Full in cheerleading: a stretched somersault with a full twist. Which level allows it, prerequisites, air orientation, safety data and the role of your coach.
A full is a stretched back somersault with one full rotation around the long axis — a 360-degree twist in the somersault. The rulebook calls a 360-degree rotation a "full" and describes twist as rotation around the long axis, from head to toe [1]. In tumbling you combine two rotations at once: the somersault and the twist.
The honest answer to "Is that just a layout with a twist?": no, orientation in the air changes completely. In a study of 15 skilled trampoline gymnasts, the better ones orientated later in flight and stabilised their gaze, with eyes and head working against the rotation; less skilled gymnasts tended to orientate earlier, with larger head rotations and poorer execution [6]. That is a transfer from trampolining, but it shows: orientation is a separate skill you build, not an add-on.
Under the rules the full is a top-level element: at ICU level Advanced and CCVD level 4, flips without a twist are allowed, the twist in the somersault only at level Elite or CCVD level 5 [2][3]. In All Star (USASF) the full stands in a running pass at level 5, from a standing start only at level 6 [1]. How long the way there takes cannot honestly be promised in weeks.
Important: this guide describes rules, prerequisites and safety data, but no somersault or twist technique. A full is learned only with a coach who masters methodology and spotting. The CCVD module Tumbling Basic of the C licence goes up to the back handspring [4] — ask where your coach's qualification for somersaults with a twist comes from.
The layout is repeatable, height and landing are consistent. Milestone: ten layouts with the same landing position, confirmed by the coach (practice value).
Straight jumps with a full turn on the mat, plus orientation drills on the floor: gaze fixed, landing on both feet. Milestone: ten clean turning jumps with a stable landing.
You learn the twist in the somersault exclusively in an environment that forgives mistakes (for example tumble track, air track, trampoline, harness or soft mats) and with trained spotting. Stages and aids are decided by your coach. Milestone: the coach confirms that the twist lands under control.
Only when the secured twist sits does the coach connect it with round-off back handspring or the standing entry, first spotted, then with gradually less help. Agree beforehand what happens in failed attempts. Milestone: five spotted passes without correction.
At All Star level 5 (USASF) the full may only stand in a running pass, must be initiated immediately by a run, round-off, back handspring or front handspring, contains no other trick, ends on both feet and no tumbling may follow [1]. ICU and CCVD do not regulate this identically; check the rulebook of your federation [2][3]. Milestone: your choreography keeps the rules of your category.
Watch every pass afterwards: height, twist, landing. Milestone: the coach releases the full for the routine, not you.
This guide explains and motivates but does not replace supervised training. Somersaults with a twist never without a coach, never without a cushioned surface, never alone.
Separate height, twist and orientation in training. Document one quantity each week: height of the layout, cleanliness of the turning jump, landing position. Progress you can see is progress you can show your coach. That is coaching experience, not a study.
A somersault with one full rotation around the long axis. The rulebook calls a 360-degree rotation a "full" and describes twist as rotation around the axis from head to toe [1]. In tumbling that means: one flip and one twist at the same time, two rotations that your coach must separate and build cleanly.
At ICU level Elite and CCVD level 5, flips with a twist are allowed, before that only flips without a twist [2][3]. In All Star (USASF) the full is allowed in a running pass at level 5, from a standing start only at level 6 [1]. Whether it is permitted in your category is in the rulebook.
The full in tumbling is a somersault with a twist on the floor; the full up is a stunt in which the flyer turns a full twist while going up into the stunt. Both turn 360 degrees but follow different rules: tumbling rules above, stunt rules in the full up guide.
There are no cheerleading-specific numbers for this. Gymnastics, where somersaults with twists are everyday work, had the highest rate of catastrophic head and neck injuries among 17 non-football sports, 1.66 per 100,000 athlete seasons [10]. That is rare but severe; hence only with a coach, spotting and a cushioned surface.
Bow and Arrow in Cheerleading: Flexibility With Back Protection