams with a wide range of opportunities for young athletes at all skill levels: Novice, Intermediate and Advanced. 

Pop Warner has established one set of spirit rules along with JAMZ, the Pop Warner Education Development Partner and the original developer of the Youth Cheer and Dance Alliance (YCADA).  

Together with YCADA, Pop Warner is able to provide online educational courses for its coaches, administrators and judges on team skill levels for Cheer Teams (PW 1, 2, 3 & 4) and for Dance Teams (Pom Performance & Theme Dance). Beginning this year, hands on training will be required by our local region, as well.

With continued education, the Pop Warner Coaching Staff provides basic instruction, training and conditioning, for both football game and competition performances.

Teams participate on the sidelines at football games for home and most away games, start of season through to the Pop Warner Super Bowl. In addition to Game Day, teams participate in qualifying spirit events (League and Region) through to a Pop Warner National Championship.

The Pop Warner National Cheer and Dance Championships (started in 1988) are now held in December located in ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Florida.  ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NORTH COUNTY WILDCATS CHEER & DANCE MISSION STATEMENT

The Objective of North County Cheerleading & Dance is to teach young participants the fundamentals of Cheerleading & Dance, along with the importance of scholarship, citizenship, athleticism and discipline, by providing youth cheerleaders and dancers an opportunity to participate in the organized sports, under the instruction and supervision of experienced, trained, background-checked adults.

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Pop Warner exists to use football, cheerleading, dance and a respect for education to develop strong, smart, responsible, healthy young men and women. We give them experiences that build their appreciation for and understanding of leadership, teamwork, and discipline.

Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc. (PWLS) is the only national youth sports organization in America that requires its participants to perform adequately in the classroom before permitting them to play.

We believe that the standards we have set give these children a sense of responsibility and an appreciation for academics and athletics that will help them develop later on in life.

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DANCE ONLY TEAMS – For the 2023 SEASON

**Pop Warner sets the limits on teams, depending on the number of adult coaches.  A small squad consists of 12 cheerleaders and requires 2 adult coaches.  A medium squad consists of 24 or fewer not below 13 cheerleaders and requires 3 coaches.  A large squad consists of 25-35 cheerleaders and 4 coaches.  There are no tryouts.  However, the cheer coordinator assigns participants to teams on a first-come, first served basis; based on age, date of registration and payment, experience to, make a team complete (i.e., tumblers and flyers), and prior head coach recommendations.

Participants may request to participate on a particular team, but NC does not guarantee that the request will be granted.  If your cheerleader is returning, they will be placed on teams based on age, and the discretion of the Cheer Coordinator and Head Coach.

TEAM PROGRAM for 2023 SEASON

Teams have the option, upon approval by the LCDC and RCDC, of choosing to be a Cheer or Dance Team. The following rules apply:

• All members of the rostered team (including coaching staff) must participate in both the cheer team and the dance team
• Must follow all Pop Warner registration, age division, participation, practice and game rules
• NOTE: No additional practice time will be allowed
• Must follow all Cheer Rules for cheer team and Dance Rules for dance teams
• A portion of the dance routine will be incorporated into the dance portion of the cheer routine
• Teams will cheer and dance during games and dance during halftime
• Teams will wear traditional cheer uniforms for games
• Both routines will compete and be scored at the League level
• The Dance routine will automatically advance to regionals and nationals
• The Cheer routine will advance based only on the cheer advancement rules from the Pop Warner Rule Book
• Parents will commit to the advancement process and the possibility of competing twice at the league and region levels, possibly twice at nationals
• Parents will understand and commit, upfront, to the possibility of attending nationals and a Disney package that may include enough days to compete as a cheer team in their division and a dance team in their division.
• Parents also need to be made aware of the possibility of 2 uniforms (cheer and dance)
• Fundraising should begin immediately for the auto advancing dance portion of this dual team.

Mighty Mites and above are eligible for Regionals and Nationals. Thus, Mighty and above will be considered for this program.

**Participants will be selected by the Head Coach for this special team, based on interest, skills, and family commitment.

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WILDCATS CHEER & DANCE SKILLS CAMP - AUG date TBD

We will be kicking off our 2023 Cheer & Dance Season with a 4 day Cheer & Dance Camp! Our camp will take place Aug 1st through Aug 4th at BGHS, the same time as the traditional football camp! All girls interested in Cheer & Dance are welcome to attend…whether you are registering for the season or not! Come check out our new program! Get a Wildcat Cheer & Dance T-shirt! Cost TBD

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Team placements will be announced in the second week of practice!  We cannot announce teams prior to that time until all registrations are finished and skills have been assessed. Changes in rosters can always be made after that date due to late registrations, drop outs, eligibility.

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PRACTICE SCHEDULE & TIME COMMITMENT

The season begins August 1st, with 2-3 day camp open to everyone!  The regular season runs through the end of October.  The season will continue through the end of November if the team qualifies for regional’s or through mid-December if the team qualifies for Nationals.  Cheer & Dance will also continue if their assigned football qualifies for playoffs, which will also lead into November.

During the month of August, practices are held 5 days a week.  Each practice is 2 hours.  During the months of September and October, the practice schedule is reduced to 3 days per week; 2 hours each practice.  In addition, cheerleaders and dancers perform at the football games, which are typically held on Sundays and maybe Saturday.  Parents are responsible for transporting their athletes to all games.

If a cheer and dance squads qualify for Regionals, practices will continue throughout the month of November with regional competition held the Friday after Thanksgiving.  Travel will happen over Thanksgiving Holiday. Teams will leave the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

If a squad qualifies for nationals, practices will continue for the first week of December, and travel to Orlando, Florida will take place the second week of December.

The specific practice schedule will be determined based on facility availability and team placement.  Head Coach will issue practice schedule.

ATTENDANCE & BEHAVIOR

Due to the nature of the sport, practices missed by one cheerleader has a significant impact on the squad, particularly on the stunt team. Please make an effort to schedule your family vacations during June and July.  Though we allow some flexibility for pre-arranged vacations and illness, August is a critical month where skill sets are being evaluated and positions determined. 

Our new program will be focused on learning and improving skills, athleticism, citizenship, team work, respect, becoming competitive…and fun. As a good athlete and team member we will expect participants to bring their best behavior, work hard and remain focused, so that we may all get the most out of each practice.