NDCCA Competition Rules

TIME

The competition will begin at 11:00 AM CST.  Doors will be open to the public at 10:30 AM.  Spectators will not be allowed to enter or exit during performances. 

COST

All spectators will pay $8.00 (adult) and $5.00 (student) admission.  No checks please. 

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS

To Be Posted Soon: Click here for information on hotel accommodations and rates.

COMPETITION APPAREL & ACCESSORIES

Order the official 2011 Fall Competition apparel and accessories soon!

On-site orders will be taken for an additional $5 shipping/handling charge per item. Coaches should check their pre-ordered merchandise at the competition as soon as possible for correctness. If a mistake is found, let the person at the merchandise table know as soon as possible—a few extra items are ordered, and they may be able to fill in the shortage/mistake. If that is not possible, the correct merchandise will be mailed to the team at no charge for postage. When coaches receive their on-site orders after the competition, they need to check them right away for correctness. They will have 2 weeks after the order is sent to them to report errors. After that time, the order will be considered correct and closed.

VIDEOS & PICTURES

NO VIDEO CAMERAS WILL BE ALLOWED IN THE COMPETITION VENUE (this includes using cell phone, etc. to video competition)—PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU INFORM YOUR PARENTS.  A professional video of the entire competition will be made available and orders will be taken throughout the day of the competition.  There will also be action shots of each team performing available for sale the day of the competition.

Coaches, be ethical, DO NOT buy one video and copy it!

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

If the coach of a cheer team is a North Dakota certified cheer coach, and has attended the required Spirit Rules meeting for that year, that team may enter the NDCCA Cheer Competitions.

Members of the competing cheerteams must be bona fide cheerleaders in that cheer season—for example Fall Competition competitors must cheer for fall sports, and Winter Competition competitors must cheer for a winter sport. An administrator of the competing school will verify this on the registration form. A team may move up JV cheerleaders onto a competing Varsity team, as long as that JV cheerleader is also cheering in that competition season.

*Appropriate Music: There has been some concern lately that some teams are using music that is inappropriate in nature. Please make sure that the music your team selects is appropriate. If this continues, there may have to be rules and penalties assessed.

Each team will perform a choreographed routine up to 2 minutes, 30 seconds in length. Up to 1 minute, 30 seconds of the routine may be performed to music. Timing will begin with the first movement by the cheer team after their team has been called to perform. Your team will be called twice: once when you are on deck and once as the next team to perform, which will be your cue to take your positions on the performance mat. “Spiriting” on to the mat is not permitted, but you may spirit off the floor at the end of the performance. It is important for your cheer team to be in place and ready to perform immediately after being called a second time. Cheer teams should be lined up and ready to go before the team performing in front of them takes their place on the performance mat.

Nails, piercings, jewelry, etc. will be checked for National Federation Rule violations while the team is in line or on deck before they perform. If a violation is found, there will be a 10 point deduction given to the team, just as a 10 point deduction is given for any other NF Spirit Rule violation.

Regular cheer team uniforms are to be worn during the competition. This includes the Stunt Group division and all other parts of the competition. If there is a uniform violation, the person/ group will not be allowed to compete. Mascots must be in complete mascot uniform during the performance and must not remove any portion of their costume. The only props that will be allowed are megaphones, poms, signs, and flags.

Words to cheers and chants that are learned at camps may be used. You may include a dance move or new action that you learned at camp, just not the entire cheer or dance. If you use the words, you can’t use the motions; if you use the motions, you can’t use the words. Try to be original—it’s more entertaining that way!

A team may not use the same competition routine in 2 consecutive competitions. For example, if they use a routine in the Fall competition, they may not use the same one for the subsequent Winter competition; if a team uses a routine in the Winter competition, they may not use the same one in the next Fall’s subsequent competition. If an infraction is suspected, the judge coordinator must be contacted before or during verification of scores. The only people that can challenge a routine is a judge or a head coach. If one is reported, previous DVD’s and current videotape of the competitions will be compared. If it is found to be the same, the team will be disqualified.

