Cheer

2023 Cheer Registration

***Important dates ***

Registration Opens on March 8, 2023
Registration Closes on May 31, 2023

Flag Cheer: 5-7 years of age - $350
Flag cheer is for athletes 5-7 years old. It is a great beginner program for those who have little to no experience in cheer. They cheer for the flag football team during games and scrimmages. Games are held within the San Diego, Imperial Valley, and Riverside County limits. including El Centro. They are a non-competitive team that performs their gained skills and talents at the West Coast Conference local cheer competition as an exhibition showcase towards the end of their season. They also attend Flag Fest on the last game of the season.
Season dates: Registration opens March 8, 2023 and closes May 31, 2023.
Season Start is August 1, 2023 and the season end is by October 31, 2023 (Flag Fest is typically held the 3rd or last Saturday of October.) 

Registration fees include:
- Cheer uniform  (Yours to keep! Shell, skirt, liner, briefs and game day bow) 
- Pom-Poms (SMPW issued at games and events/competition by Head Coach and returned at end of each game/event)
- Spirit Pack: 1 t-shirt and 1 shorts (Yours to keep!)
-Exhibition performance at West Coast Conference local cheer competition
- JAMZ Cheer Camp, local  ½ day
- Team picture package
- Certificate of Participation 
- Pop Warner Spirit Nights at San Marcos High School & Mission Hills High School (Athletes are free, however Adult admission may be charged at the High Schools)
- Practice 2x to 3x per week (Please discuss with your cheer head coach what their practice schedule will be for the season. SMPW REQUIRES 3 days a week for the first 2 weeks of the season)
- Team will cheer at home and away games
- Pop Warner Local Competition fees as an exhibition showcase
- Local fees for field usage, referees, medics, and insurance

REQUIRED PURCHASES not included in registration fees:
(We will provide the vendors to purchase from)

-Cheer shoes- Families to purchase shoes from approved vendor list

Optional Purchases:
Warm-up jacket & pant starting at $100
Backpack $70
Additional Spirit Wear  (Ask our Cheer Director for options and prices)

Tiny-Mite Cheer: 5-7 years of age - $400
Tiny Mite cheer is an introductory program to competitive cheerleading for athletes age 5-7 years old. They follow their assigned football team (which may be a Flag Football Team or lower division tackle team) and perform on the sideline during games and scrimmages. Games are held within the San Diego, Imperial Valley, and Riverside County limits. including El Centro. Tiny Mite cheer is a competitive team with a potential of the competition season running into the winter to compete at Locals, Regionals, and possibly Nationals. 
Season dates: Registration opens March 8, 2023 and closes May 31, 2023.
SMPW Season Starts August 1, 2023 and  ends December 31, 2023. *Tiny Mite and all Competitive Teams could potentially have their season run until January 31, 2024 if the Team decides to compete in the West Coast Conference affiliate Competitions held by JAMZ. 

Registration fees include:
- Cheer uniform  (Yours to keep! Shell, skirt, liner, briefs and game day bow) 
- Pom-Poms (SMPW issued at games and events/competition by Head Coach and returned at end of each game/event)
- Spirit Pack: 1 t-shirt and 1 shorts (Yours to keep!)
- West Coast Conference Competition Fees
- JAMZ Cheer Camp, local  ½ day
- Team picture package
- Certificate of Participation 
- Pop Warner Spirit Nights at San Marcos High School & Mission Hills High School (Athletes are free, however Adult admission may be charged at the High Schools)
- Practice 2x to 3x per week (Please discuss with your cheer head coach what their practice schedule will be for the season. SMPW REQUIRES 3 days a week for the first 2 weeks of the season)
- Team will cheer at home and away games
- Pop Warner Local Competition fees as an exhibition showcase
- Local fees for field usage, referees, medics, and insurance

REQUIRED PURCHASES not included in registration fees:
(We will provide the vendors to purchase from)

-Cheer shoes- Families to purchase shoes from approved vendor list
- Team Backpack $70

Optional Purchases:
Warm-up jacket & pant starting at $100
Additional Spirit Wear  (Ask our Cheer Director for options and prices)

Upper Division Competitive Tackle Cheer: 8-15 years old $650
Divisions INCLUDE: Mitey-Mite, Junior Pee Wee, Pee Wee, Junior Varsity and Varsity. 
Our Upper Division Competitive Cheer programs are for athletes age 8-15 years old who will cheer at games and perform at Competitions. They follow their assigned football team and perform on the sideline during games and scrimmages. Games are held within the San Diego, Imperial Valley, and Riverside County limits. including El Centro. Upper Division Competitive Cheer consist of competitive teams with a potential of the competition season running into the winter to compete at Locals, Regionals, and possibly Nationals. 
Season dates: Registration opens March 8, 2023 and closes May 31, 2023.
SMPW Season Starts August 1, 2023 and  ends December 31, 2023. *Upper Division Competitive Teams could potentially have their season run until January 31, 2024 if the Team decides to compete in the West Coast Conference affiliate Competitions held by JAMZ. 

Registration fees include:
- Cheer uniform  (Yours to keep! Shell, skirt, liner, briefs and game day bow) 
- Pom-Poms 
- Spirit Pack: 2 t-shirt and 2 shorts (Yours to keep!)
- West Coast Conference Cheer & Dance Competition 
- JAMZ Cheer Camp, local  full day
- Team picture package
- Certificate of Participation 
- Pop Warner Spirit Nights at San Marcos High School & Mission Hills High School (Athletes are free, however Adult admission may be charged at the High Schools)
- Practice 3x to 4x per week (Please discuss with your cheer head coach what their practice schedule will be for the season. SMPW REQUIRES 3 days a week for the first 2 weeks of the season)
- Team will cheer at home and away games
- West Coast Conference Local and Wescon Regional Fees
- Local fees for field usage, referees, medics, and insurance

REQUIRED PURCHASES not included in registration fees:
(We will provide the vendors to purchase from)

-Cheer shoes- Families to purchase shoes from approved vendor list
- Team Backpack $70

Optional Purchases:
Warm-up jacket & pant starting at $100
Additional Spirit Wear  (Ask our Cheer Director for options and prices)

 PLEASE READ 

- Registration Fees DO NOT cover music fees, hotel accommodations, travel costs, non Pop Warner competition gym fees, coaches's gifts, etc. **All information on this page is deemed reliable, but is subject to change.

