skills and drills elevators - Varsity.com

Skills and drills

elevators

elevators

All cheerleading gymnastics, including partner stunts, should only be practiced under the direct supervision
of a knowledgeable adult. Participants should demonstrate proficiency in proper lead-up skills.

Elevators are the benchmark of cheerleading stunts. They in a stronger position to use their biceps.
separate the wheat from the chaff, the women from the girls, the
men from the boys...you get the picture. Do not!...
This is a common error; the bases are too far apart to begin the
Even for those squads that can perform elevators, doing them elevator. They will likely stand up with the climber and pull her
with perfect technique will be the difference between hitting feet too far apart.
your transition stunts with ease, or eating blue carpet.
If they do stand to a correct position for the climber, they will
The following will break down the technique for elevators into have to move their feet to do so. In addition to potential injuries
simple steps. Nail each one of these steps, and it’s ‘Second occurring from poor technique, this is wasted motion and should
Floor, ...Going Up!’ be avoided!

To begin, the bases should stand as if they where holding the Next, have the climber push down on the hands of the bases.
elevator at shoulder level. Their feet should be shoulder’s width The bases should practice dipping together without letting their
apart, and they should be close enough to each other so that the hands drop. If the arms straighten, the bases will have to use
top person’s feet are also shoulder’s width apart. extra energy to get the climber back to this position - again,
wasted motion. In addition, straightening the arms pulls the
climbers feet apart, which in turn pushes the bases apart.

Next, the top person should load into the bases’ hands, keeping
her weight in her arms. She should be able to hold this position
without the bases’ support.

Her feet should be together, and she should not let her hips go
below her knees.

From this ‘ending’ position, the bases should squat down without The climber stays tight while the bases dip together. As they
moving their feet and their backs should remain upright. This is stand, she will push through her arms and lift with her shoulders,
an uncomfortable position at first, but it will come to feel more keeping her feet close together.
natural.
The momentum created by the climber lifting through the
The hands should be together and close to the body. Putting the shoulders and the bases lifting with their shoulders should allow
elbows beside the body with make this easier. This puts the base the bases to easily lift the climber above the head. This allows
the bases to rotate their hands so they are supporting the entire
foot from toe to heel.

This position should be achieved before attempting an elevator should be able to load in by herself!
extension directly from the load-in.

For an elevator to shoulders, the bases will control the climber At the top of the extension, the spotter can assist the bases by
from the ‘lift’ position down to the shoulders. The feet should not holding the arms of the bases or the ankles of the flyer. This
have to move, as this was the position that the bases used to helps to stabilize the stunt, minimizing the chance of a fall.
begin the elevator.
Notice that the spotter is still in a position to catch the top
Some people use the term ‘settle’ to describe how the bases person if she fell backward, by pushing the feet forward and
bring the flyer to their shoulders. It should be a controlled, catching under the arms.
cushioned landing.
The spotter should never hold under the feet of the climber
(between the hands of the bases). This clearly puts her out of
spotting position. If the top person fell, the spotter would not be
able to free her hands in order to catch the climber.

Take it up! Good luck with the Elevator!
For the elevator extension, the bases continue the momentum
created by the lift and extend the arms to a locked position. They
should keep their eyes on the climber through the entire lift.

Again, the feet should not need to move from the beginning
position. This creates a very clean elevator with very little, if any,
wasted motion.

Spotting
The spotter can help load the climber into the elevator, but she
should not “lift” the climber on the way up. This causes the
climber to come down too hard on the bases’ hands. The climber