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
Gold out game ideas for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month: honor local kids and families at a September home game, with the cheer and dance teams lighting the field in gold. Our light-up poms switch to gold by remote and back to school colors the next week. Team pricing is $120 a pair on 10 or more pairs.
Planning a gold out for September
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and the gold ribbon is its symbol. CureSearch explains that gold represents how rare and precious children are (source: CureSearch for Children’s Cancer: Childhood Cancer Awareness Month). For a high school, that puts the gold out in the first month of football and volleyball season, before pink takes over October.
A gold out is quieter than a rivalry white out. The crowd still wears gold, but the night belongs to the kids and families being honored, and the squad’s job is to frame that moment, not compete with it. Light-up poms let the cheer and dance teams turn the field gold for one halftime and go back to school colors for the rest of the season. For the full calendar of color nights, see color out game ideas; for other kinds of squads, light-up pom poms for every kind of team.
Who should be on the field, and how do you invite them?
Ask your school counselor or nurse which families in your community would welcome being recognized, and let each family decide what is said. Some want a child’s name read; some want a general thank-you. Nobody should hear about it for the first time from the announcer.
- Two weeks out: the athletic director confirms the game and the halftime slot.
- One week out: families confirm, and the announcer gets a short script they have approved.
- Game day: a coach or council member meets the families at a reserved gate and walks them to their seats.
A gold out run of show
| Time | Moment | Who leads | Poms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before kickoff | Families take reserved seats near midfield | Student council | School colors |
| Pregame | Honored kids walk out with the captains for the coin toss | Athletic director | Gold, held still |
| First quarter | The student section in gold leads the first cheer | Cheer squad | Gold |
| Halftime | The families’ message is read; both squads line the sidelines | Dance team and cheer | All gold, raised on the last line |
| Postgame | Players and squads thank the families at the fence | Head coach | Gold |
The coin toss walk is a suggestion, not a rule. Build the night around what the families say yes to.
How do you get gold light from the poms?
Two ways. If gold is one of your school colors, order Gold streamers, one of ten metallic colors in the team order alongside Teal, Orange, Hot Pink, Purple, Green, Silver, Red, Blue and White; the light then adds to it. If your colors are something else, any streamer can glow gold-yellow by remote, and white streamers, our best seller, take the color most evenly.
Under stadium lights, LED gold reads as a warm yellow-gold. Test it at a night practice before the game so the coach knows what the stands will see. Black-and-gold and blue-and-gold schools can split each pair, gold on the raised pom and the other color low; our team color guide shows the common pairs, and gold pom poms covers black-and-gold sets.
What fundraising goes with a gold out?
Keep it simple, and tell people where the money goes before they give.
- Gold shirts sold through the student council, with the charity named on the order form.
- A gold ribbon table at the gate, run by the booster club.
- One halftime collection in the student section, announced once.
Pick one childhood cancer charity with your administration and put its name on every flyer. Our pink out game ideas have a fuller fundraising plan that works the same way for gold, and cancer awareness night ideas covers other sports.
Does a gold out work at a volleyball match?
Yes, and it is often the better fit. Volleyball runs through September at most high schools, the gym is small enough that families sit close, and a dance or cheer team can line the baseline between sets. Ask the athletic director whether the gym lights can dip for the moment; lit poms read best in a darker room. The same plan works for a September soccer game under the lights.
Ordering before September
A gold out falls early in the season, so it is often the first night the poms are used. Count backward: the squad needs one practice with the poms and the remote, and the set needs a full charge, which gives 3 to 4 hours of light. Each pom weighs 7 oz, light enough for a full halftime with the arms up.
One pair per athlete at $120 a pair on 10 or more pairs: 14 athletes is $1,680, 20 is $2,400. Apply on our team pricing page with the gold out date and your other color nights; orange nights and red out nights follow in October.
Apply with your school, your squad size, your colors and the date of your gold out game. We make the poms ourselves and will tell you plainly what fits your date. Team pricing is $120 a pair on 10 or more pairs.
Frequently asked questions
When is the gold out for childhood cancer awareness?
September, which is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Pick a home game early in the month, before pink nights in October.
Can we get gold poms in our school colors?
Yes. Gold is one of ten metallic streamer colors in the team order, or keep your school color and switch the light to gold by remote for the night.
What is your team pricing?
$120 a pair on 10 or more pairs. A 14-member squad is $1,680.
Can we get them in time for a September gold out?
Send us the date when you apply and we will tell you plainly what fits. Apply with your whole fall calendar so every color night is on it.
How does the color change work?
One remote switches every pom that is on. The captain presses gold for the halftime moment and switches back to school colors after.
Does the gold light look gold on camera?
It reads as a warm yellow-gold. Test at a night practice so you know what parents will see in their photos.
See also: light-up pom poms for every team and light-up pom poms for cheer and dance teams.
Sources: CureSearch for Children’s Cancer: Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, National Foundation for Cancer Research.
CureSearch for Children’s Cancer and the National Foundation for Cancer Research are named here as facts only. Neither is affiliated with or endorses Neon Cowboys.
Questions: info@neoncowboys.com.
