Physics Of Cheerleading Research

Physics in My Daily Life

“Write an essay of 1500 words, double spaced, in standard fonts , giving credible references on the use of physics in your daily activity. You need to mention 5 or more activities where physics is used. Please follow the APA format.”

As a senior in college, I lead a rather busy life. My days usually follow the same routine and pattern. I wake up at 7am everyday, so I am rather tired. To get going in the morning, I usually drink a cup of coffee. Then I attend my classes, one of which this semester is my senior research project on brown trout. Once classes are finished, I head to team practice, since I am a member of my college’s cheerleading team. After practice, I usually eat dinner with my teammates. What little
My favorite aspect of cheerleading is also the most dangerous thing we do: the stunting. The higher and more exciting stunts we do, the greater the reaction and cheers are from the crowd. One of the main principles behind the physics of cheerleading is setting up good weight distribution in the stunts, such as pyramids. Putting a greater number of people at the bottom than at the top creates the pyramids stability. A standard all girl stunt group is composed of two bases, a back spot and a flyer. The two bases lift the flyer while the back spot (that’s my position) assists with providing upward lift and help balance the flyer while in the air. The stronger (and usually heavier) team members are usually the bases and back spots which form the support at the bottom while the lighter team members are flying at the top. This enables greater ease in performing stunts that involve holding the chearleaders up (at the top of the pyramid), and tossing them into the air. Stunts rely heavily on having the right number of people at the top and bottom of the pyramid. As you can imagine, keeping balance is critical during the stunts, as well as keeping an even weight distribution among the team members involved in supporting the weight of the other team members. Even weight distribution is important because it helps the supporters keep the cheerleaders at the top of the pyramid level. If the weight distribution is
The two cheerleaders in the middle of the pyramid are each supporting half the cheerleader's weight at the top. And at the bottom of the pyramid the six team members are all supporting the three girls in the middle and top of the pyramid. Therefore, each team member at the bottom is holding approximately half a cheerleader's weight. Therefore, the weight is distributed evenly among all the team members who are involved in supporting the weight. It's clear that good weight distribution (and how to achieve it) is one of the main areas of focus in the physics of cheerleading. Some of the more advanced stunts involve tossing the cheerleaders into the air, called a basket toss, and the flyer doing flips and twists while airborne. This can incorporate some gymnastics skills as well, which adds a dynamic component to cheerleading physics. The landing of the cheerleaders is cushioned by the support base, which catches the cheerleaders in a cradle position. They do this by bending their knees during the "catch", which allows them to more easily absorb the force of landing. This in turn reduces the forces acting on the cheerleaders during