CHEERSPORT

So this weekend I was at the biggest cheerleading competition in the world. 857 teams and over 10,000 athletes, it was pretty exciting and overwhelming. Our team, Cheer 808 Pohaku, took fourth place and represented Hawaii very well. If you are a physicist, you would be so proud and happy to see what great physics was occurring at such a place. The tumbling, stunting, dancing, and cheering all required some type of physics. Tumbling (flips) considered gravity and its potential energy, lots of torque, and momentum. We could get deductions if we didnt stick our tumbling, or land with two feet on the ground. Stunting (throwing girls in the air) also considered gravity, weight and its distribution. If the flyer's weight was distributed unevenly amongst the bases, she would fall and we'd get deductions from the judges. Dancing and cheering required coordination and correct body placements. Like stunting, if our weight was distributed evenly we would be off count and wouldnt be synchronized as a team.