Free tool for cheer coaches

Cheer Prop Planner

Signs, poms, flags and megaphones are the only props allowed in cheer, and at most levels you're required to use them. Plan what your routine needs, check it against the rules, and see what it costs. Youth through varsity.

Rules below follow UCA or NCA high school Game Day. Routines run about 3:00.

How many on your squad?

What's in your routine?

The prop rules for high school cheer

Signs, poms, flags and megaphones are requiredUCA high school Game Day requires crowd-leading tools. Not optional, and judges score their use.

Every prop must fit through a 36″ single doorIf a sign is over a doorway on both sides it can't come to the floor. Check yours below.

Flagpole tips must be padded or tapedEvery equipment tip. Our poles ship with rubber end caps.

Props can't bear a performer's weightNo sideline boxes, no standing on signs, no hip-over-head rotations holding one.

You get 30 seconds to set your propsInside a 3:00 routine. Fewer, bigger, faster-to-place props beat a pile of small ones.

Sign size checkwe'd cut 24×36 for this age

in ×in

Clears the door. Short side is 24″. Now look at the drawing: can she actually hold it all routine?

The 36″ door rule is a UCA rule, so confirm it applies to your event. Sizes that clear it: 18×24, 22×28, 24×36. We cut to any size, so tell us the shape and we'll keep it legal.

Rules change every season and vary by sanctioning body. This is a planning aid, not a rulebook. Confirm the current rules with your own event before you order.

Your routine prop kit

16 × Custom Printed & Cut Cheer SignsCrowd-leading signs. We cut them to 24×36 for this ageWe'll quote it

8 × Field RunnersCarried flags. 5 × 7 suits this age$1,050

8 × Field Runner Poles8 ft poles, rubber end caps, satisfies the padded-tip rule$832

2 × Field Runner BagHolds 6 flags on their poles, gets them to the venue clean$80

Priced items$1,962

$122.63 per cheerleader (plus quoted items)

Quote this kit. 16 custom printed & cut cheer signs, 8 field runners, 8 field runner poles

Everything you just built comes with you. Free design help, no art fees.

Email me this kit

The list, the sizes and the costs, so you can take it to your AD.

We don't sell poms or megaphones. Every level allows both and you'll want them, just not from us. We make the signs, flags, poles and banners.

Competition day checklist

High school, squad of 163:00 routine. 30 seconds to set your props.

16 × Custom Printed & Cut Cheer Signs, packed

8 × Field Runners (100D (single ply), 5 × 7), packed

8 × Field Runner Poles (8 ft), packed

2 × Field Runner Bag (10 × 78), packed

Poms and megaphones, packed (we don't make these)

Every flagpole tip padded or taped

Every prop clears a 36″ door

Nobody bears weight on a prop. No hip-over-head with a sign

Props can be set in under 30 seconds

Routine order: Band Chant → Situational Sideline → Crowd Leading Cheer → Fight Song

Rules change every season, so confirm with your event. Signs and flags by Booster Banner Store, Fort Worth.

What props are allowed in cheer?

Across youth rec, junior high and high school, the approved list is the same short one: megaphones, poms, signs and flags. USA Cheer's youth rec rules state these are the only props allowed. UCA and NCA allow the same list at school levels, plus foam fingers and rally towels. No other equipment, musical instruments or artificial noisemakers may be used, and props may not be thrown into the crowd.

Are props required, or optional?

In UCA high school Game Day, crowd-leading tools are required, and judges score how effectively you use them. In youth rec competition, signs, megaphones and poms are permitted if they're incorporated into the routine. A sign held at the hip earns nothing. Either way, the props aren't decoration.

Can a cheerleader hold a sign in a stunt?

Under USA Cheer's youth rec rules, only the top person may hold a sign or poms in a stunt or pyramid. She may hand the sign down to a base or spotter to release to the ground, as long as she isn't extended. Bases hold nothing. School rules also prohibit hip-over-head rotations while holding a sign, and no prop may bear a performer's weight.

What size sign should a youth cheerleader carry?

This one isn't a rule, it's experience. An eight year old cannot control a 24×36 sign or a twelve foot flagpole. We'd cut roughly 18×24 for youth, 22×28 for junior high and 24×36 for varsity, and put a six foot pole in a young cheerleader's hands rather than an eight. We cut and print to any size, so the prop should fit the athlete, not the other way round.

How long is a cheer routine?

Pop Warner and most rec competition routines cap at 2:30. UCA high school Game Day runs to 3:00, with up to 30 seconds to enter the floor and set your props. Shorter routines mean fewer props, placed faster.

We cut signs to any shape

Custom printed and cut cheer signs, flip signs, and cheer flags in your program's colors and mascot, youth club through varsity. Family-owned in Fort Worth. Free design help, no art or setup fees for a single design. Call (817) 888-8822 or request a quote.