Add to your team order
Light-Up LED Pom Poms
Metallic streamers with LEDs built into the pom, a rechargeable pack, and one remote that changes the whole team’s color at once.
$145 USD per pair
Run your showcase as the gym’s own show: a ticketed night before Worlds or The Summit where every team performs its routine for families, the money goes toward travel, and the finale is staged the way no competition allows. Keep the door price low and add raffles and a bake sale, the way real gym showcases do, then end with the whole gym on the floor, lights down, in one matched light. For a whole-gym finale set, our team rate on light-up pom poms is $120 a pair on 10 or more pairs.
What makes a showcase night worth the ticket?
Families pay to see something they cannot see from the stands at a competition: every team in the gym, back to back, in their own building, with no judges. The gym’s teams take the floor one after another and run their routines for an audience of parents, siblings, grandparents and friends, with no judges and no scores. Local coverage of real showcases describes exactly this: one Hawaii program hosted exhibitions from all of its island’s all-star teams so family and friends could see the competition routines before the teams flew to the mainland (source: Maui Now).
The word “exhibition” also shows up in a second sense. Some gyms run exhibition or show teams that perform without receiving scores from the judges, as a step toward competitive teams. A showcase is where both kinds of team can perform for the people who support them.
When do gyms hold a showcase?
Most showcases land right before the biggest trip of the season. Worlds and Summit bids are handed out at national championships in March, and the Cheerleading Worlds runs at the end of April in Orlando, so a spring showcase gives families one last look at the routines and raises money for travel. A Georgia gym, for example, hosted a showcase for its Worlds and Summit teams to help athletes offset competition costs (source: The Citizen), and a Louisiana gym billed its event outright as a “Worlds Showcase” (source: Houma Times).
How do gyms raise money at a showcase?
The real examples are modest and they work because the whole gym community turns up:
| Idea | Real example |
|---|---|
| Low door price | $3 admission at a Georgia gym; $5 at the door at a Louisiana gym |
| Raffles | Run alongside the Georgia showcase |
| Bake sale | Part of the Louisiana “Worlds Showcase” |
Ideas to add on top: concessions, a team-photo station with a backdrop, sponsor shout-outs read by the emcee, and a send-off moment where the travelling teams are introduced last.
What should a showcase run of show look like?
A tight run of show keeps younger siblings in their seats and lets the travelling teams finish the night. A template:
- Doors and warm welcome (15 minutes): music, raffle tickets and the bake sale open.
- Opening: the whole gym on the floor together for a short intro.
- Youngest teams first, so they can perform and then watch.
- Exhibition and show teams.
- Competitive teams, building toward the Worlds or Summit teams.
- Raffle draw during a short break.
- Finale and send-off: the travelling teams, then the whole gym back on the floor.
Keep each transition short. The audience came to see routines, not to wait between them.
How do you stage a lights-down finale?
At a competition the venue controls the lighting and the prop rules control what a team can carry. At your own showcase you control both, which makes the finale the place to do something a team cannot do on a competition floor.
- Turn the overhead lights off for the last number and keep only enough light for safety at the edges of the floor.
- Give the whole gym one matched light source. Light-up pom poms on every athlete for the send-off, set to the gym’s colour by remote, turn a room of 100 athletes into one picture from the bleachers.
- Change colour on a count. Remote colour change across the whole set lets the gym switch from one colour to another on the beat.
- Film it from the top row. That wide shot is the clip families share and the one next season’s recruits find.
Safety comes first in a dark gym: keep tumbling and stunting out of the dark section, and keep the edges of the floor lit.
How many poms does a whole gym need?
Count every athlete who will be on the floor for the finale, add a few spares, and order the set together so every pair matches. For an order of 10 or more pairs, our team rate is $120 a pair.
| Who is on the floor | Pairs |
|---|---|
| One travelling team of 20 | 20 plus spares |
| Two travelling teams of 24 | 48 plus spares |
| Whole-gym finale, 100 athletes | 100 plus spares |
The same set keeps working after the showcase: game nights, banquets, recruiting events and next year’s showcase. Email or DM us with your athlete count, colours and showcase date for a quote.
Can teams use light-up poms at a showcase?
Yes. A showcase is the gym’s own event, with no judges and no prop ruling involved. That is different from a judged routine: at a competition the legality official decides. The current USASF cheer rules list pom pons among the allowed props and do not mention lights at all (source: USASF Cheer Rules 2026–27), so get a written answer through the USASF Coach App before using them in a judged routine. At your own showcase, no answer is needed.
Frequently asked questions
How is a cheer showcase different from a competition?
A showcase is the gym’s own non-competitive performance night: no judges, no scores and no prop rulings, so the gym controls the lights, the order and what each team carries.
When do all-star gyms hold showcases?
Usually just before the biggest trip of the season, such as the Cheerleading Worlds or The Summit in the spring, and sometimes early in the season once routines are set.
How much are cheer showcase tickets?
Gyms usually keep the door price low. Real examples include $3 admission at a Georgia gym and $5 at the door at a Louisiana gym’s Worlds Showcase.
How do gyms fundraise at a showcase?
Ticket sales, raffles, bake sales and concessions, with the money usually going toward travel costs for teams heading to Worlds or Summit.
Can you use light-up pom poms at a showcase?
Yes. A showcase is the gym’s own event with no judges or legality officials. For a judged routine, get a written answer through the USASF Coach App first.
How many light-up poms does a gym need for a showcase finale?
One pair per athlete on the floor for the finale plus a few spares. A 100-athlete whole-gym finale with two spares is 102 pairs, or $12,240 at our team rate of $120 a pair.
See also: cheer competition season guide, what is pom dance and team orders.
Sources: The Citizen, Houma Times, Maui Now, USASF Cheer Rules 2026–27.
Questions: info@neoncowboys.com.
