Cheer Practice, Football Season, Sideline Cheer

How to Create a Halftime Routine for High School Cheer

Halftime routines are a fun performance that cheerleaders can showcase during the halftime of a football or basketball game. This post will cover how to structure a halftime routine for a high school cheerleading team.

Halftime routines typically last between 40 seconds up to 3 minutes long. Generally, a routine that is 1 minute and 30 seconds long is the ideal length.

Your team may want to perform a longer halftime routine for special events such as homecoming or a shorter halftime routine on a busier game night such as senior night.

Music

Halftime routines are typically performed with music. When planning for the halftime routine and deciding on the music, there are two ways to plan:

  1. Start with a music mix, count the number of 8-counts in the mix, and create a routine that fits the music.
  2. Start with a routine and create a music mix that matches the number of 8-counts in the halftime routine.

Elements to Include in the Halftime Routine

Each section of the halftime routine is typically between five and eight 8-counts. Below is a list of elements that you can include in the halftime routine. This is the order that a routine can follow, you can switch sections around based upon how you are planning to structure the halftime routine.

  1. Cheer
  2. Opening Section
  3. Jump Section
  4. Tumbling Section
  5. Stunt Section
  6. Pyramid Section
  7. Dance Section

Here are some ideas on how to structure the halftime routine:

40 Second Routine

  1. Stunt Section
  2. Jump Section
  3. Dance

1 Minute 30 Second Routine

  1. Opening
  2. Jump Section
  3. Stunt Section
  4. Dance
  5. Pyramid

3 Minute Routine

  1. Cheer
  2. Opening Section
  3. Jump Section
  4. Tumbling Section
  5. Stunt Section
  6. Pyramid Section
  7. Dance Section

Prepare for Halftime

The cheer team should be able to perform the halftime routine full out at least one full week before performing the halftime routine at a football or basketball game. Know the type of surface that the cheer team will be performing on and take that into consideration when planning the elements of the halftime routine. For example, if the halftime routine will be on a basketball court, make sure the stunts align with the current NFHS and USA cheer safety rules. If the halftime routine will be during football season, check the weather ahead of time to see if it will be raining.

Practice the routine several times each practice leading up to the halftime performance. On the day of the game, cheerleaders should arrive at the game at least an hour prior to kick off to warm up and practice the halftime routine a few times before the performance.

Performing Halftime

Cheer teams oftentimes walk altogether to the middle of the field to greet the other cheer team. At football games, the away cheer team will usually perform their halftime routine first. The home cheer team will sit on the sidelines of the away cheer team to watch the away cheer team perform their halftime routine.

Then, the away cheer team will sit on the home side and watch the home team’s cheer team perform their halftime routine.

Halftime routines are a highlight of the cheer team’s accomplishments throughout the season! Families and spectators enjoy watching the cheer team perform the skills that they have been working hard to accomplish.

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