If the cheerleader in your life wants to jazz up her practice uniforms, you might want to look into interesting cheerleader spankies. Most teams will require that all cheerleaders wear matching spankies for competitions and games, but there's usually a little flexibility for cheer practice and cheer camp.
Purpose of Cheerleader Spankies
Whenever a cheerleader tumbles, flies or jumps, there's always a risk of her skirt flying up and exposing her underwear. Cheerleader spankies, also known as bloomers, shorties, briefs or bodywear, modestly cover the nether-regions and prevent potential embarrassments.
Styles
If you're choosing cheerleader spankies for your practices, you can probably make your style choice based on personal preference rather than team requirements.
- Athletic Briefs: Athletic cheer briefs look like full-coverage underwear with a high waist and low-cut leg holes. Because this style "hugs" your bottom (kind of like a bathing suit bottom), there's little opportunity for anyone to get an eyeful, as long as you purchase the right size. If you're on a team full of girls, or you rarely perform moves that cause your skirt to fly up, cheer briefs might feel more comfortable than other spankie styles.
- Boy-Cut Briefs: Boy-cut briefs look similar to bike shorts, but usually have a much shorter inseam. Depending on the brand, boy-cut briefs can come with a high- or low-rise waist, and inseams vary from very short to several inches long. If you choose longer boy-cut briefs, you may even be able to wear them without a skirt over the top during practices because they offer a more modest look.
- Bodysuit: A body suit offers full-body coverage like a leotard. In most cases, bodysuits won't feel comfortable for practices because getting into and out of them for bathroom breaks would be a hassle.
Fabric
Most cheerleader spankies come in a blend of nylon, polyester and spandex. Some spankie fabric blends will feel heavier and more supportive than others. If you're concerned about your bottom-half and you don't want to risk showing off your bottom, always try on spankies before purchasing to make sure that they feel snug and supportive -- even do a couple cheerleading jumps while trying them on to make sure that they stay put.
Fun Styles
While you may have to stick to plain, solid spankies during competitions and games, the sky's the limit for practice spankies. You can show off your inner-diva with glitter fabrics, metallic colors, sequins, animal prints and hologram sheens. Some cheer uniform providers will even let you customize your spankies with jeweled accents. Other fun options include:
- Graffiti lettering
- Stars
- Argyle
- Tie-Dye
- Flames
- Camouflage
- Checkerboard
- Houndstooth
- Hearts
- Polka dots
Where to Purchase
You can purchase spankies from almost any cheer store or athletic store, but for customized cheer bloomers, you'll probably want to look online. The following stores offer a cute variety of cheer spankies:
How to Wear Spankies
Most cheer spankies cost between $5.00 and $20.00, so they're an inexpensive way to jazz up your practice attire. Purchase a couple options and switch them out regularly. Just remember: if you plan on wearing underwear underneath your spankies, choose undies that match your spankie color - you wouldn't want your underwear to show.
