Pep flags, also known as flaggies, short flags, small flags, or twirl flags, is the performing art of twirling one or two flag(s) as part of a choreographed routine. In the early 21st century, some school flag squads have implemented a third or even fourth flag in routines. This performing art is mainly prominent in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

high schools. It is mainly in high schools but a few are in elementary, middle school, and college/university levels. Although pep flags has been around for many decades (and has evolved much since then), it has been gaining in popularity around the world. This particular style of pep flags has spanned out to other areas in

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

and has been known to have similar styles in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Twirling has also reached other countries such as

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, St. Kitts, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Depending on the place, pep flags may be classified with

baton Baton may refer to: Stick-like objects *Baton, a type of club *Baton (law enforcement) *Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts *Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people *Baton (conductin ...

(flag baton),

majorettes A majorette is a baton twirler whose twirling performance is often accompanied by dance, movement, or gymnastics; they are primarily associated with marching bands during parades. Majorettes can also spin knives, fire knives, flags, light-up ba ...

or precision/prop. Usually, pep flags is often associated with

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

, as it is one of the main aspects of school spirit: cheerleading, songleading/

pom pom A pom-pom – also spelled pom-pon, pompom or pompon – is a decorative ball or tuft of fibrous material. The term may refer to large tufts used by Cheerleading, cheerleaders, or a small, tighter ball attached to the top of a hat, al ...

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

s, and pep flags. Not to be confused with auxiliary or

colorguard In military organizations, a colour guard (or color guard) is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is so prestigious that the military colour is generally carried by a young ...

, pep flags is a separate discipline. However, much like other auxiliary and spirit teams, pep flags takes much hand and eye coordination, athleticism, showmanship, and overall teamwork and good sportsmanship. Many flag routines involve choreography to music,

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

cheer Cheering involves the uttering or making of sounds and may be used to encourage, excite to action, indicate approval or welcome. The word cheer originally meant face, countenance, or expression, and came through Old French into Middle English ...

elements (such as kicklines, pyramid mounts, etc.), numerous combinations of twirls, flag tricks, and flag tosses (also known as exchanges). Many schools that have a pep flag squad can generally be seen performing at school pep rallies,

football games Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ca ...

(pre-game, half-time, or even along the sideline with the cheerleaders), and cheering at other sporting events during the fall. Some may be seen marching with their school's

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

during parade season. In the Northern Hemisphere spring, teams compete in several indoor competitions against other schools. Some of the main competitions that occur are United Spirit Association (USA) Regionals and Nationals,

Miss Dance Drill Team USA Also known as U.S. Nationals & Pageant, this national dance competition for precision dance teams, dance-drill teams, and dance studios is recognized as the origin of the competitive dance industry. The event was trademarked under the name Miss Dril ...

, and Sharp competitions, as well as smaller school-sponsored competitions throughout the Southern California area. Generally, these competitions have two separate divisions for one-flag and two-flag routines. In addition, they may also include solo, duet, and trio divisions as well.

Schools

Adolfo Camarillo High School Adolfo Camarillo High School (ACHS) is a public high school in Camarillo, California established 1956. The school is part of the Oxnard Union High School District and serves students in grades 9–12 in east Camarillo, Somis, and the Santa Rosa ...

* Arapahoe High School * Arcadia High School * Bell High School *

Bishop Montgomery High School Bishop Montgomery High School (commonly referred to as "BMHS" or simply "Bishop" by students) is a Catholic high school serving twenty-five parishes in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. BMHS was founded in 1957, and staffed by the S ...

earned the Championship titles at

in 1986 (2-Flag), 2014 (both 1-Flag and 2-Flag ), 2017 (1-Flag), and the International Championship titles in 1986 and 1990. Bishop Montgomery also won USA Nationals in 1997 and was also one of the first schools to have a male compete at USA Regionals 2006. * Cabrillo High School *

California Academy of Math and Science The California Academy of Mathematics and Science (CAMS) is a public magnet high school in Carson, California, United States focusing on science and mathematics. Its California API scores are fourth-highest in the state. Located on the campus o ...

