North Dakota Spirit Rules

If you have any questions regarding Spirit Rules please visit the Board of Directors page for a contact representative.

North Dakota follow the National Federation Spirit Rules, in addition to the following:

  1. Each head coach must attend the NDHSAA rules clinics.
  2. To be eligible to stunt by National Federation Spirit guidelines you must:
    (a) Become Safety Certified through the North Dakota Cheer Coaches Association
    (b) At least one member of the cheer squad must have attended a bona fide cheer camp
  3. If the requirements from 2(a) and 2(b) are not met, cheer squads may not stunt more than waist high. As recommended by the member schools and adopted by the NDHSAA Board of Directors, the following rule states: "Any person bearing the weight of another must be in contact with the floor and any person participating in the upper part of a mount may not bear their weight any higher than the waist of that person in contact with the floor." No person may be on the shoulders of another! 
  4.  Enforcement of these rules as proposed by the member schools may be carried out by the administration of the host school.
  5. Forms are available for reporting a school/squad that is not in compliance with the rules of cheerleading as stated.
  6. There shall be no more than 8 cheerleaders or 7 cheerleaders and a mascot for all sports other than football.
  7.  All cheerleaders must be bona fide high school students. For safety reasons, no children are allowed on the floor or sideline at any time.
  8. No artificial noisemakers are allowed for any indoor sport, including indoor football. Examples of artificial noisemakers are but not limited to: cans with rocks, spirit sticks, banging signs together, paper plates with popcorn, or megaphones.  Exception:  Megaphones, used correctly may be used only by cheer team members.