The Cheer Coordinator along with the rest of the Board of Directors determines the number and size of the squads at the beginning of the new season. The decision is based on the number of available, qualified adults, who volunteer to coach. The performance level is determined by the Cheer Coordinator and the Head Coach.

REGISTRATION
There are no tryouts. The Cheer Coordinator assigns participants to teams on a first-come, first-served basis, based on age, date of registration, payment and the experience needed to make a team complete (i.e., tumblers and flyers), and prior Head Coach recommendations.

Participants may request a particular team, but the Evergreen Bulldogs will not guarantee that the request will be granted. If your cheerleader is returning and the Head Coach does not think your cheerleader is ready to move up, you will be informed. Participants can request a specific team, but you must notify us if this is the only team acceptable.

Team placements will be announced in July. Once team placements are announced, there is still potential for some additional changes related to late sign-ups or drops. After August 1st, team placement will not change unless there is an eligibility issue. Cheerleaders must have a minimum of a 2.0 GPA to participate or show a willingness to participate in grade improvement programs at their school.

ELIGIBILITY
Any child residing within the boundaries of Evergreen School District wishing to cheer is eligible to participate if they are at least 5 years old and not older than 14 years old as of July 31, 2010 and not in High School. Evergreen Pop Warner offers cheer "mascots" for girls aged 5 and 6, which may be assigned to any age level team. All other ages will be assigned to an appropriate team based on age and ability.

TEAM PARTICIPATION
Cheerleaders will be assigned to a cheering team according to their age:

Division	AGE (Age as of July 31st)	NOTES
Tiny Mites	5-6	Non-competitive
Mighty Mites	7-8	Non-competitive
Jr. Pee Wee	8-11	Competitive
Pee Wee	9-12	Competitive
Junior Midgets	10-13	Competitive
Midgets	11-14	Competitive

COST
Cheerleading registration fees are as follows:

Division	Cost
TINY-MITE	$200
MITEY-MITE	$200
JUNIOR PEE WEE	$200
PEE WEE	$200
JUNIOR MIDGET	$200

All registration fees include the uniform, spankie (undergarment), hair ribbon, pom and bags. Warm ups are optional but highly recommended at an additional cost. Other additional costs may be incurred throughout the season. Cheer shoes are required and are the responsibility of the participant to purchase. Cheer Shoe Style for the season will be determined by the Head Coach. Each Head Coach may have additional fees for trophies, end of year party, etc.

PRACTICE SCHEDULE AND TIME COMMITMENT

The season begins the first Monday of August. The regular season runs through the end of October. The season will continue through the end of November if the squad advances to Regional Championships or through mid-December if the team qualifies for Nationals Championships.

During the month of August, practices are usually held 5 days a week. Each practice is 2 hours. During the months of September and October, the practice schedule is reduced to 3 days per week, 2 hours each practice. In addition, cheerleaders cheer at the football games, which are typically held on Sundays, but may occasionally be on Saturdays.

Squads advancing to Regional Championships will continue practice through November. Those squads advancing to Nationals Championships will practice through early December. Regional Championships are held Thanksgiving weekend (Location varies each year). National Championships are held in Orlando, Florida the second week of December.

The specific practice schedule will be provided by the Head Coach.

COMPETITIONS AND TRAVEL

There are three competitions during the season.

1. The SW Washington Competition held locally in late October or early November. Squads (levels Jr Pee Wee and above) placing first or second at the SW Washington competition will qualify for advancement to the Pacific NW Regional Championships. Tiny Mite and Mitey Mite cheerleaders participate in the SW Washington Competition for exhibition only and are not judged. However, the Head Coach may opt to receive numerical scoring results on their squad’s performance for informational purposes only.
2. The Pacific NW Regional Competition will be held in Santa Clara, CA on the day after Thanksgiving. Travel to Regional Competition will require transportation and hotel accommodations at the participant’s expense and may be offset with fundraising activities determined by the Head Coaches and approved by the Evergreen Pop Warner Board of Directors after October 1st.
3. The Pop Warner National Cheer & Dance Championship is held at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida during the second week of December. Travel to the National Competition is at the participant’s expense and may be offset with fundraising activities determined by the Head Coaches and approved by the Evergreen Pop Warner Board of Directors after October 1st.

Special travel packages for National Competition are made available by Pop Warner Little Scholars and details will be posted on our website once they are released.

For a complete list of Pop Warner guidelines, please consult the Official Pop Warner Rulebook.

Pop Warner programs are divided into three performance levels and three team sizes. Team sizes are either small squad (up to 12 players), medium squad (13-24 players) and large (25-35). The teams are divided into three performance divisions. They are Novice (beginning), Intermediate (mastered basic cheer skills) and Advanced (highly skilled). For more details on the cheer categories, please see the National Pop Warner website at: www.popwarner.com