Cheerleading is a physical exercise where participants cheer their sports team during a competition. The cheerleading group engages in fantastic high kicks, jumps, and stunts to motivate their team and entertain the audience. Just like any other sport, cheerleading requires intense physical exercise. When high school cheerleaders cheer their team, they represent the name of the school and their team. They need to wear uniforms that represent their school and the team as well. The uniforms are also essential to ensure uniformity when performing.
Cheerleaders normally wear spanky shorts under their uniforms. Spanky shorts, also called spankies, are a type of underwear designed to be used for cheerleaders so that a girl’s nether regions will remain covered while still ensuring that the uniform looks professional.
Cheerleaders wear several clothes to make a complete uniform. The complete uniform should consist of tops, skirts, spankies, cheer shoes, and accessories. The cheerleading uniform has gone through a revolution to design a uniform that allows cheerleaders to perform complex movements. Traditional uniforms used to be bulky, but today’s uniform is light and stylish. Even what goes near the skin, referred to as underwear, has been designed to ensure cheerleaders perform complex routines with much ease. Now that you are interested in knowing what cheerleaders wear under their uniforms, you have come into the right place. This article will take you through everything you need to know about the parts of a cheer uniform. Let’s live right in.
What Goes Under Cheerleading Skirts?
To perform the more complex routines, cheerleaders require shorts and stylish skirts. When performing, cheerleaders are expected to do numerous jumps, kicks, and stunts. Cheerleaders need to wear garments under their skirts that prevent exposing what they are wearing underneath. It would be embarrassing if they don’t have suitable garments under their skirts. Any garment that’s worn near the skin is called underwear. We’ll look into other types of underwear in a moment but let’s first look into the underwear that goes under cheerleading skirts.
What are Spankies?
Spankies are underpants that goes under the skirts of cheerleaders as part of the matching full uniform. They are made out of polyester or spandex. Spankies are also called bloomers, shorties, or briefs. These underpants have the same color as the skirt and top and sometimes bear the school’s logo or the team. Spankies are supposed to cover what the skirts expose during performances. When jumping, the short skirts exposes what’s under. Spankies should give cheerleaders confidence that nothing that’s not meant to be seen is seen.
The color of the skirts should match the color of the spankies. Mismatched colors can bring unnecessary attention. The main goal of cheerleaders is to motivate their school’s team and entertain the audience. They make the tournament livelier with their performances. If cheerleaders are wearing spankies that don’t match their skirts, their main intention may be compromised. Sometimes the skirts are made with built-in spankies to help eliminate bulky layers and help them stay put without twisting. They are designed to feel comfortable during cheers.
Spankies became part of cheerleading uniforms when skirts shrank from what used to have a longer knee length. In the 1900s, cheerleading skirts used to be longer and modest. Cheerleading had not evolved as the primary goal was to distinguish the teams playing and feature the initials of schools. Cheerleading has changed dramatically with more stylish clothes and complex performances. Cheerleaders will perform tricks where they’ll be needed to lift their legs high or bend while touching their toes. Such events are likely to expose what they wear under short skirts. That’s why spankies are a crucial part of cheerleaders’ uniforms.
What are the parts of a Cheer Uniform?
Several garments make up a complete cheer uniform. Cheerleaders carry the name of their school wherever they go. That’s why these uniforms should have the official colors and mascots of the school and the team they cheer for. The uniforms are made to make the cheerleaders look attractive and give them a unique look. So what are the parts of a cheer uniform?
• Tops
Cheerleaders can either wear sleeveless or liners tops. The sleeveless tops are also called shells. Liner tops are sleeveless and can come in the form of turtlenecks. During warm-ups, the cheer group can wear jackets that usually have the color of their team and logo. The tops, when worn, should cover the midriff and should be athletic-looking. The tops liners should have modest necklines and should not hang out under the cheer tops. They should not look excessively bare or designed with backless styles.
• Skirts
The stylish skirts worn by cheerleaders are short, pleated, and match the color of the tops. The short skirts help cheerleaders move freely and prevent chances of tumbling when performing complex moves. The skirts are also meant to give the cheerleaders an identity wherever they go. The National Federation of High School Association (NFHS) provides guidelines about cheerleading skirts. The rules give out the length of the skirts to ensure they reach mid-thigh. However, other teams such as college teams and professional teams don’t have to follow these rules. Cheer skirts should fully cover the hips and spankies. The skirts should be buttoned and zipped. The coach should assess the cheer skirts to make sure they meet the standards set by the school or team.
• Underwear
Any clothing that’s worn close the skin and under another is called underwear or innerwear. Underwear is an essential garment for cheerleaders. They include spankies, bras, and socks. This innerwear is designed to fit the school or team they represent. They all have their distinct roles during the performance. Bras should support the breasts when jumping. Socks are worn together with sneakers to avoid having burns during rigorous exercises. The spankies or briefs are worn under the short skirts to prevent exposing the cheerleaders’ inner lingerie.
• Cheer Shoes
Just like any other sport that needs shoes during performances, cheerleaders require shoes as well. The cheer shoes should be light and cushion them well during jumps and stunts. The cheer shoes need a high level of upkeep and care to ensure durability. The cheer shoes should not have anything attached to them or their laces. The coach of any cheerleading group must assess the shoes to ensure they feel flexible when worn.
• Accessories
Cheerleading is never complete without pom poms, gloves and bows. They are meant to make the whole event lively. The bows and bow should not go above a cheerleader’s head or on the face. However, there’s a limit to the decorative that a cheer group should use. Cheerleaders should not decorate themselves with jewelry because of security reasons. They get in touch with so many people, and the jewelry might get lost in the process.
Cheerleading uniforms should be customized to give cheerleaders confidence to perform in tournaments flocked with many people. The color and design of the uniform should help bring a sense of bonding and solidarity among the team players, cheerleaders, and fans. The cheerleading squad should deliberately choose the uniform that fits the ambition of the school and the team. They should also consider the seasons and the purpose of the uniforms.
There are uniforms meant for competition days while others are meant for practice sessions. The cheerleading squad should also do thorough research to ensure they don’t copy what another cheerleading group has. They should also avoid compromising the quality of the uniform to avoid embarrassing themselves when performing.
Can Cheerleaders Wear Leggings?
Leggings are not part of the cheerleaders during competitions. They are not allowed by their coach to wear pants such as yoga pants or tights. The official dressing of a cheerleading group should include tops, skirts, undergarments, and white shoes. They are also issued with another uniform to use during warm-up.
Most high schools struggle with whether they should allow their cheerleaders to wear their uniforms when attending their classes. Some schools allow them to attend classes with attractive cheerleading garments. Others only allow them to wear them in classes when there is a competition that evening. They want to create awareness and encourage more students to attend the match.
However, the issue here has been how short the skirts are when climbing stairs or sitting in class. To avoid allowing cheerleaders to expose their behinds to other students, some schools have set rules that allow cheerleaders to wear leggings if dressed in their uniform. They can remove the leggings when they go for performances during the competition.
Conclusion
Cheerleaders should wear a uniform during competitions to help spice up the event. The uniform consists of several parts, which make one complete uniform. The cheerleading squad should ensure their uniform is designed to help represent the school and the team. They are designed with a school or the team logo to help bring uniformity and solidarity among players, fans, and cheerleaders.
The uniforms should also help the cheerleaders feel comfortable when performing. There are complex moves that require them to wear well-designed tops, skirts, shoes, and undergarments. With the help of a coach, a cheerleading group should choose a quality uniform that serves their interests. A well-designed and high-quality uniform gives the cheerleaders confidence to bring out the best when performing and put the name of their school in the spotlight.
