COMPETE, ACHIEVE AND HAVE FUN!
Competitive Cheer Program Overview & Highlights
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Our mission is to provide a fun, safe, encouraging environment, while teaching our athletes to develop a positive attitude, leadership attributes, teamwork mentality, and qualities such as determination and perseverance.
Park Ridge Competitive Cheer, often known as PRC, is managed mainly by parents and volunteers. We have both professional coaches and volunteer coaches, including previous Park Ridge Falcons Competitive cheerleaders who cheer for Maine South. We pride ourselves on fostering leadership. In fact, year after year, PRC is thrilled to welcome back former Falcons cheerleaders who become Junior Coaches to our athletes. These alumni are typically very passionate about our program, are eager to be involved, and have a strong desire to give back the same wonderful experience with PRC that they have enjoyed in years-past.
Park Ridge Competitive Cheer follows the American Recreational Cheerleading (ARC) rules and regulations for recreational competitive cheerleading. We are a member of the Illinois Cheer Association (ICA), where all teams are classified by the grade-level of the athlete and compete at ICA Cheer Competitions within Illinois.
Since 2016, nearly every PRC team has qualified for the ICA State Cheerleading Championship.
Team Levels
Team levels for tryouts are below. Please note, all PRC 2024 Season teams will be composed of the 2024-25 grade levels, in preparation for fall competition season.
● Mini Team will consist of athletes currently in 1st/2nd grade. (2nd/3rd grade for Fall 2024)
● Junior Team will consist of athletes currently in 3rd/4th grade. (4th/5th grade for Fall 2024)
● Senior Team will consist of athletes currently in 5th/6th/7th grade. (6th/7th/8th grade for Fall 2024)
ICA Season Rule Changes
● Spring Season 2024:
o Spring Season will be unaffected by the new ICA fall structure. PRC anticipates competing in two of the three spring events currently offered by ICA. Tentative Dates are below with information on timing/location to be announced closer to the competition date.
o Cheer Shenanigans – March 17
o Spring Madness – April 13
o Please note, this competition could potentially be an all day event as it will be bracket style (similar to the First Madness event held the prior fall). Athletes will be expected to stay at the competition if their team continues to advance on.
● Fall Season 2024:
o Fall season will begin May 15 and run through the State Competition. During that period, every organization will be required to have a two-week no contact period. Fall events will be scheduled from the last week of August through November. Potential competition dates will be announced to us in mid-February and registration for those competitions will occur on May 19. PRC anticipates competing in four (4) ICA competitions in the fall and will strive to qualify for the State competition which will be held within the time period of November 7, 2024 and November 17, 2024. If you have any questions regarding this new ICA format, please reach out directly to our Program Manager, Katie Behzad.
If you have any questions, please email Program Director Pantra Hoeft at [email protected]
2024 Evaluations/Tryouts
PRC will host one evaluation/tryout for each of our three team levels on Sunday, January 28, 2024 (timing TBD)
at Maine Park- 2701 W Sibley St
Registration for the 2024 PRC Season Tryouts is required and will open to all current 1st through 7th graders on
Monday, January 22, 2024 at 9am on our website via TeamSnap and it will close on Friday, January 26, 2024 at 11pm,
in which you will NOT be permitted to try out after registration closes.
Evaluation/tryout fees are $20 per athlete
What We Teach Student-Athletes
Competitive Cheer Program Structure
Participants must be entering the 1st grade (up to 8th grade) at the time of registration. It is preferred that the participants have a previous cheer or tumbling experience, but not mandatory.
The level of commitment and competition may be higher depending on the skill levels of each team, but most importantly we want everyone to have fun!
Program
Senior Team
Junior Team
Mini Team
School Grade
6th – 7th – 8th
4th – 5th
2nd/3rd
Sideline Cheer
Falcons Football
Falcons Football
Flag Football
Stunting
Yes
Yes
Yes
Competitions
4+ State
4+ State
4+ State
Competitive Cheer Program Details
Park Ridge Competitive Cheer squads generally practice twice a week. Practices will begin in July. All practices will be held at Maine Park Leisure Center, 2701 W Sibley St, Park Ridge, IL or Prospect Park- O’Connor Room, 733 N Prospect ave, Park Ridge, IL.
Squads cannot have effective practices or perform successfully with absent participants. Due to the nature of the sport, a practice missed by one cheerleader has a significant impact on the squad; particularly on that cheerleader’s stunt group, who are unable to stunt without every member present. In addition, when the coach must re-teach material to those who have been absent, the whole squad’s practice time suffers. As a result, attendance at all practices & games is a must.
