POM-PON

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 and widely-recognized use is generally in Cheerleading and often by fans during other spectator sports.

Contents

Linguistic derivation

Sports

Clothing

Other activities

Variations

Pom-Pon/Pompon

Pom-Pom/Pompom

Dictionaries

Linguistic derivation

Pom-pon is originally a term derived from the French word "pompon" and sometimes hypenated (though possibly erroneously) in imitation of the echoic word "pom-pom." "Ponpon" refers to ornamental spheres of fabric, feathers, etc., and, by extension, to a kind of chrysanthemum characterized by small, spherical flowers. This term is often spelled "pom-pon", "pom-pom", or "pompom" (see Variations below).^[1]

Sports

Cheerleaders use pom-pons 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, pom-pons 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. These spectator poms are often called Rooter or Spirit poms.
Pom-pons are also waved by sports fans, primarily in college sports in the United States.

Clothing

While large handheld pom-pons 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, if not widely-recognized. The ones on clothing and curtains tend to be small and made of cloth or ribbon.

Other activities

Pom-pons 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, many schools and universities have dance teams - different from a cheerleading unit - that may occasionally use poms as well.

Variations

Various non-Cheer references give preference to different spellings of the term, and many are common in popular culture. Cheerleading trade publications almost exclusively use the spelling ''Pom-pon'' and refer less formally to them as ''Poms''. Other spellings are given by general dictionaries. The actual level of controversy this causes is generally minimal.

Pom-Pon/Pompon

Within cheerleading, the term pom-pon is used almost exclusively. The same spelling without a hyphen is slightly less common. 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 Pom-Pon term or alternatively, simply use the term "Poms," as WinCraftSchool.

Pom-Pom/Pompom

The use of the similar-sounding rendition "pom-pom" is very common, especially among popular culture, including movies, entertainment sources and general laypeople, but most cheerleaders, coaches, cheer equipment suppliers and manufacturers and others involved in the sport will 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 and considered correct in such context. Therein it contains almost the same exclusivity that pom-pon enjoys among cheerleading professionals.
Pom-pom has given word for cheerleader in French, ''pom-pom girl'' (see Pseudo-Anglicism).

Dictionaries

: The following dictionaries give precedence to ''"pom-pom"'' or ''"pompom"'', though may recognize the ''pom-pon'' as well:
::-Random House
::-Merriam-Webster
::-MSN Encarta
::-Wordsmyth
::-Compact Oxford
::-Concise Oxford 11th ed (hardcopy)
::-Gage Canadian (hardcopy – older dictionary)
:Other dictionaries:
::-Chambers mentions both
::-★ class=wikiexternal target=_blank>1+0 Cambridge American mentions both
::-Allwords (the AND dictionary?) mentions both
::Note: While American Heritage Dictionary gives ''pompon'' precedence, it specifically states: "3. 'pompom' A ball of fluffy material, such as feathers or strips of colored paper, that is waved by cheerleaders and sports fans."[1]
:For the things that cheerleaders wave about, ''pom-pom'' or ''pompom'' often takes first listing in common dictionaries (Gage doesn't mention the word ''pompon''). For the thing on a shako or the botanical item, though, ''pompon'' is the choice.
:(One may also note that while these definitions explicitly refer to cheerleading, they also refer to cheerleaders using feather Poms, which is an archaic reference as nearly all Poms today are paper or plastic based.)