We have put together a list of questions we predict families/athletes may have about our cheer program. If however you cannot find your answers here, please contact our cheer directors at AWHCheerCoordinator@gmail.com
How do I register my athlete?
Registration for Spring Cheer and Pom seasons will open in February. Spring Cheer and Pom is a great way to dip your toes in and see if Attleboro White Hawks Cheer and Pom are for you and your athlete.
Registration for our Fall seasons will open in April. Registering early is a great way to take advantage of our payment plans. You will register your athlete by their school grade for Fall 2025. Once all registrations are in, we will allocate them onto their respective teams and levels.
You will need to fill out a Player Pack and provide an original birth certificate (with raised seal) for inspection, as well as a copy of your athlete’s birth certificate. Also a copy of their most recent report card (fall season only) and physical or medical clearance dated in the year of play. We will have several “Paperwork Turn In” dates posted on our website and social media.
When are practices?
Practices start at the end of July/first week of August. Exact dates and times are determined by each team’s coaches. All athletes, cheer, pom and football, are required to participate in ten (10) hours of conditioning to start the season. Tentatively, practices are scheduled Monday-Thursday evenings for the month of August. Our younger teams (non Nationally tracked) practice 2-3 times a week during the summer and then drop down to 2 practices a week after Labor Day.
Our competitive/nationally tracked teams practice 3-4 times a week during the summer and then drop down to 3 times a week with the start of the school year. We will also hold separate longer Choreography practices near the beginning of the season, exact date/s will be communicated via your Head Coach. Based on competition and Football schedules, the season usually lasts until the end of October but can continue until mid December if the team advances.
The first half of the season is mostly practice and sideline cheering. Our competition season ramps up in October and can go as far as the AYC Nationals which is typically held in Orlando, FL the first or second week of December.
Attendance is extremely important - cheer is the ultimate team sport, 1 athlete missing could mean their stunt group cannot practice. Nationally tracked competition teams do have an attendance requirement, and attendance and tardiness has to be registered. A doctor’s note is required for any missed practices, this policy is in place to ensure illness does not spread throughout the teams.
It should be noted that if an athlete cannot attend the final practice(s) before a competition (for any reason: travel, illness, etc.) they will be unable to compete. This is for safety reasons.
Where is practice?
Practices through the month of August are held outside at Lee’s Ponds. Once the school opens for admins, we sometimes are able to practice inside at Coelho Middle School. Once school starts, our practices move indoors at either Coelho Middle School, Brennan Middle School, Thacher Elementary or the Amory (81 Pine St)
How old does my child have to be to join cheer/pom?
We have teams for athletes from Kindergarten through 8th grade. Your child needs to be 5 years old by July 31 to participate on our cheer teams. Our Pom Dance team is declared as 12U, meaning your athlete must be nine (9) years old by July 31.
How are teams divided?
AWH divides teams as below. We expect to have at least 6 cheer teams each year but this is subject to change based on registration numbers. In the past, we had the following teams:
- Flag - non-nationally tracked, exhibition team. Attend 2-3 competitions. Grades K&1
- 8U - non-nationally tracked team competing at 2-3 competitions. Grades 2&3
- 10U (2 teams) -Nationally tracked team, competing at 3-6 competitions from October through December Travel may be required. Grades 4&5
- 12U-Nationally tracked team, competing at 3-6 competitions from October through December. Travel may be required. Grade 6
- 14U -Nationally tracked team, competing at 3-6 competitions from October through December. Travel may be required. Grades 7&8
- 12U - Pom Dance- Nationally tracked team, competing at 3-6 competitions from October through December. Athletes must be 9 years old by 07/31 to join this team. Travel may be required.
Team levels are 1, 2 & 3. Once all athletes have registered our cheer directors and head coaches will decide on the team level based on the majority of athletes skills.
Should my athlete choose GameDay Cheer or Competitive Cheer?
Both game day and competitive cheer is a commitment of both the athlete and family/guardians. Game Day and competitive cheer athletes will attend the same practice throughout the month of August. Once we move to indoor practice with the start of the school year, if your athlete has not already chosen as a Game Day Cheerleader, your athlete must declare if they wish to participate in GAM EDAY ONLY or COMPETITION cheer. This question is in your registration when you sign up.
We will hold an informational meeting around the beginning of August to go over details of the commitment of all teams. Choosing to participate on Attleboro White Hawks Competition team is a serious commitment.
