Aerial: Cartwheel or walkover without hand contact.
Airborne: Free of contact with person/surface.
Backbend (Stunting): Arched body, abdomen up.
Backward Roll: Non-airborne, backward rotation through inverted position, landing on feet.
Ball-X: Top person from tucked to straddle/X position during a toss.
Barrel Roll: See “log roll”.
Base: Person supporting top person, in contact with surface. May not support weight in backbend or inverted position.
Basket Toss: Toss with 2-3 bases and spotter, bases interlock wrists.
Block Cartwheel: Cartwheel becoming airborne by pushing through shoulders.
Brace/Bracer: Connection between top persons for stability. Hair/uniform not legal. Bracer is a top person in contact with another top person for stability. Required bracer cannot invert during transition.
Braced Flip: Top person performs hip-over-head rotation while in contact with another top person.
Cartwheel: Tumbling skill, sideways rotation, hands contact one at a time, inverts, lands one foot at a time.
Catcher(s): Responsible for safe landing, attentive, not in choreography, must make physical contact, on surface.
Chair: Prep level stunt, base supports ankle with one hand and seat with the other. Supported leg vertical.
Coed Style Toss: Single base grabs waist and tosses from ground level.
Cradle: Dismount, top person in “V”/pike/hollow body, face up, legs straight, bases support back and legs.
Cupie: Stunt, top person upright, both feet in base(s) hands. Also called “Awesome”.
Dismount: Ending movement from stunt/pyramid to cradle or surface. If to surface, must land on feet. No moving over/under dismounts. No tension drops/rolls. Return to original base(s) unless single-based with multiple top persons. Surface dismounts need assistance unless straight drop/small hop off from waist level or below. Top persons may not be in contact while released. Multi-based waist level cradles considered toss.
Dive Roll: Airborne, forward diving motion to forward roll.
Downward Inversion: Inverted person’s center of gravity moving towards the surface.
Drop: Airborne/inverted to knee, thigh, seat, etc., without hand/feet weight bearing.
Extended Arm Level: Highest point of base’s arms when fully extended overhead.
Extended Stunt: Top person’s entire body above base(s) head. Squatting/kneeling bases still considered extended, except chairs, torches, flat backs, straddle lifts, suspended rolls, and leap frogs.
Flat Back: Stunt, top person face-up, straight body, parallel to surface. Two leg stunt.
Flat Body: Top person’s torso parallel to the surface.
Flip: In stunting, hip-over-head rotation without base/surface contact. In tumbling, same without surface contact.
Flipping Toss: Toss where top person rotates through inverted position.
Floor Stunt: Base lying on back, arm(s) extended. Waist level stunt.
Flyer: See “Top Person”.
Forward Roll: Non-airborne, forward rotation through inverted position, landing on feet.
Free Flipping Stunt: Stunt release, top person inverts without contact. Excludes releases starting inverted to non-inverted.
Free Release Move: Release, top person free of all contact.
Front Tuck: Tumbling, upward momentum to forward flip in tuck position.
Full: 360 degree twisting rotation.
Ground Level: On the performing surface.
Hand/Arm Connection: Physical contact between athletes using hands or arms. Shoulder not legal when hand/arm required.
Handspring: Airborne, springing from feet to hands and back to feet, rotating through handstand.
Handstand: Supporting body inverted, vertical, balancing on extended arms.
Helicopter: Top person horizontal, tossed to rotate around vertical axis.
Horizontal Axis (Twisting in Stunts): Invisible line from front to back through belly button of a non-upright top person.
Initiation/Initiating: Beginning of skill. For building skills, bottom of the dip.
Inversion/Inverted: At least one foot above head, shoulders below waist.
Jump: Airborne, no hip-over-head rotation, using feet and lower body to push off.
Jump Skill: Change in body position during jump (toe touch, pike, etc.). Straight jump with turn not a jump skill. Jump breaks up tumbling pass.
Layout: Airborne tumbling or toss, hip-over-head rotation, stretched, hollow body.
Leap Frog: Transition, top person passing over torso through extended arms of base(s), remains upright and in contact. Variations involve transitioning over torso of a base or another top person.
Leg/Foot Connection: Physical contact between athletes using legs/feet. Shin to toe legal when leg/foot allowed.
Liberty: Stunt, base(s) hold one foot of top person, other foot next to knee.
Load-In: Stunting, top person has at least one foot in base(s) hands at waist level.
Log Roll: Release move, waist level, top person rotates 360 degrees parallel to surface. Assisted log roll has base contact throughout.
Multi-based Stunt: Stunt with 2+ bases, excluding spotter.
New Base(s): Base(s) not previously in contact with top person.
Non-Inverted Position:
Top person’s shoulders at or above waist.
Top person’s shoulders below waist, both feet below head.
Onodi: Back handspring with half turn to hands, finishes with front handspring.
Original Base(s): Base(s) in contact at initiation of skill.
Pancake: Downward inversion, legs/feet remain in grip, fold over/pike rotation, caught on back.
Paper Dolls: Single-leg stunts bracing each other, may or may not be extended.
Pike: Body bent forward at hips, legs straight and together.
Prep Level: Connection above waist, below extended. Includes prep, shoulder level hitch, shoulder sit. Also includes chairs, torches, flat backs, straddle lifts, if base arms extended overhead but top person height similar to prep. Squatting/kneeling doesn’t change this. A stunt is considered below Prep Level if at least one foot of the top person is at waist level, as determined by the height/positioning of the base. (Exception: chair, T-lift and shoulder sit are prep level stunts)
Primary Support: Supporting majority of top person’s weight.
Prone: Flat body, face downward.
Prop: Object manipulated, e.g., poms, signs, megaphones. Uniform pieces removed considered prop. Any uniform piece purposefully removed from the body will be considered a prop.
Punch Front: See “Front Tuck”.
Pyramid: Two or more connected stunts.
Rebound: Airborne, feet and lower body power to bounce off surface.
Release Move: Top person free of contact. May not pass over/under other stunts, pyramids, or individuals. No contact between top persons in separate releases. No single based split catches. Height determined by distance from top person’s hips to extended base arms. Distance greater than leg length (Levels 3-4), or leg length + 18in/46cm (Levels 5-7) is a toss or dismount. Multi-based waist level cradles considered toss.
Rewind: Backward free-flipping release from ground level into stunt.
Round off: Similar to cartwheel, lands two feet together facing start direction.
Running Tumbling: Tumbling with forward step/hurdle for momentum.
Second Level: Person supported above surface by base(s).
Series Front or Back Handsprings: Two or more consecutive.
Shoulder Level: Connection at base(s) shoulder height.
Shoulder Sit: Top person sits on base(s) shoulder(s). Prep level stunt.
Shoulder Stand: Top person stands on base(s) shoulder(s).
Shushunova: Straddle jump (toe touch) landing in prone/push-up position.