(CAMS) * Carnegie Middle School is the first and only actively competing middle school pep flags program in competition (as of 2010). Although its existence has been sporadic over the years, their competition history can be traced back to the early 1980s, making them the original junior high school competition pep flags squad. Carnegie has enjoyed a recent revival, which began in 2008. They also inspired other spin-off pep flag programs and in the 1990s were referenced in a touring show of a Japanese touring acting troupe. * Carson High School is the second school to "

three-peat In North American sports, a three-peat is winning three consecutive championships. The term, a portmanteau of the words ''three'' and ''repeat'', originated with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, during their unsuccess ...

" at USA Nationals (2004, 2005, 2006) and are also the originators of twirling three and four flags. Also first and only school to win both 1-Flag and 2-Flag divisions in the same year and consecutively (2005 and 2006). Carson is also known for their "show-off" line. They earned back-to-back wins at USA Nationals in both 1- and 2-Flag divisions in 2005 and 2006. Carson did not compete at USA Nationals in 2007 and 2011. They also brought much publicity to pep flags when they were featured in

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...

's "

Hollaback Girl "Hollaback Girl" is a song by American singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, ''Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004). It is a Hip hop music, hip-hop song that draws influence from 1980s in music, 1980s hip hop, hip-hop a ...

" video in 2005. First team to earn a championship trophy for 2-Flag after an award ceremony (USA Nationals 2017). *

Channel Islands High School Channel Islands High School (CIHS) is a secondary school located in Oxnard, California, United States. The school is part of the Oxnard Union High School District. CIHS had a student population of 2,596 during the 2018–19 school year. History C ...

is the first school to "three-peat" four times at USA Nationals — three times in 2-Flag (1986, 1987, 1988; 2001, 2002, 2003; 2009, 2010, 2011), as well as once in 1-Flag (2011, 2012, 2013). Channel Islands did not compete at USA Nationals in 1997. They have also earned the championship titles at Miss Dance/Drill Team International in 1985, 1987, 2001, and 2003, as well as most decorated pep flags team in the history of Miss Dance Drill Team USA. The team has also implemented changing their flags in a "flag-change", much like what is seen in a colorguard or winterguard routines. * Chaparral High School *

Compton High School Compton High School is a high school in Compton, California, United States, part of the Compton Unified School District. History The school opened in 1896 as Compton Union High School and was later re-established as Compton Senior High School in ...

Crenshaw High School Crenshaw High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located on 11th Avenue in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The school first opened in 1968 and currently enrolls aroun ...

Crescenta Valley High School Crescenta Valley High School is a high school in La Crescenta, California. Around 2500 students attend the school, which serves North Glendale, unincorporated La Crescenta and Montrose, as well as a municipal neighborhood on the western boundary o ...

Glendora High School Glendora High School (GHS) is located in Glendora, California, Glendora, Los Angeles County, California, United States. History The high school was built in 1958 on land owned by Clarks Gordan, an orange grower. Before it was built, Glendora stu ...

* Herbert Hoover High School *

Hueneme High School Hueneme High School (HHS) ( ) is a public high school in Oxnard, California. The school is part of the Oxnard Union High School District and serves students in the southern portion of the city of Oxnard and most of Port Hueneme including part of N ...

International Polytechnic High School International Polytechnic High School, commonly abbreviated merely as iPoly, is a public college-preparatory demonstration high school (9-12) located on the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) campus and operated by ...

John Burroughs High School John Burroughs High School is a public high school located in Burbank, in Los Angeles County. It is known for its notable alumni, and being the filming location for many television shows. History The school was built in the 1920s, but was n ...

* Kyoei Gakuen High School (Japan) is the 2006 and 2008 Miss Dance Drill Team International Championship team. Their 2008 performance has been considered as one of the all-time memorable performances in the pageant's history. *

La Cañada High School La Cañada High School is a combined junior-senior high school located in La Cañada Flintridge, California, US. It sits at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, below the Angeles National Forest, in the City of La Cañada Flintridge. The schoo ...

Leuzinger High School Leuzinger High School is a public high school (9th through 12th grades) in Lawndale, California, United States. It opened on January 27, 1931, with an enrollment of 268. It was named after Adolph Leuzinger in recognition of his 25 years of servic ...