Judges will score teams in evaluation divisions, but no places will be awarded. The evaluation routine may be up to 2 minutes, 30 seconds with the option of stunting and music.

Each team may provide spotters for their team. The spotter may not help build or hold stunts in any way. Spotters may assist for spotting purposes only. If the spotter does help build the stunt or assist in keeping the stunt stable, the team will be deducted 10 points each time the spotter assists.

The NDCCA does not want to see teams doing stunts they are not ready to perform. If your team is not hitting the stunts you are planning on performing in your competition routine, make adjustments to perform stunts that your team is comfortable with and safely capable of doing.

All cheer teams will perform on the designated 42’ x 42’ mat. Each team will also be assigned a 5 minute practice session on the performance mat. If you miss your assigned practice time, you will forfeit your practice time. The 5 minute time limit will be strictly monitored.

Music should be recorded at a medium volume. NDCCA has puchased a boombox that will play cassettes, iPods and CDs. The same system will be used at each competition so to have consistency at all competitions. It is up to the coaches discretion to use whatever music souce they desire; however, be aware that at some venues, CDs may skip. (Cassette tapes are recommended.) Back-up music is suggested in the event that your primary copy doesn’t work. Sound effects may be recorded on the tape, but no voice-overs of the cheer team saying the words to the cheers will be allowed.

In the event that the music equipment does not work, or in the case of an injury, the coach can choose one of the following procedures:

  1. The team keeps going, and they complete the performance. They will be scored as usual.
  2. The coach stops the performance at the time of the injury or at the time of the music equipment malfunction. The team leaves the mat, and will redo their routine either at the end of their division, or 2 teams later. Once this decision is made, they do not have the choice to use either the first or 2nd performed routine—they must take the scores of the 2nd performed routine.
  3. No additional cheerleader can take the place of an injured person—the team must perform their 2nd routine with the same original performing cheerleaders, minus of course the injured person.
  4. If the routine is stopped because of an injury and the routine is redone, the injured person may not be in the 2nd performance.
  5. If a team has (an) alternate(s), the alternate(s) must be listed and paid for on the registration form. The team cannot use the alternate(s) in their performance if they have not used them during their practice time. The alternate(s) must also be listed and paid for on the registration form when submitted.

PENALTIES & DEDUCTIONS

The following penalties will apply for the competition:

Disqualification will occur if the cheer team is not ready to perform at their assigned performance time, unless there are extenuating circumstances approved by the NDCCA board.

JUMP OFF RULES

  1. 2 cheerleaders per team may enter the jump-off . (if both the JV and Varsity teams are entered, they could have a total of 4 Jump-off participants.)
  2. The participants will be placed in a group randomly , not having 2 members from the same team in the first round if at all possible. Each group will have 3-4 people in the group.
  3. One winner will be selected in each group to move on to the next round.
  4. There will be a total of 3 rounds, the last round being the final, which will be between 2 jumpers.

The participants will do the following:

  1. Round One: A toe touch
  2. Round Two: one jump of their choice from the following: Side Hurdler, right or left; Front Hurdler, right or left; Pike ; Double Nine
  3. Round 3—Finals Each jumper will do a toe touch and one other advanced jump listed in Round 2. They may be stamina jumps or they don’t have to be stamina jumps (one right after the other without stopping) They can do the jumps in any order—the toe touch then advanced jump, or the other way around. They also can do a different advanced jump than the one they performed in round 2.

JUDGING

All Judges for the NDCCA Cheerleading Competition come from various parts of the country with a background in cheerleading. Cheer teams will be judged in the following areas:

Download Score Sheets and Scoring Criteria from the Forms page.

VERIFICATION OF SCORES

There is no appeal process. Judges decisions are final. The following process for verifying scoring tabulations will be done.

Following the completion of the competition, and before the places are announced, one head coach of each team in the competition will come to a designated place to check the additions of the scores. It will be done as privately as possible, and the coach will only see her/his own scores at that time. They will add the scores, and will either:

All score sheets may be picked up by the cheer coach at the designated area after the Awards Ceremony.

QUESTIONS

If you have any questions please email LuAnn Burris.