The cheerleaders at Premiere Gym & Cheer in Whitehall don't carry pompoms, wear pleated skirts or chant cheers. They flip forwards and back, tumble across the floor and toss each other into the air.
Welcome to competition cheerleading, a booming sport in this area. Karen Krieger, Premier Gym's owner, said only four teams competed out of the Pittsburgh area as recently as 2000. Today, more than 40 teams thrive throughout the city and suburbs.
"The growth came on so suddenly that it's almost overwhelming," Krieger said. "But it's great for the kids because it pushes them to work harder and aim for a higher level of performance."
Competition differs from cheerleading for football and basketball teams, where cheerleaders guide audiences vocally. Athletes perform 2 1/2-minute routines on a springboard-floor that include tumbling, dance, partner stunts and pyramids.
"In cheering for a sports team, the goal is to get people into what's happening on the field, but in this sport we are the main attraction," said Tracy Zangaro Indof, owner of Pittsburgh Poison All Stars in Emsworth. "It involves so much skill, but ultimately it's about performing and putting on a really great show for the judges and the audience."
Pittsburgh Poison outgrew its original space after just four years, growing from 60 cheerleaders to more than 200. Last month it opened a new 10,000-square-foot gym, with a competition-sized 54-foot floor and new tumbling equipment.
Zangaro Indof said the sport originated in southern states. She credits televised competitions for increasing interest here.
"Kids get to see what goes on at these competitions that are held nationwide," she said. "The girls see that it offers a lot more than what is offered at the school level, and they want to be a part of it."
Cheerleaders compete at five ability levels and within several age groups. Each team has about 20 athletes, and many gyms have more than a dozen teams.
Parents should expect to pay between $3,000 and $4,000 a year to train one child, not including travel expenses for competitions.
Competition season runs from November to April, when about 50 cheerleading companies across the country host national competitions. The United States All Star Federation, competition cheerleading's governing organization, invites winners from each of these competitions to an annual world championship in Orlando, Fla.
Competition cheerleading is not just for girls. Coed divisions are popular in other parts of the country, but interest hasn't spread to Pittsburgh.
Dayna Tomer, 18, an assistant coach with Pittsburgh Poison, has been a competitive cheerleader for 10 years. She has experienced the physical demands of the sport but thinks many people still hold old-fashioned stereotypes.
"I don't like telling people that I'm a cheerleader," she said. "When you say you're a cheerleader, people get a totally different impression of what you do. We go through rigorous workouts every day. We don't stand around yelling in people's faces."
"It's so much harder than a lot of people think," said Kati Angelo, 14, who cheers with Steel City All Stars in Plum. "We have to be strong enough to throw people into the air, then go right back into a routine full of tumbling and dancing, all while coordinating with the rest of the team. I think all those components make it harder than any other sport."
Steel City All Stars opened in May and has 50 athletes. Owner Jeanne Schulte previously owned a tumbling studio, and she said many of her clients asked her to start a cheerleading program.
"It's gotten so big in Pittsburgh in just the last few years," Schulte said. "Even a lot of existing gymnastics facilities are adding competition cheerleading. It just seems like new gyms and new teams are popping up everywhere."
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