Long Beach Poly High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

earned their first USA Nationals Championship in both the 1-Flag and 2-Flag divisions in 2008. They are also the first school to have a male on their squad to win a USA Nationals Championship that same year. * Mary Immaculate School *

Mira Costa High School Mira Costa High School (MCHS, "Costa") is a four-year public high school located in Manhattan Beach, California that first began operating in 1950. It is the only high school in the Manhattan Beach Unified School District. The school's athletic t ...

* Monte Vista High School * Morse High School earned their first USA National Championship in the 1-Flag division in 2010. Morse was the second school to have a male win a USA National Championship. Morse won both 1-Flag and 2-Flag divisions for their first time in 2014, along with their first 2-Flag title and first undefeated season. They are also the National Champions for 1-Flag and 2-Flag divisions in 2015, making this the first time to hold both titles back to back from 2014 to 2015. *

Mount Diablo High School Mount Diablo High School is a public high school located in Concord, California, United States. It is the oldest school in the Mount Diablo Unified School District, founded in April 1901. The school currently serves western Concord, the unincorpo ...

Narbonne High School Nathaniel Narbonne High School (NHS) is a school located at 24300 South Western Avenue, in the Harbor City area of Los Angeles, California. Narbonne serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Narbonne serve ...

has won the Miss Dance/Drill Team USA championships from 1991–1998, and 2008. They also earned the championship title at Miss Dance/Drill Team International in 1989 and 1995. Narbonne did not compete in the 2005 and 2006 seasons. They have also won the USA National Champion titles in 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, and 1999. * Norwalk High School *

Novato High School Novato High School (NHS) is a public high school located in Novato, California, in Marin County. It is a part of the Novato Unified School District. History Built in 1955 and founded in 1957, three years before Novato was incorporated as a c ...

Oxnard High School Oxnard High School (OHS) is a public four-year high school serving grades 9–12 in Oxnard, California. The school is part of the Oxnard Union High School District and serves students in the western portion of the city of Oxnard, north Port Huene ...

was one of the first schools to have a male that competed at USA Nationals in 2006 (placing fourth) and the first school to have two males to compete on a team at USA Nationals 2007 competition (placing sixth). *

Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Palos Verdes Peninsula High School is a public high school in Rolling Hills Estates, California, United States. History The school was formed in 1991 when Miraleste High School, Palos Verdes High School, and Rolling Hills High School were merged ...

* Pittsburg High School *

Redondo Union High School Redondo Union High School (RUHS) is a public high school in Redondo Beach, California. Redondo Union High School is a part of the Redondo Beach Unified School District. All residents of Redondo Beach are zoned to Redondo Union. In addition, resid ...

San Gabriel High School San Gabriel High School (SGHS) is a public high school located in Los Angeles County, California and operated by the Alhambra Unified School District. It is almost entirely in the city limits of Alhambra with a small portion in the city limits of ...

San Pedro High School San Pedro High School is a public high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District and is located in the San Pedro portion of the city of Los Angeles, California. The school serves the entirety of San Pedro as well as most of the Eastvie ...

San Ramon Valley High School San Ramon Valley High School is a four-year public high school located in the East Bay neighborhood of Danville, California, United States. It is a part of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. It is a National Blue Ribbon school from th ...

Santa Ana High School Santa Ana High School is the oldest and largest high school in Orange County, California, United States. The school was established in 1889. Notable alumni * Original members of the surf band The Chantays * Barry Asher, professional bowler * To ...

* Santee High School * South Gate High School *

South Pasadena High School South Pasadena High School (SPHS or "South Pas") is the one public high school serving grades 9-12 in the city of South Pasadena, California. With the South Pasadena Middle School and three elementary schools (Arroyo Vista, Marengo, and Monterey ...

* South High School *

St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Vallejo, in the U.S. state of California. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento. Background St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School's long history be ...

is one of the few pep flagging schools in Northern California. Also one of the few schools to place in the 2-Flag division (2011) in its first appearance at nationals. *

Temple City High School Temple City High School (also known as TCHS) is a four-year comprehensive secondary school located in Temple City, California, in Los Angeles County. The high school was awarded the California Distinguished School award in 1996 and in 2019, and a ...

