What Judges Are Really Looking For

Ever wonder what actually stands out on the scoresheet versus what just feels impressive in the gym? In this section, I break down routines through a judge’s lens, what catches attention, what loses points, and what truly separates top teams. My goal is to give you clarity, confidence, and insight you can immediately apply at practice.

There's more to the eye than just choreography.

What Judges Are Really Looking For

One of the biggest misconceptions in cheer is that judges are looking for what feels impressive instead of what actually scores.

And those two things are not always the same.

From the outside, it can seem like judges are rewarding random things or favoring certain teams, but in reality, everything comes back to the rubric. Every category, every score, every tenth is tied to very specific criteria. The disconnect usually comes from not fully understanding how those details translate on the floor.

When I’m doing routine reviews, I’m not just watching your routine as a whole, I’m constantly filtering what I see through categories. I’m asking myself, how difficult is this, how well is it executed, how clean are the transitions, how synchronized is the team, how clearly are formations being hit?

For example, in stunts, maxing out difficulty alone is not enough anymore. You can have elite-level skills, but if athletes are adjusting at the top, dipping inconsistently, or just moving through transitions, that execution score starts to drop quickly. On the flip side, a slightly less difficult section that is clean, controlled, and confident can score just as high, if not higher, especially on OCS Scoring.

The same thing applies to tumbling. It’s not just about what passes are thrown, it’s how they’re presented. Are they synchronized well? Are they easy to see? Are athletes blocking each other? Are you forcing a judge to rewatch something mentally because too many different passes are happening at once?

And then there’s something coaches often overlook, how easy you make it for a judge to give you credit.

If your formations are messy, transitions are slow, or athletes are standing around waiting, it creates hesitation. Judges shouldn’t have to search for what you’re trying to show them. The clearer and more intentional your routine is, the more confident we can be in rewarding it.

Another big piece is consistency. Judges aren’t scoring based on your best moment, they’re scoring based on the full routine of their category. One strong section doesn’t outweigh multiple small issues throughout. Those little things, timing being slightly off, incomplete motions, unstable landings, they add up quickly.

At the end of the day, judges are looking for routines that make their job easy. Clean, intentional, well-paced routines where difficulty is supported by execution, not fighting against it.

So if you ever feel confused by a score, take a step back and look at your routine through that lens. Not “did we do enough,” but “how clearly and cleanly did we show what we have?”

That shift in perspective changes everything.