The Cheer and Dance Competition Packing List
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Cheer and dance competitions are their own world.
You will spend nine hours inside a convention center for a routine that lasts a minute and a half.
That is not a complaint. That is just the math, and it is a lot easier to accept when you know it’s coming.
🏟️ KNOW WHAT YOU'RE WALKING INTO
Nobody warns you about the scene, so here it is.
Cheer parents show up in custom apparel with their daughters’ faces on them, or their team name painted across their backs like the graffiti shirts of 1985. Dance moms hover and primp and re-pin a bun that was already perfect. By hour six everyone is a little unhinged, myself very much included.
It's a wild scene. It's also a fun one, as long as you walk in expecting it instead of being ambushed by it.
One warning. The vendor booths are not your friend. They are built to work on parents who are already spending thousands of dollars a year on this sport, at the exact hour of the day when everyone is tired and emotional and wants their kid to feel special. Decide what you are buying before you walk in, and then zip your wallet back up.
📋 BEFORE YOU GO
Check whether the venue allows in and out. Many don't. If you leave, you may be paying again to get back in, or not getting back in at all.
Check the outside food and drink policy. Most competitions don't allow it, and they WILL check your bags at the door.
Look at the schedule, then add two hours. Nothing runs on time, and awards run latest of all.
Assume the building is cold. Convention centers always are.
💄 FOR THE ATHLETE
Some of this is the same no matter which sport you're in:
Stage makeup. Lots of it. This is not the place for the everyday stuff. A team favorite:
Superhold hairspray. Also lots of it.
Warmups
Something comfortable to walk in
Bobby pins, elastics, gel, and a slick stick
Safety pins and a tiny sewing kit
Clear deodorant
Snacks that won't wreck the makeup or the costume
Water bottle
For dance
Dance shoes. Every variety, depending on which pieces she's performing. My daughter likes the BLOCH brand.
That giant suitcase you had to buy just for the costumes. One costume for every number. Make sure they are all actually in there.
The bun kit. The all in one kits run about ten dollars and have the donuts, the pins, the nets, the wax stick and the brushes together in one box. Worth every penny at 6am in a convention center bathroom.
Extra tights. She will get a runner. It isn't a question of if.
For the older girls, tape or pasties for securing everything properly inside those expensive costumes.
A robe or cover-up for between numbers
For cheer
The sparkly, bedazzled $600 competition uniform.
The bow that is bigger than your designer mini poodle mix.
Spirit pins. For you newbies, this is a thing. Google it. The girls decorate clothespins fancier than you can imagine and pin them on each other all competition long.
Cheer shoes, the right socks, and an extra pair in case she chose wrong.
Extra red lipstick. Yep. That counts separately from the stage makeup.
Curling irons.
And maybe a wig, if your team requires it.
Yes. You read that correctly.
A wig. For your young daughter.
👜 FOR YOU
This is a long haul, and everything you need has to be on you.
A CLEAR bag. Double check the fine print, but this is often the case.
A sweatshirt or layers. The building is cold and you will be sitting still in it for many hours.
Comfortable shoes. Concrete floors, and more walking than you think.
A portable charger. Then a second one. You will be filming, texting the group chat, and checking the schedule all day and the bad service will eat your battery.
Something to do. There are hours between warmups and awards, and the phone will die.
Advil.
Wet wipes.
Makeup remover wipes. Your daughter will want to remove the face cake AS SOON AS awards have passed.
A refillable water bottle, if the venue allows it. If not, plan on buying.
🎀 IF YOU'RE THE COACH
Different job, different bag. This is what's in mine.
Shout wipes or pens
Hair ties
Safety pins
Bobby pins
Deodorant
Candy, for a pick-me-up
Lip gloss
A brush
Bra tape
Extra socks
Extra bows
Every single thing in there is something a girl has needed five minutes before she performed.
💳 MONEY
Budget for this before you go, because it adds up faster than anyone tells you.
Admission, usually per person, per day
Photo and video packages, which they will offer you at the emotional peak of the day
The vendor booths, if you have decided in advance to say yes to something
Most of it is digital payment now, so be prepared before you're in line.
🚫 WHAT NOT TO BRING
A cooler. Most venues won't let it in.
Oversized bags. Some venues have size limits, and you may be carrying it all day with no car to run back to.
Anything you would need to take out to the car mid-day, if there are no ins and outs.
It is a very long day for a very short routine, and the parents who planned for the day are having a much better time than the ones who planned for the routine.
What have I forgotten?
abide & flourish 🤸🏻♂️
