Cheerleaders put some pep into their comeback

Cheerleading is back at Norwich.

Now a club sport, the Norwich cheerleading team hopes to regain varsity status.

"Originally the cheerleading team was a varsity sport six to eight years ago but it died off. To become a varsity sport we must submit a petition to athletics which we will do in January. Right now we are just trying to prove that we are responsible and committed," said Rebecca Aidala, a 21-year-old senior mechanical engineering major from Niskayuna, N.Y.

Many of its members are new to Norwich and wanted to be involved with something in the Norwich community. Not only has the cheerleading team become bonded, but it is also recreating a tradition for Norwich.

"I joined the team because I wanted to be a part of something on campus; I wasn't expecting it to be such a family," said Katrina Fortman, an 18-year-old freshman criminal justice major from Middlesex, Vt.

Christie Fernandez, a 17-year-old freshman from Brooklyn N.Y., said, "The cheerleading team to me is kind like a little sorority, to me at least, it depends how you view it. I'm not even the cheerleader type. I just wanted to be a part of something."

Some of the cheerleaders on the squad have cheered their entire lives and want to continue that at Norwich.

Brie Davis, a 20-year-old junior, criminal justice major from Fredericksburg, Va., said, "I have cheered since third grade so when I got to college I wanted to continue, but there was no team. So we looked through the Norwich archives and saw that we used to have cheerleading so we decided to bring it back. It was very hard the first year because it was just six or eight of us, but we are still growing".

To become a cheerleader for Norwich students must try out. The captains make the final decision to who is on the team. However, the number of cheerleaders is dictated by the number of uniforms the team owns.

"We do have tryouts; the amount of uniforms we have is the amount of people that are on the team, guys are welcome too, they have their own uniforms," said Andrea Lishen, a 20-year-old nursing major from West Palm Beach, Fla.

"There is about 17 of us. We have two captains and an advisor; we are currently looking for a coach. A coach would have to be certified by the National Cheer Association. We cheer at the football and basketball games and occasionally hockey," Davis said.

The Norwich cheerleaders have a mandatory schedule that they follow in order to represent Norwich.

"We practice three days a week, we go over cheers, and review old cheers, practicing stunting, and cheer form, it is pretty much a set schedule," Lishen said.

"We actually do workout like other sports do, it's not simple stand-there-and-do-cheers kind of thing. We would run, if you were a base you would do a lot of arms, if you were a flyer you would do a lot of legs and abs. We would stretch and run as a team," Davis said

In order for the squad to have the necessities for a cheerleading team it must fundraise and help out around campus.

"As captain I am responsible for running practices attendance at the games and teaching cheers getting information about community service and turning in any kind of funding request that we need," Aidala said.

"We fundraise and get support from the Campus Activities Board (CAB). We help out at all of the CAB events. Last year we drove golf carts for parent's weekend, and this year we helped out with stage setup at the Lee Brice concert and we get funded for that," Lishen said.

"As a senior I am trying to make sure that they have a stable foundation for next year. I would love to come back and see the cheerleaders at the football games next year," Aidala said

"The majority of our practice time will actually be spent stunting because it's a crowd pleaser and that is what attracts the crowd to us," Davis said.

Funds have been provided by the Student Government Association so the cheerleaders are outfitted for each event.

"We are relatively new; we are three years old, we are able to get money from the SGA, we have gotten new uniforms and new pom-poms and we are currently trying to raise money for warm ups this year," Davis said.

The cheerleaders are aware that they aren't always thought of as a sports team, but that recognition is something they deserve. The campus views the Norwich cheerleaders in many different ways, positive and negative.

"We are not really a favorite team because some people don't consider us a sport, but we work hard. Unfortunately people don't have a very high opinion of us which is sad because we are here to support the school. Cheerleaders are the spirit of the school. We do get a lot of jokes," Davis said.

"I think it's because we are a military school and we are geared towards masculinity and being strong and the military doesn't do short skirts and cute cheers and for us as corps girls we are made fun of. I have another identity outside of the military and the corps," Lishen said

"It's the stereotype; when people think of cheerleader they think they're preppy rich, girly girls, who wear makeup and heels every day. We can do that too but we also have a career path that is the military," Davis said.

The cheerleading team doesn't let any negative comments get in the way of having fun and doing something they love.

"It's one place we can get a bunch of girls together and have a good time. Hit or miss we get a lot of love from the football team and from the basketball teams," Aidala said.