Cheerleading can be a fun and rewarding option for college students. You can cheer people up while attracting a whole lot of attention to yourself. You become popular in college and not to mention being a style diva with fashionable dresses, shoes etc.
So if you are athletic and want to give your best shot at a college sport, you can start thinking seriously about college cheerleading. But cheerleading can be tough on you. First and foremost, you need to be fit, and obviously, you need to be on the scale. However, there are no strict height and weight requirements for college cheerleading.
What are the height and weight requirements for college cheerleading? The height and weight requirements depend upon the kind of team (coed/all female) that you want to be a part of. Most importantly you need to have an appropriate physique and maintain a level of physical fitness to be a part of any cheerleading team. Ideally, you should be within 5’3″ tall and lesser than 120 lbs to be on the safer side. The height and weight requirements also vary on the position that you want to take in your cheerleading team. Read to know more.
When I started out, I could not find enough information online about the height and weight requirements for college cheerleading. There was not a single website where I could find reliable information regarding this.
I read various forums, got in touch with experts and got the requirements that I wanted to know. My endeavor in this article is to put forward all the information that I had gathered regarding this topic.
How Much do you Have to Weigh to be a College Cheerleader?
Both being overweight and being underweight will not suit you if you want to be a cheerleader. There is no certain figure regarding the weight that you need to be within. Your fitness is basically assessed in tryouts and then you are offered a position in the team.
Being lightweight is definitely essential if you want to be a flyer, but if you are comfortable being a base, your overall fitness is more important than your exact weight.
Cheerleaders have talked about 120 lbs being the maximum limit for being selected as a cheerleader. So you can take 120 lbs as the safe limit and try to be within this number for having a good chance to be selected. Overall you would like to be within 95 to 125 lbs to be a good cheerleader.
How Tall do you Need to be, for Being a Cheerleader?
Being very tall can be a demerit while being a cheerleader. Ideally 5’3″ can be taken as the maximum limit for being selected as a cheerleader in a coed team. However, if you want to be a member of an all-female team, selectors can allow a bit more height if you want to be a base.
Speaking about the minimum height, what I have found out from my time as a cheerleader, 4’11” can be taken as the minimum height. Being lesser than this height can make you look small with your team.
Requirements to be a Flyer for Cheerleading
Have you seen a cheerleader being thrown up in the air and then being caught on the way down. That is a cheerleading flyer for you. The amount of physical agility needed by a flyer, to do the stunts in the air, is very high.
A cheerleading flyer should not be overweight, which will cause the catching very difficult for the base. A higher weight means higher momentum and as a result, throwing and catching become increasingly difficult.
There may not be a well-defined height and weight requirement to be a flyer, but overall the selectors prefer candidates below 5’2″ in height and below 115 lbs in weight.
Read how much it costs to be a college cheerleader in this concise article. I have provided a full breakup here. Hope it helps you.
How Much Should I Weigh to be a Flyer in Cheerleading?
As already mentioned, a flyer needs to be agile and needs to be of a much lighter weight than the base. The base must be able to throw the flyer in the air, sustain the stunts in the air and then catch the flyer on the way back to the ground. Thus the weight of a flyer can vary between 85 lbs to 115 lbs. It all depends on the partner who will perform the stunts with you.
Having a smart body fat scale (Amazon Link), can help you tone up and reduce your weight. Building up strength is the key important factor.
Height is something that is not always in our hand, but you must ensure that you make yourself the strongest given your height. If you hit the gym, do the exercises regularly and build up your strength and agility, you will surely bring your weight within the desired limits of the selectors.
How Tall are Flyers in Cheerleading?
Do you know, 5’2″ is considered tall for being a flyer in the cheerleading team. Candidates above 5’2″ in height may become difficult to throw and catch during the stunts due to lack of body stability.
Smaller cheerleaders cause lesser balance problems for the base and hence are always preferred as flyers by the college cheer selectors.
If you are not below 5’2″ please do not lose heart, you can always try out for an all-female cheerleading team. Do prepare yourself well and give your best in the tryouts.
Learn the other requirements to be a flyer in a cheerleading team, in this article.
Heaviest and Tallest Cheer Flyers – Examples
I have seen a competitive cheer flyer who was a much bigger girl but she was equally strong as well. She was 5’9 and use to weigh around 150 lbs. Her height and weight never mattered as she was highly skillful. She was obviously a part of a large cheerleading team and when she used to be the flyer she had at least 3 bases.
I know you might have the question of how she got selected in the first place. Why would the coach and selector take such a risk? The answer lies in her performance and skill level.
She may be the heaviest and tallest girl that you have heard of as a cheerleader but her level of flexibility was something unmatched. She was calm and poised and used to keep her muscle toned to be able to do stunts with high precision.
Final Thoughts
The moral of the story is that, if you can be within the mentioned height and weight requirements it’s fine. But as already told many times in the article, most cheerleading teams do not have a very strictly defined height and weight requirement.
The most important requirement is an appropriate physique and physical fitness. Do your workouts, build your strength and make the most of your opportunities.
You cannot always be a perfect cheerleader but you can always give your heart out and be the best version of yourself. Self-confidence is something that is very essential for a cheerleader.
I hope this article could answer most of your queries regarding the height and weight requirements to be a college cheerleader. For more such in-depth articles, keep following GoCheerleading.com
Get Ready with Your Basic Cheerleading Kit
A basic cheerleading kit consists of the minimum requirements that a beginner cheerleader needs for his/her practice and events. Proper uniform and comfortable shoes are a must and they help the cheerleader for his/her overall well-being and safety. This section will help you choose the uniform and shoes as per your requirements.
Cheerleading Uniform: Uniforms form an important part as you can well understand. Choose the proper uniform as per your school/event specifications. However, do take care to choose a fabric that is breathable and helps you stay comfortable during the performance. Relevant helpful resources:
1. What Fabric Is Used For Cheer Uniforms? A Common Question
2. Best Cheerleading Uniforms For Toddlers: Too Cute To Avoid – If you need an awesome cheerleading uniform for Halloween!
3. What Do Cheerleaders Wear Under Their Spankies? Demystified – Innerwear is important in this sport.
4. Check out Amazon’s Webpage for Cheerleading Uniforms – They have a good collection
Cheer Shoes: If you want to perform confidently as a cheerleader, you need comfortable shoes. Just as any other field sport, wearing proper shoes can make or break your performance. Choose the best fitting shoes as per your requirement. Some helpful resources for you:
1. Best Nike Cheerleading Shoes That Are Comfortable And Cheap – Comfortable and cheap cheerleading shoes from the best brand in this domain.
2. Best Cheer Shoes For Wide Feet That Fit The Way You Want – There are shoes specially designed for wide feet. This article helps you choose the proper one.
3. Check out Amazon’s Webpage for Cheerleading Shoes – They have shoes fitting everyone’s needs.
4. Check out the 7 Best Shoes For High School Cheer that are cheap yet comfortable.
Cheer Backpacks: Arranging things every time before your practice can be tedious. Keeping everything organized neatly in a backpack can be the key and help you save time and effort. I have made an exhaustive guide for you to choose the right cheer backpack for yourself at various price points. Do check it out if you need help.
