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A pom-pon is, at its most basic level, a decorative ball of fluff. Pom-pons may come in many colors, sizes and varieties and are made from a wide array of materials, including fabric, paper, plastic, or occasionally feathers. While not necessarily the most common usage of a pom-pon, the most noticeable use is generally in the sport of Cheerleading.

Cheerleading

Cheerleaders use pompons for a variety of reasons including attracting the attention of a crowd, accentuating movements, distracting an opposing team, and adding an element of sparkle to a cheer, chant or cheer/dance routine, especially at cheer competitions. Most often, pompons are used in pairs (one for each hand) by each cheerleader, but this may vary based on the particular requirements and choreography of a routine or cheer.

Cheerleading pom-pons come in a variety of shapes, styles, colors, color combinations and sizes. Of particular note is the emerging variation in handles used by many manufacturers. Metallic (shiny) poms have become very popular in recent years, as have more cost-effective look-alike poms that are often given to spectators at sporting events.

Clothing

While large handheld pompons may be used by cheerleaders and sports fans, smaller ones adorn curtains or hats such as the tam o'shanters and tuques, and this usage on clothing and decorations may be the most wide-spread. The ones on clothing and curtains tend to be small and made of cloth or ribbon.

Other Activities

Pompons are also used sometimes in the enjoyment and learning of small children, as they like things that shine, though the fact that pompons are made of strings also renders them as a choking hazard.

Also, although it is not commonly known, in some regions of the United States Pompon is considered a sport separate from cheerleading. Alternatively, many schools and universities have dance teams - different from a cheerleading unit - that may occasionally use poms as well.

Variations

Pom-Pon

Within cheerleading, the term pom-pon is used almost exclusively. Inside Cheerleading Magazine, American Cheerleader Magazine, Cheer Coach & Advisor Magazine, the AACCA, the USASF, the NFHS (National Federation for State High School Associations), and most commercial providers such as Varsity generally use the -PON term.

Pompon

Slightly less common is the same spelling without a hyphen. This is seen occasionally in popular culture sources and less so in cheer-specific cases, such as Cheer magazines (as listed above, for example).

Pom-Pom

The use of the similar-sounding rendition "pom-pom" is very common, especially among popular culture, including movies, entertainment sources and general laypeople, but many cheerleaders, coaches, cheer equipment suppliers and manufacturers and others involved in the sport use the term "pompon." Often, pompons are referred to simply as "poms."

When speaking about clothing or decorative purposes, rather than cheerleading uses, the spelling pom-pom is very common, almost to the same exclusivity that pom-pon enjoys among cheerleading professionals.

Pompom

Just as pom-pon is often written without the hyphen and thus pompon, so pom-pom is also written often as pompom.

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