STUNT

STUNT

What is STUNT?

By Julia Johns
 
The Sport...
STUNT is an emerging NCAA competitive team sport derived from traditional cheerleading. In this sport, two teams compete using the technical and athletic components of cheerleading.
 
There are four quarters consisting of 30 second rounds put to music. First quarter is partner stunts, second quarter is pyramids and basket tosses, third quarter is jumps and tumbling, and fourth quarter is team routine which combines the previous three quarters' routines. There are six pre-choreographed routines for each quarter. The first three quarters have four rounds while the last quarter has only three.
 
The routines increase in difficulty and decrease in the number of athletes as the routine numbers increase. For example, the first routine will have up to 16 athletes doing mostly beginner level skills whereas the sixth routine with have as little as four athletes doing the most advanced skills. Each routine is judged on execution and timing only. The team who performs the routine better receives one point.
 
The Women's Leadership Committee has submitted a proposal to the NCAA for review, and STUNT will likely become an official NCAA sport in the near future. STUNT meets all Title IX requirements, is cost effective for schools to implement, and is the fastest growing women's sport in the country.
 
The Players…
In STUNT player's uniforms are required to have numbers because they will carry statistics like in other sports. This means that unlike traditional high school cheerleading STUNT will focuses on individual skills. For example, if someone is a strong stunter but does not have many tumbling skills, there is a place for them. Similarly, STUNT would appeal to gymnasts because they can focus on the advanced tumbling skills they already carry even though they may never have cheered or stunted before.
 
STUNT eliminates the crowd leading aspect people most associate with cheerleading and focuses on the technical skills involved. Therefore, STUNT is perfect for cheerleaders who love the competitive and athletic aspects such as stunting and tumbling more than the game day, crowd leading portion.

STUNT at Maryville…
The first season of STUNT will begin in the fall of 2018, and Maryville will begin playing games in the spring of 2019. The team will travel all over the U.S. for games while working to qualify for the National Championship in Dallas at the end of April.
 
Maryville is at an advantage by implementing this sport now and getting started early. More universities will be adding STUNT to their athletic rosters over the next few years, and Maryville is one of the only universities in Missouri to have done so yet.
 
The team will be comprised of 16-20 full-time student athletes with positive attitudes and the willingness to work hard, learn and grow as a family. Players will work consistently with a strength and conditioning coach to help them master the more difficult routines. The goal is to building a competitively and academically successful new sports team at Maryville that is fun for its players.
 
For questions or more information regarding STUNT please email, call, or text head coach Kara Krawiecki at kkrawiecki@maryville.edu or 314-439-6064. You can also fill out the STUNT questionnaire on maryvillesaints.com

Also, follow STUNT on Twitter & Instagram @maryvillestunt and on Facebook at Maryville University STUNT.
 
Print Friendly Version