If you and your athlete chose to participate on a Nationally tracked cheer team, there may be travel and financial obligations. It is estimated that each athlete on a team that goes all the way to Nationals in December will need to be available to travel to Florida on a Tuesday and book accommodations at a “Stay to Play” approved hotel until at least Sunday. While we do our very best to fundraise throughout the season, a Nationals trip has specific requirements about when we are allowed to start fundraising. As such, it is a very short turnaround time from when a team qualifies at Regionals until they arrive in Florida to compete at AYC Nationals - about 3-4 weeks. All athletes and parents are required to participate in fundraising in the form of soliciting sponsor donations, canning at local stores/restaurants, participating in our cupcake and/or fudge fundraisers attending our annual Musical Bingo Fundraising event etc. The financial obligation of a team attending AYC Nationals in Florida is approximately $1,500 out of pocket.
In years past, we have met our fundraising goals for Nationals meaning that your athletes plane ticket is reimbursed to you up to $400*. You may be interested in sharing a room with another athlete/parent to keep costs as affordable as possible. Please note parents/guardians are expected to purchase their athletes plane ticket and book hotel accommodations as soon as possible once we confirm attendance at AYC Nationals. Please note that all athletes should plan to have a parent/guardian to fly and stay with them in Florida. Further, each athlete will receive AWH Nationals practice gear and sponsor t-shirt are covered through our fundraising efforts at no additional cost to parents/guardians. If your athletes team places at Regionals we will hold another parent meeting where all of this information will be talked about in more detail.
*based on previous years funds - all prices are approximate.
What is Pom?
Cheer Pom is a dance genre that focuses on lines, formations, cheerleading jumps, sharp staccato arm movements and form. Athletes dance with Poms in hand and it is an extremely fast paced 2:30mins routine. We highly recommend trying Pom in the Spring season to try this discipline out.
If your athlete registers for Pom, after July/August they will practice 1-2 times a week (including weekends). You be expected to purchase jazz dance shoes (approx $40-50) and their Pom costume (approx $100).
What does my athlete wear? What gear do I have to buy?
Athletes should wear athletic gear to practice. Typically shorts and tank or t-shirt, preferably fitted, not baggy and athletic sneakers or preferably cheer shoes. No jewelry is allowed. Hair should be pulled back off the face. Fingernails should be cut short and no fake nails/tips. No nail polish is allowed on competition days.
The uniform and competitions bows worn for competitions are provided by the league. The athlete’s parent/guardian must sign a Uniform Contract understanding the uniform is on loan from AWH and must be returned in good condition. Attleboro White Hawks uniforms should not be worn for any reason besides sideline cheering or competition. Competitions bows are for cheerleaders to keep. You are responsible to purchase the following mandatory items:
- A warm up jacket for approximately $40-50
- White cheer sneakers, approximately $55
Your coach will advise you when we open orders for warm up jackets and cheer shoes, as we order in bulk for the team. We will have events for uniform and cheer shoes to be tried on for size prior to placing your order.
Every year we offer an optional Player pack. These items will be available to try on for sizing at Uniform Sizing night on June 3rd 2025. You will write down the sizes of anything your athlete wants to purchase and then order on our website. Once these items are ordered- they are NOT REFUNDABLE.
An additional expense for parents/guardians should be aware of is competition tickets. Local and invitational tickets can be approximately $15 per person. State, Regional and Nationals tickets can cost between $30-$50+ per day.
When are games?
Football games are typically on Sundays. AWH Cheer athletes sideline cheer at both HOME and AWAY games. Your athlete is expected to attend all football games to cheer on the sideline. Please note - exact football schedule may not be released until around mid August. We also have the option for your athlete to participate in Sideline Cheer only (no competitions). Every year AWH hosts our annual jamboree at Hayward field. This is our largest fundraiser as a league for the season. This year our tentative date is 8/16/25.
What can I expect on Game Day?
We ask that you arrive one (1) hour before your game is scheduled to meet up with your team and coaches to warm up. Games will be played in accordance with the rules of AYF with a minimum of two (2) referees and an EMT on site, provided by our league. Concessions and restrooms are generally available at each field.
When are the cheer competitions?
Competitions are mandatory if you elect to participate on a competition team. Cheer is a synchronized sport and our routines are based around our specific team. If for some reason your athlete cannot attend a competition, let your coach know immediately.
Teams compete at:
Tentative Dates of 2025 competitions:
- Weekend of 10/4- All teams Power In Pink Competition
- Weekend of 10/11-Invitational Competition – teams will vary
- Weekend of 10/18- All Teams- E-Mass Locals Competition (Waltham)
- October 25th- States Competition, Lowell MA- All Nationally tracked teams that place top 3 at Locals
- November 8th- Regional Competition, Mohegan Sun (CT) - All Nationally tracked teams that place top 3 at States
There may be additional competitions added to this schedule. Date and time to be determined. Exact competition times are usually not available until the week prior to the competition.