Torrance High School Torrance High School is a high school located in Torrance, California. Founded in 1917, it is one of the oldest high schools in continuous use in California and is the oldest of the four high schools in the Torrance Unified School District. Four of ...

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

University of California Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

Upland High School Upland High School is a four-year public high school located in the city of Upland, California. The school was established in 1955 as part of the Chaffey Joint Union High School District, and since 1988 it has been a member of the Upland Unified ...

Washington Preparatory High School George Washington Preparatory High School is a public four-year high school in the Westmont section of unincorporated Los Angeles County, California. Founded in 1926, the school has a Los Angeles address but is not located in the city limits of Lo ...

West Covina High School West Covina High School (WCHS) is a four-year comprehensive secondary school located in West Covina, California, USA. History West Covina High School opened in 1956 on the old Covina High School campus on Citrus Ave. and Puente Ave. as the Spar ...

* Westchester High School *

Whittier High School Whittier High School (WHS) is a high school located in Whittier, California. It belongs to the Whittier Union High School District. It is the alma mater of President Richard Nixon (class of 1930) and John Lasseter (class of 1975), founder of Pixa ...

Whittier Christian High School Whittier Christian High School is a non-profit, non-denominational, Christian high school located in La Habra, California. It was founded in 1958. The high school has a gymnasium named the Leon Davis Event Center, after the school worker Leon Dav ...

Pep Flags in media

Pep flags, or the use of pep flags, is featured in various media. Such depictions include: Musicals *''

Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his List of directorial debuts, feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah, Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith (writer), Kirsten Smith from ...

'' - "What You Want" (2007) Music videos * Tonic - " You Wanted More" American Pie Soundtrack (1999) *

- "

" (2005) *

Panic! at the Disco Panic! at the Disco is the solo project of American musician Brendon Urie. It was originally a pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2004 by childhood friends Urie, Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, and Brent Wilson. They recorded their firs ...

- "

I Write Sins Not Tragedies "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" is a song by American rock band Panic! at the Disco, is the second single from their debut studio album, ''A Fever You Can't Sweat Out'' (2005), and was released in the United States as a digital download on January 1 ...

" (2006) Television *''

Ninja Warrior ''Sasuke'' (サスケ; stylized in Japan as ''SASUKE'', also known as ''Shin-Sasuke'' (stylized as ''新SASUKE'' from Seasons 18 to 21, ''Sasuke Rising'' from Seasons 28 to 30 and ''Sasuke Ninja Warrior'' since Season 35) is a Japanese sports ...

'' *'' Legally Blonde: The Musical – The Search for Elle Woods'' *

Hollywood Christmas Parade The Hollywood Christmas Parade (formerly the Hollywood Santa Parade and Santa Claus Lane Parade) is an annual American parade held on the Sunday after Thanksgiving in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It follows a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) route al ...

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...

McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade The Chicago Thanksgiving Parade, "Chicago's Grand Holiday Tradition", is an annual parade produced and presented by the Chicago Festival Association (CFA). It is held in downtown Chicago, Illinois, every Thanksgiving morning from 8:00 am until 11 ...

Rose Parade The Rose Parade, also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade (or simply the Tournament of Roses), is an annual parade held mostly along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, United States, on New Year's Day (or on Monday, January 2 if N ...

Movies *'' Bring It On: All or Nothing''

Competition history

References

{{reflist

External links

Miss Dance/Drill Team Japan

Miss Dance Drill Team USA
(U.S. Nationals & International World Championships)
NRG Dance & Cheer
(Host of Regional, State and National competitions)
Sharp International
(Host of Camp Clinics; Regional, State and National competitions)
United Spirit Association - United States
(Host of Camp Clinics; Regional and National competitions)
United Spirit Association - Japan
(Host of Camp Clinics; Regional and National competitions) Cheerleading

Schools

Pep Flags in media

Competition history

See also

References

External links