Quick answer: sideline cheer is cheerleading performed to support another sport - leading crowd chants, performing routines during breaks, and building game-day atmosphere - as opposed to competitive cheer, where the cheer routine itself is scored as the main event.
| Sideline Cheer | Competitive Cheer | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Supports another sport's crowd and atmosphere | The routine itself is the event |
| How it's judged | Generally not formally judged | Scored by judges on difficulty, execution and deductions |
| Typical setting | Football, basketball and other school games | Dedicated cheer competitions |
What Sideline Cheer Actually Involves
A sideline squad typically performs at football, basketball or other school sporting events, leading chants, performing shorter routines during timeouts or halftime, and generally focusing on crowd engagement and school spirit rather than being formally judged.
How It Differs From Competitive Cheer
The core difference is purpose: sideline cheer exists to support another sport, while competitive cheer treats the cheer routine itself as the event being judged. A squad can do both - performing on the sidelines through a season while also preparing a separate routine for competitions.
Sideline Cheer's Place in Cheerleading's History
Sideline cheer is closer to cheerleading's original form - organised crowd leading at college sports events - while competitive cheer developed later as skills became more technical. See History of Cheerleading for how this split happened.
Do Sideline Squads Still Compete?
Many sideline squads, particularly at the school level, also attend competitions with a separate routine, blurring the line between the two traditions - while dedicated All Star teams typically focus purely on competition, with no sideline role at all.
Related Terms
See What Is Competitive Cheerleading? and What Is All Star Cheer? for the competitive side of the sport.