Cheer How Cheer Scoring Works: Deductions, Raw Scores and Hitting Zero
By Cheer Weekly · Updated
Every competitive cheer score has two parts: what the judges award for the routine, and what gets taken away. Here's how it works, with real numbers from 16 championships in our database.
Raw score vs final score
Judges score a routine on difficulty and execution across categories like stunts, pyramids, tosses, tumbling, jumps and overall performance. That total is the raw score. Deductions are then subtracted to get the final score, which decides the placement.
Scoresheets and point values change from season to season and differ between event producers and between All Star and college, so a 98 at one championship isn't directly comparable to a 98 somewhere else. Compare scores within the same division at the same event.
What are deductions?
Deductions are points taken off for mistakes and rule problems. The common ones are:
- Athlete falls: a tumbler or jumper touching down or falling.
- Building falls and bobbles: a stunt, pyramid or toss that comes down early or visibly wobbles.
- Safety and legality violations: skills not allowed at the team's level or division.
- Other violations: for example time limits, boundaries or uniform rules, depending on the event's rules.
Exact values change by season and event, so check the event producer's current scoresheet for the numbers.
What "hit zero" means
A team that finishes with no deductions has hit zero. It's the cleanest result possible. In our database:
- 83% of champions hit zero (768 of 922 divisions that publish deductions).
- 62% of all routines hit zero (11,643 routines).
See which programs go clean most often in the Hit Zero Index.
Titles won with deductions
Hitting zero isn't required to win. These champions took the biggest deductions and still finished first:
- 2026 NCA & NDA College National Championship, Intermediate Large Coed NAIA: Peru State College Cheer won with 77.6991 after a 4.25-point deduction.
- 2026 UCA & UDA College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship, Open Small Coed: Northwest Community College Coed won with 81.65 after a 3.75-point deduction.
- 2025 The D2 Summit, L5 Senior Open: Senior Stars 5 won with 81.7833 after a 3.15-point deduction.
- 2026 UCA & UDA College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship, Small Coed Division IA: The University of Memphis won with 89.3 after a 2-point deduction.
- 2025 UCA & UDA College Cheerleading & Dance Team National Championship, All Girl Division I: University of West Georgia All Girl won with 92.6 after a 2-point deduction.
Rounds: prelims, semis, finals and two-day events
Many championships score more than once. College nationals often run preliminaries and finals; All Star championships can use semifinals and finals or two days of competition. Depending on the event, the final ranking uses the final round or a combination of both days. Our results pages list every scored round we have for each team.
Cheer scoring & hit zero: FAQ
What does "hit zero" mean in cheer?
A team hits zero when it finishes a routine with zero deductions: no falls, no bobbles that cost points and no safety or rule violations. It is the goal of every competitive routine.
Can a team win with deductions?
Yes. Deductions are subtracted from the raw score, so a team with a much higher raw score can still win after a deduction. In our results, 17% of champions with deduction data won with at least one deduction.
What is a raw score in cheer?
The raw score is the total the judges award for difficulty and execution before deductions are subtracted. Final score = raw score minus deductions.
How often do champions hit zero?
In the 922 divisions in our database that publish deductions, 83% of champions hit zero.