- Season commitment  for Flag Cheer is August 1st to October 31st. Season commitment for Tiny Mite and Upper Division Competitive Tackle Cheer is from August 1st- December 31st. If your child's squad qualifies to compete at regional and/or national championships or football team advances to playoffs to Championships. 
(*However, there is a possibly Teams may advanced on through January should the Team level decide to Compete in JAMZ competitions held outside the Pop Warner Season*)

 - Fundraising opportunities will be available to off-set travel costs.

- Head coaches determine the exact practice times and will vary according to the coach's schedule and availability of indoor facilities. Flag  and Tiny-Mite teams practice 2 to 3 times per week for an hour and a half before Labor Day then drop down to an hour each practice.

- Upper Division Competitive Tackle Teams (Mitey-Mite, Junior Pee Wee, Pee Wee, Junior Varsity and Varsity) typically practice 3-4 days per week for 2-2 1/2 hours, and drop down to 3 practices per week when school starts generally between the hours of 5:30-8:00 pm. Practices are normally held at Sunset Park. Competitive teams will start practice an in door facility a few days a week as scheduling permits as we prepare for competition season.

Some competitive squads choose to participate in additional competitions that may occur throughout the end of January.  Cheer practices are usually held 3-5 times per week for two hours a day, depending on the team and time of the season.

ALL PRACTICES AND GAMES ARE MANDATORY:

Due to the nature of the sport, a practice missed by one cheerleader has a significant impact on the squad, particularly on that cheerleader’s stunt group, who are unable to stunt without every member present. It also takes away from others when a coach has to step out during practice and teach what was missed.  Cheerleading is a unique sport in which each athlete’s safety is dependent upon teamwork, trust and responsibility of the whole squad.

As a result, attendance at all practices and games are mandatory.  Please make an effort to schedule your family vacations during June and July.  August is a critical month where  Certification Day is scheduled and MANDATORY and the cheerleader's skill sets are being evaluated and positions determined.

The football season runs from August 1st to December 31st. Scrimmages begin mid August, and first game is usually the end of August or the first week of September; there IS A GAME the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. Once teams have been formed by the various associations, Conference will prepare and distribute  the game schedules.  The best way to keep track of the game schedule is to Download Zorts and to stay in contact with your Team's Head Coach  (or if assigned, Team Parent) who will create a form of communication  site (such as Shutterfly) to post when games will be. In our experience, the schedules will be made available to us by West Coast Conference sometime in late August for the first 4 games, and then will be updated accordingly by Conference to reflect football teams playing against their respective competitive level of play. THEREFORE, the entire season  is not scheduled ahead of time, only the first few games are scheduled up front, and then games are scheduled as the season progresses. While Conference does their best to put out the schedule on Zorts as soon as possible, there are 27 Associations under West Coast Conference and we ask all of our parents to be patient with the release of scheduled game times and locations. ALL games will be scheduled on Saturdays. Game locations will vary based on field availability offered by each Association, and may be subject to change up to 2 hours prior to a game start. WHILE this does not happen often, there have been instances where fields had to be changed up to the last minute due to emergencies, so we ask our parents to continue to check your Team communications app for the best up-to-date info about any schedule changes. 

Some games are at our home fields, San Marcos High School or Mission Hills High School, but most games are away. West Coast Conference tries to balance out the schedule as best as possible. West Coast Conference includes 27 associations all throughout San Diego County, South Riverside County (Temecula and Murrieta, ) and El Centro.  The schedule will list the locations of each game on Zorts and your Team communication website will have links to maps and driving directions.

COMPETITIONS:

Cheerleading competitions are an exciting experience for the athletes and the culmination of their cheer season!!!  It is amazing to see how much the girls have learned since the beginning of August.

The West Coast Conference Local  Cheer Competition (our local league competition) is the first of our competitions and is held in San Diego County, typically in October. If a squad places 1st or 2nd at this competition they will advance to compete at the Wescon Pop Warner Regional Cheer Championships.  

Regional Cheer Championships are usually scheduled sometime in November and are held in California or Arizona. It's usually the weekend prior to Thanksgiving, so please contact your Head Coach or Team Parent for more info.  As the Cheer Director receives the dates and information from Conference he/she will let the Head Coaches know as soon as possible.  First and second place teams at Regionals then qualify to compete at Pop Warner Nationals.

Pop Warner National Cheer Championships are held during the Pop Warner Super Bowl at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida in the beginning of December.  Teams that qualify for the Pop Warner Nationals Cheer Competition must purchase a hotel and park hopper package from Disney at a discounted rate, and it involves a 3 to 5 night stay (SMPW cheer teams stay together at the same hotel). Four to five days of school will be missed, and Pop Warner provides letters to the schools to explain the absence.  Study hall is encouraged while in Florida. Cheer squads are encouraged to fundraise to assist in travel costs.

COACHING OPPORTUNITIES

SMPW is a 100% volunteer run organization.  Our season cannot be successful without the help and participation of our families.  HEAD COACHES AND VOLUNTEERS are needed for the 2023 season!!  Please email [email protected]  more information.