Quick answer: a routine is the full performance a competitive cheer team competes with - a tightly choreographed combination of stunts, tumbling, jumps, dance and motions, typically around two to three minutes long, performed to music.
What a Routine Is Made Of
A routine weaves together every core skill category in the sport: stunts and pyramids, tumbling passes, jump sequences, dance sections, and continuous motion technique - all timed precisely to music and choreographed into formations that change throughout the performance.
How Long a Routine Lasts
Competitive routines are generally short and intense - commonly around two to three minutes - packing a large amount of technical content into a tightly timed performance, with strict time-limit rules in most scoring systems.
How a Routine Is Built
Coaches typically design a routine around the team's level, choosing stunts, tumbling and jumps the team can perform consistently, then layering in formation changes, transitions and music timing. A full out is a complete practice run-through of the finished routine at full effort.
How a Routine Is Scored
Once complete, a routine is scored on a combination of difficulty, execution and deductions - see How Is Competitive Cheer Scored? for the full picture.
Related Terms
See What Is a Full Out? and What Happens at a Cheer Competition? for how a routine comes together and gets performed on competition day.