Practice Attendance Policy: Cheerleaders will be allowed to miss up to three (3) practices from the start of the season through August. The cheerleaders will be allowed to miss up to three (3) additional practices from August until the end of the season in early December. If a participant misses more than the allotted amount of practices, their continued participation in the program will be reviewed and decided upon by their Head Coach and the Director of Cheer. If you have any questions or concerns regarding our Practice Attendance Policy please contact the Director of Cheer.
Practice Attire is as follows: Black t-shirt or tank-top, black shorts, cheer or gym shoes, and hair pulled back. No jewelry, no candy, no gum. All cheerleaders should bring a water bottle to practice.
Park Ridge Competitive Cheerleaders will excite the fans at our home Park Ridge Falcons Football games through sideline cheers and half-time performances.
The cheerleaders will participate in the homecoming festivities, including a half-time rose ceremony and an after-the-game party.
Attendance at all home games is mandatory.
Competitions
Park Ridge Competitive Cheerleaders will learn and perfect a routine that they will use to compete in local competitions against other cheerleading teams. There will be four season competitions- attendance is mandatory for all competitions. Competition entry fees are included in the PRCC program cost. Competition dates will be announced as soon as Park Ridge Cheer is registered and confirmed in July.
If any of the squads place 1st in any one of their competitions, they will compete in the ICA State Competition at NIU Convocation Center- DeKalb, IL in early December. The state competition entry fee for cheerleaders to compete varies annually and is NOT included in the Park Ridge Competitive Cheer fees for the season.
Scoring Criteria
| Scoring Item: | Points |
| Voice/Expression/Projection | 10 |
| Motions | 10 |
| Jumps | 10 |
| Tumbling | 10 |
| Stunts | 10 |
| Pyramids/Basket Tosses | 10 |
| Formation & Transitions | 10 |
| Synchronization | 10 |
| Degree of Difficulty | 10 |
| Perfection of Routine | 10 |
| Total | 100 |
In late August, all teams will learn their entire choreographed routine for the fall season at the Maine Park gym. This clinic is extremely important whereupon cheerleaders will learn their entire competition routine. Dates will be given to parents in mid-June and attendance to this 2-day weekend clinic is MANDATORY.
Participants should plan to bring a small snack, along with a water bottle.
Uniforms
All Park Ridge Competitive Cheerleaders purchase their own uniform. The uniform amount is due during the custom uniform fitting, which will be held in July.
Park Ridge Competitive Cheerleading has an established uniform program whereupon we make a two (2) year commitment to a particular style of uniform.
At the end of the season, we encourage cheerleaders who will not be returning for the following season to participate in our consignment program where Park Ridge Competitive Cheerleading connects gently-used uniforms to new cheerleaders for a fee, benefiting both departing and incoming participants.
Dress Code
The Dress Code for the season is as follows:
Cheerleaders shall wear their full competition uniform to all competitions. It is the responsibility of the cheerleader to ensure that the uniform is kept clean.
Hair should be up, with our cheer bow, and to coach’s specifications, prior to arriving at all competitions.
Cheer shoes and NO SHOW white ankle socks will be worn during competitions. Please do not wear your cheer shoes outside or to any other events in an effort to keep them perfectly white and clean.
No jewelry, nail polish, or glitter is permitted for competitions due to the chance of disqualification. Fingernails should be kept short for a safety precaution as well.
All squad members are required to maintain and uphold the reputation of the Park Ridge Competitive Cheerleaders through their own conduct and squad spirit. Our participants are required to be courteous, polite, friendly, and try to have a smile for everybody. All cheers and chants shall be of a positive and sportsmanlike manner. Bullying is never tolerated.
It is our core belief that participation in competitive cheerleading provides a wealth of opportunities and experiences that assist participants in personal and athletic growth. All Park Ridge Competitive Cheerleaders are encouraged, and expected, to exhibit good sportsmanship by demonstrating positive support for all participants and coaches.
As parents of student-athletes, you also have committed yourselves to certain responsibilities and obligations. These responsibilities and obligations will be outlined in further detail at our Parent Meeting at the beginning of the season in June, which we expect all parents to attend.
Volunteers
We cannot be successful without the support and involvement of our parents. Please consider joining our Team Mom Committee ~ each team has its own committee of 2-3 moms who help with a variety of aspects of the program including fundraising, communication, pictures, social media, and apparel.
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the Director of Competitive Cheer:
Pantra Hoeft at [email protected]
