AU cheerleaders take a break to pose for a picture. (Photo: Provided)
Cheerleading at AU is nothing new. In fact, several years ago AU had not one, but two cheer squads, one of which was able to compete in the National UCA College Cheerleading competition in Walt Disney World. Shortly after that, the squad was disbanded due to a lack of interest and support among students.
That all changed in 2009, when Ashley Kern approached SGA to include cheer as a club. The case was accepted and cheer was once again recognized as a club at AU.
Shana Clatterbuck, AU alumna and assistant director of MBA programs, will enter her third year of coaching cheer at AU this semester. She understands that rebuilding a squad will be a lengthy process and admits, ?After the squad disbanded, it has taken some time to build the program back up. We?re still in the building phase. I would really love to see the program take off in the next few years.?
Clatterbuck held tryouts for the 2011-2012 squad last week. Over 25 students attended, many more than last year.
This year Clatterbuck and the girls will practice twice a week in Kardatzke and attend football and basketball games to aid in supporting AU athletics. Clatterbuck, however, sees more to cheering than just supporting other athletes.
?I think it is a great addition not only to games, but it?s a great way to attract students to AU who cheered in high school and want to continue their cheerleading careers in college.?
Although Clatterbuck considers cheer a sport, she confesses that her squad is missing a key element to defining it as a sport, stunt cheering.
Most have seen the elaborate stunts performed by college cheerleaders on the sidelines of bowl games and even in competitions on ESPN, but it is much more complex and dangerous than meets the eye.
A stunt group usually includes up to four ?bases? who hold or toss other cheerleaders in the air, as well as ?flyers? who perform acrobatic stunts in the air or on top of the base.
Clatterbuck said that AU squads in the past have included stunts, but as of now, the squad is not allowed to do stunts.
?I hope to bring this element back to the program,? she adds.
Cheerleading is certainly an American tradition, but is it a sport? The constant controversy of whether or not cheerleading is a sport has been a widely debated topic for several years, but it is now closer than ever to becoming sanctioned by the NCAA as a sport.
Currently the NCAA considers two types of cheering ?emerging sports.? There are several organizations who have united colleges to compete in competitive cheer. One of the organizations, USA Cheer, is in collaboration with 15 colleges to create what they hope will be a new NCAA sport called ?stunt?, which they revealed last week. Another organization, USA Gymnastics, has brought together several colleges to create another division ?team acrobatics and tumbling.?
As Clatterbuck touched on previously, cheering programs at colleges often provide more than team spirit; it gives students an incentive to select a university. If cheering becomes a sport in the NCAA?s eyes, this could dramatically affect a future student?s choice to attend a college. It would potentially balance scholarship money between male and female sports ?which is required by title IX.
Marcie Taylor, AU?s athletic director, understands why this issue has been so controversial. ?The ?traditional role? of cheer has been to engage the fans,? she said. ?In addition to routines, cheerleading has elements of tumbling, jumping and lifts, activities that require a level of athleticism.?
Taylor is an accomplished female athlete herself. She was a guard for the Ravens basketball team in the ?80s, she coached women?s golf and basketball at the college level and has a master?s degree in exercise physiology.
Her acknowledgement of the athleticism? required to do cheer maneuvers brings merit to the subject.
?I have recently seen a video of stunt cheerleading and can see why it has garnered support for becoming an NCAA sport,? said Taylor. ?Since most institutions have done away with gymnastics, this would provide an avenue for those athletes to continue to compete, as many high school athletic associations still sponsor gymnastics.?
As for now, cheering remains a club at AU, but Clatterbuck said, ?I am optimistic about the future of cheerleading at AU. I would love to see the squad continue to grow. I would love to be able to give as many girls as possible the opportunity to participate. Ultimately, I want to be able to stunt and maybe down the road, get back into the competitive arena.?
Clatterbuck wrapped up the argument by stating, ?If you look at the core basics of what cheering is, I can understand why it wouldn?t be an official sport. Yet, when you throw in stunting and gymnastics, it changes the game. Whether or not cheerleading is officially a sport doesn?t mean that people will change their opinions. I?m sure we?ll still have to defend the stereotype of pom poms and skirts.?
Source: http://andersonian.com/2011/09/14/weve-got-spirit-yes-we-do/
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