What Is a Safety Deduction in Cheerleading?

Quick answer: a safety deduction (often called a legality deduction) is a penalty for breaking the safety rules - most often performing a skill that isn't allowed at the team's level, or performing a skill without the required spotters, catchers or bracers. It's applied by safety or legality officials, separately from the judges who score the routine.

What the Term Means

Most deductions are for errors in performance, such as an athlete falling or a stunt bobbling. Safety deductions are different: they're for breaking the rules themselves, whether or not the skill looked clean. A perfectly performed skill can still earn a safety deduction if it isn't legal for that team.

Common Examples

Under the USASF All Star Cheer Rules, the kinds of violations that can lead to a safety deduction include:

• Skills above the team's level - for example a standing tuck in a Level 3 routine, when standing flips aren't allowed until Level 4.
• Missing required support - a stunt above prep level without a spotter, or a release move or downward inversion without the required catchers.
• Breaking the general safety rules - for example a prohibited drop to the knees, seat or front, or a prop used in a way that isn't allowed.
• Tier restrictions - for example any toss in a Prep or Novice routine, where tosses aren't allowed.
• Equipment rules - such as jewellery worn while competing, or the wrong footwear.

Who Applies Them

Many All Star events use dedicated safety or legality officials, separate from the scoring judges. The USASF certifies safety judges, whose job is to watch for illegal skills and rule violations rather than to score difficulty or execution. See Who Are the Judges?.

How It Affects a Routine

Safety violations are usually penalised more heavily than performance errors, and the size of the penalty often depends on how serious the violation is. Repeated or serious violations can lead to bigger penalties under an event producer's own rules. Exact values vary by event producer and season.

How Teams Avoid Them

Coaches check every skill against the current rules before competing. Many event producers and the USASF offer ways for coaches to check skills in advance - for example, the USASF Coach App lets coaches submit routine skills for review before competition. Because the rules change slightly every season, coaches re-check their routines each year.

Related Terms

See Deductions, Cheer Levels Explained and Hit Zero.