How to fill out a cheer 8-count sheet

A producer builds your mix to fit the routine, not the other way round. They read your sheet row by row. Each row is one 8-count. Where you mark a stunt, a tumbling pass or a jump, they can add a hit, a sound effect or a change in the music on that exact count.

If the sheet is off by even 4 counts, every hit after that point lands in the wrong place. A clear sheet saves you a round of changes.

• The length. Check your event's rules for the longest routine allowed, and plan to that length.
• The tempo. Ask your producer what BPM they will use. The 8-count calculator then tells you how many 8-counts you have. Cheer mixes are often made at about 145 to 150 BPM, which gives about 46 8-counts for a 2:30 routine.
• The sections. List the parts of the routine in order: opening, stunts, standing tumbling, running tumbling, jumps, pyramid, dance, ending.
• A blank sheet. Use your producer's form if they have one. If not, use our free blank 8-count sheet.

1. Number the rows. One row for each 8-count, from 1 to the last. If the routine starts with a few counts before count 1 (a voiceover or a pose), put them in an intro row above set 1.
2. Add the start time of each row if you know the tempo. It helps you and the producer find a spot in the music. At 147 BPM each 8-count lasts about 3.3 seconds.
3. Write each section where it starts. Stunts, tumbling, jumps, pyramid and dance: write the name in the row where the section starts, and the counts it takes.
4. Mark the exact count of every skill that needs a hit. For example "Stunt extends on 5", "Toe touch on 3", "Back tuck lands on 7". Producers add hits and sound effects on the counts you give them.
5. Mark the ending. Write the count of the last pose, so the music stops with the team and not a count before or after.
6. Mark tempo changes you want. If you want the music slower for a stunt section or faster for tumbling, say where it starts and ends.

Write the words of each voiceover in the row where it plays, and the count it should start on. For sound effects, write the count and what the moment is, for example "whoosh on 7 as the flyer cradles". Your producer knows the sounds. Your job is to give them the count and the moment.

Here are the first rows of a made-up routine at about 147 BPM. It is an example of the layout, not a real team's sheet.

• Starting set 1 on the wrong count. Set 1 starts on count 1 of the first full 8-count. Counts before it are the intro.
• A row that starts on 5. If a section starts halfway through an 8-count, write it as "starts on 5 of set 12", not as a new row.
• Skills with no count. "Jumps" is not enough. Write "toe touch on 3, hurdler on 7".
• Counting at double speed. If your sheet has far more rows than the calculator says, you are probably counting every half beat. See how to count music for dance.
• Changing the routine but not the sheet. Send an updated sheet each time you change the counts.

Send a video of the full routine, counted out loud if you can. The video shows the producer the speed and the energy of each section, and it catches mistakes on the sheet. Put your team name, division and routine length at the top of the sheet.

Count the finished mix before you teach it. Producers can add counts for a sound effect or move a hit, so the mix may not match your plan exactly. Choreosheet counts the mix for you: upload the file and you get every 8-count with its start time, so you can check each hit against your sheet.

Before the sheet comes the routine: see how to choreograph a cheer routine for an 8-count plan, and songs for cheer routines for the music licensing rules.