What Is Execution in Cheer Scoring?

Quick answer: execution is how cleanly, correctly and confidently a skill is performed, regardless of how technically difficult it is - a judged quality score that sits alongside, and can outweigh, raw difficulty.

What the Term Means

Where difficulty measures what a team attempts, execution measures how well they actually perform it - correct technique, controlled landings, straight body lines, and confident, well-timed skills.

How It Affects a Routine

A routine full of difficult skills performed shakily will generally score worse on execution than a slightly easier routine performed with excellent technique. This is why coaches often prioritise consistency and clean technique over maximum difficulty, particularly for less experienced teams.

What Judges Evaluate

Execution is typically judged across every skill category in the routine - stunts, tumbling, jumps and motions - looking at technique, control, body positions and confidence, independently of how hard each skill is.

Difficulty vs Execution

Execution and difficulty are scored as related but separate concepts in most systems - a team can score well on one while scoring poorly on the other, which is why judges typically evaluate both.

Scoring-System Differences

Exactly how execution is scored and weighted against difficulty varies between governing bodies and competition providers. This page explains the general concept - always check the score sheet used at your specific event for exact criteria.

Related Terms

See Difficulty for the other half of this trade-off, Synchronisation as one specific element of execution, and the scoring overview.