Cary Pop Warner offers a great cheer experience for girls who want to cheer for a team and also participate in exhibitions or competitions.

Cary Chargers Tiny Mite Cheer Squad

Non-Competitive Cheerleading (Flag, Tiny Mite and Mitey Mite divisions) is offered to girls ages 5-9. Competitive Cheerleading (Junior Pee Wee and higher divisions) is offered to girls 8-15. Girls will be placed on a team in the appropriate division based on age (as of July 31, 2013), experience and the number of girls registering.

Cary Pop Warner is not part of Cary Parks and Recreation, and participation is not limited to Cary residents.

The younger cheerleaders at the Flag, Tiny Mite and Mitey Mite divisions do not participate in competitions but do have an exhibition with other cheer squads in the Consolidated Football Federation (CFF) in October.

Cheerleaders in the Junior Pee Wee division and up compete at the local (CFF) level for the opportunity to advance to regional and national competition.

The cheerleading squads are assigned to football teams and accompany them to all their home and away games—including post-season play at invitational bowls and regional/national competitions. The cheerleaders cheer during the games and also perform at halftime.

Practices

Practice Field Assignments

Weeks 1-3 Schedule

Practice Field Assignments

Regular Season Schedule

Practices will be Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday during the season after the 20 hours of conditioning requirements are met during the first weeks of Monday-Friday practices.

What to Wear

Cheerleaders should wear shorts (no nylon or soccer shorts and no skirts), t-shirts and athletic shoes. NO jewelry or nail polish. Eyeglasses must be secured with a fitted strap. Bring a water bottle and a towel, if you don’t want to sit directly on the ground.

Games

All regular-season games are scheduled to be played on Saturdays. We typically do not receive the game schedule until a couple of days before the first scheduled game, and there are frequently changes made to the schedule immediately after that. We do not have any control over the schedule or when it is disseminated. We realize that this can be frustrating, but creating the schedule is very complex. We will let you know what the schedule is as soon as we get it from the Consolidated Football Federation (CFF). We do play games on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, so plan on being here. The regular season generally runs through October. The Flag, Tiny Mite and Mitey Mite divisions usually concludes its their season with an inter-league “bowl” game at the end of the season.

Teams in the Junior Pee Wee division and older are eligible to compete in post-season competition based on their win/loss record. Post-season competition may include regional and national championships and/or invitational bowls which can run through Thanksgiving or into December, if a team goes on to nationals. Each year, Cary Pop Warner has teams eligible to participate in post-season play. Cheerleaders must accompany their teams to all games.

Before the first regular-season game, there will be jamborees for flag and tackle football teams in Sanford and Garner. The jamborees are usually held the weekend before the first regular-season game. Cheerleaders do not accompany their teams to the jamborees.

Competitions

The CFF cheerleading competition (Junior Pee Wee and above) will be held in October, date TBA. Winning teams advance to Mid-South regional competition to vie for an opportunity to go to the national competition at Disney World. The National competition is usually during the first or second week of December in Orlando.

Tiny Mite, Flag and Mitey Mite cheerleaders participate in the CFF Cheerleading Exhibition in September.

Uniforms

Uniforms are provided to cheerleaders. Cheerleaders are responsible for paying for other accessories such as shoes, pom poms, and briefs. There is a $130 deposit required for the uniforms which is returned uncashed if the uniform is returned at the end of the season in good condition. Cheerleaders are fitted for uniforms at Equipment Distribution Day. All uniforms must be returned, clean, at the end of the season. Note that we do our best to accommodate each child’s size, but we must work with the inventory we have.

Rules

All cheerleaders and their parents must read and sign a copy of the Cary Pop Warner Cheerleader Rules & Regulations before participating in Cary Pop Warner. These rules are designed to ensure the safety and fair treatment of all cheer participants.

Coaches & Trainers

Each cheer squad has one head coach, one assistant coach and up to 2 trainers. Also, each squad has one team parent. The Cheer Director must approve all coach, trainer and team parent positions. To be considered for one of these positions, please email the Cheer Director at ashleymurphy2@yahoo.com .

The head coach must be at least 21 years old by the start of the season, August 1. The head coach has final responsibility for all assistant coaches, participants and parents.

A trainer for a cheer squad must have had at least two seasons prior cheer experience and be at least 16 years old. They may only work with squads that are younger than their current age. The oldest girl on the squad that the student is assisting must be at least two years younger.

To be considered for a coaching position, you must:

• Complete the 2013 CPW Coaches Application,
• Sign the 2013 CPW Code of Ethics, and
• Complete the 2013 Pop Warner Little Scholars Volunteer Application.

A copy of your driver’s license must accompany the Pop Warner Little Scholars volunteer application. Cary Pop Warner will conduct a criminal background check on all applicants.

To be considered for a trainer position, contact the cheer director.

All rostered staff must pass a criminal background check. Each staff must also have someone with current first aid and CPR certification.

Middle School Participants

Cary Pop Warner recognizes that some participants may also want to try out for their school cheer squad. The rules have changed recently; and they currently are that participants can only practice with a school squad or a Pop Warner squad, but not both simultaneously. If they are trying out for their school squad they may not practice with the Pop Warner squad until they are removed from
the school squad and show proof of removal.

We encourage middle school students to sign up for Cary Pop Warner even if they plan to try out for the school team. We close registration for Cary Pop Warner before most school teams make their cuts, so if your child is cut from the school team, it is likely we won’t be able to place him/her on a Cary Pop Warner team. As part of the registration process, we do ask if your child is planning on trying out for a school team. This information does not negatively affect your child-it allows us to determine how many registrations we can take in that division, assuming a certain percentage makes the school team.

AAs you decide whether or not you want to participate on the school cheer squad, we hope you will take the following into consideration:

• At Cary Pop Warner, your child will have the opportunity to cheer for a football team and participate on competitions.
• CPW squads have up to 35 participants, allowing squads to perform more involved routines and stunts.

CPW emphasizes developing and strengthening fundamental skills.