Most cheerleaders would agree that another great part of cheerleading is stunting.  Stunting is probably the most dangerous part of cheerleading, but it can amaze crowds and is fun and worth the risk.  To stunt, you need four or sometimes five cheerleaders.  Two bases, a back spot, and a flyer are required. As an extra safety precaution, front spots can also be added.  The most simple and basic stunt is the elevator. Once you have mastered that you can go up into an extension. The next step in stunt progression would be one-legged stunts, such as liberties; heel-stretches; bow-and-arrows; scorpions; and scales.

A base is needed for every stunt or pyramid you will do.  A stunt can either have one or two bases, usually two if they are female, and one if the base is a male.  The bases lift or throw the flyer and as the name implies, they are the base or foundation of a cheerleading stunt or pyramid.  Bases tend to be tall, strong girls, but anyone can base if they know what they’re doing.  Because the bases lift other cheerleaders in the air, they must be very strong and must have good timing.  There arms are not the only body part they’ll need, bases can bend their legs to give them extra strength; this way, lifting other girls high into the air isn’t as hard.  Foot placement is also very important; feet should be shoulder-width apart.  Bases should know how to catch their flyer, and most importantly, bases should have practice with simple stunts such as elevators before moving on to harder stunts, for many safety reasons.

The flyer, also known as the top girl, mounter, or climber is the girl who is lifted into the stunt.  She is usually very small, short, and lightweight.  Her job is probably the most stressful and nerve-wracking, because she often has to go high into the hair, sometimes being on one foot, and can only rely on the cheerleader’s below her.  This requires a lot of trust for her teammates, something that can be very hard to gain.  Flyers also must be very flexible, because in more difficult stunts, they sometimes have to do things such as bow-and-arrows, scales, scorpions, or heel stretches.  All of these stretches require a lot of flexibility, and on top of that, she must be able to balance. 

The final requirement to have a stunt group is a back spot.  They are used for extra support when holding the flyer, and are also needed to help catch the flyer as she is brought down from the stunt. Back spots usually help the flyer get into the stunt, and usually hold her ankles as she’s up there.  When the stunt is over, the flyer then ‘cradles’ down.  A cradle is when the back spot and bases pop the flyer’s feet into the air, she falls down in a straight position, and then the back spot and bases catch her.  It is the back spot’s job to catch the flyer’s back safely.  Back spots are usually tall and can usually lift a lot of weight off for the bases.