What does a cheer competition day look like?
Your coach will advise you as soon as possible what the day will look like; we get an Order of Appearance (OOA) from the competition’s organizers sometimes only days before the competition. You may not have detailed information and times until late in the week for a Saturday competition. This is very typical. Your coach will send a Google Doc with detailed information, instructions and the day’s timeline in advance of the competition.
Please make sure your athlete eats on competition days. The days can be very long and we can’t always guarantee that there is time for lunch, etc. Our team gets ready together. Some athletes show up ready to go, in uniform with hair and make up done. Others show up in uniform without hair or make up done if they need assistance. We appreciate parents/guardians who are willing to jump in and help with hair and make up. Once the team is done getting ready, often times we’ll carpool multiple athletes together in an attempt to keep the team together and arrival times on track. For some locations athletes will take a bus. Parking can be challenging and it's easiest to drop athletes off in a group as Check In time is very important. Once your child is dropped off with their team/coaches, they are with them until the end of competition. After your athlete competes, they will stay with their team and sometimes get concessions, when time allows. We ask that you send your athlete with cash in a zip lock bag, marked with their name which will be collected at town hall. One coach will be responsible to hand out each athlete's money for concessions. Once the awards ceremony is over, our team will meet for a photo op (hopefully with a trophy!) and then your athlete is free to go with you for the remainder of the day.
What is the parent/guardian commitment?
Fundraising: Parents/guardians are required to participate in fundraising throughout the season. Attending a fundraising event is a great way to get involved, meet other people involved in our program and raise money for our league without soliciting donations.
Volunteering: Our organization is entirely run by volunteers. Volunteers are needed throughout the season for game day needs, events, team mom, etc. Please note that we are required to send a specific number of volunteers to certain local competitions as they are collaboratively run. Our league does receive monetary reimbursement for all volunteers we send to these competitions and it’s a great way to raise funds for the league without asking friends/family/coworkers for a donation. If you choose to volunteer at a cheer competition, do not volunteer during the session that your athlete is competing in as you will not be able to leave your position to watch your athlete compete.
Uniforms
All athletes try on thier uniforms on June 3rd 2025 at the American Legion. This is MANDATORY. Athletes must return these at the of the season completely clean and dry. Failure to do so will result in a bill of $225.
Paperwork
Player Packet, payment, original birth certificate for inspection (+ a copy for our records), most recent report card and physical dated during the calendar year. Example: athlete’s physical is dated September 2024 is not valid for the 2025 season. The physical must be dated in 2025. If your child’s physical schedule does not fall during the calendar year, there is a medical clearance form in the Player Packet that your athlete’s physician can sign in lieu of a physical.
Communication
Please speak with your athletes Head Coach or Cheer Directors if you have any questions throughout the season. We are here to help.
What is the attendance policy for cheer and pom athletes?
Attendance is crucial to the success of any team. Cheer is a synchronized sport and we do not have substitutes to back fill for missing athletes. Missing one athlete will impact the entire team with regard to practice and competitions. AWH has a very strict attendance policy including all athletes being on time. 15 minutes late is considered tardy. 3 tardies will be counted as an absence. Any cheer athlete that has two (2) unexcused absences can be moved to a Sideline Only cheer athlete and will not be allowed to compete with the team. Cheer athletes and parents will be required to sign a detailed attendance policy after registration is completed.
Excused absences are : School graded events, family emergencies
Please note - conflicts with another sport will NOT be deemed as an excused absence. School dances/socials will NOT be deemed excused.
It should be noted that if an athlete cannot attend the final practice(s) before a competition (for any reason: travel, illness, etc.) they will be unable to compete. This is for safety reasons.
How do I stay informed?
AWH will use a combination of email, the BAND app and social media (Facebook/Instagram) to communicate with parents. General announcements will be posted on social media and sent via email. More detailed, time sensitive and team-specific information will be shared via BAND app which is exclusive to your team. You will be able to participate in a group messaging with other parents/guardians and coaches to discuss practice, upcoming events, competitions, etc. This is a good way to coordinate rides or carpooling, when necessary.
Please follow the Attleboro White Hawks Facebook and/or Instagram to keep up with general announcements and upcoming events. We share pictures, videos, etc. of games, competitions, practice, etc. on social media.
We know this is a lot of information and it can seem daunting! However we want to ensure families are fully informed before signing up. We are extremely passionate Board Members and Coaches and we believe in this sport and our athletes and cannot wait to have you join our White Hawk Family!