Cheerleading Squad Peps Up Athletic Contests for the First Time in College History

>>> Cheering a College first--Giving a cheer are current and prospective MHC cheerleaders (left to right) Erin Duffy '99, Amanda Thompkins '00, Elizabeth Packard '00, Erin Pereira '99, and Connie Rourke '00.

Cheerleading has finally come to the College, complete with gravity-defying stunts, short skirts, and lots of school spirit. Started as a club sport this fall by first-year students Kat Kyper and Amanda Thompkins, student response at the activity fair was enthusiastic. "We expected fifteen to twenty to sign up, but forty-five or fifty people left their names," Thompkins says. She has cheered since the third grade, missed cheering after she started college, and was thinking about trying to start a club. By chance she learned that Kyper, who lived in the same hall, had the same thoughts. Together they organized the club and undertook the time-consuming but rewarding process of recruiting and training for basketball season.

They don't cheer for male attention, or because there aren't other sports to absorb their energy. "It's about women supporting women in athletics," say both Lynn Wilkie, assistant director of athletics, and cheerleader Erin Duffy '99. With its emphasis on stunting and gymnastics, cheerleading today is also a disciplined, demanding, and exciting sport in its own right. And it's big business, attracting thousands of girls and women across the United States. Competitions, schools, and summer camps flourish, and top cheerleaders can win athletic scholarships and earn good pay as coaches and instructors. Thompkins says people who still think cheering is "fluffy and nonathletic" should know that "cheering has the highest number of injuries of any sport besides football."

Duffy, who had never tried cheering before giving it a try at MHC, is now excited about the sport. "We practice six to nine hours a week during the season. We were lucky to have our coach this year, a University of Massachusetts student and a cheerleader there before she was injured. We do traditional cheers, dancing, and stunting. In our training, we focus on concentration, strength, flexibility, and do lifting and running. We do the same stunts men do, we just use more people to do them."

Initially there was some skepticism about what this new group would bring to campus and athletic life. But club members feel they've become accepted for providing exactly what they intended and what the athletic department has also been promoting this year: creating awareness of and pride in student athletes, fostering a culture of sport, and turning games into lively campus events. "At the very least, we provide ten to twelve very loud, involved students at every home game," Duffy points out.

Spring clinics and tryouts for next year's club were held in early April, with another round to come in the fall. No prior experience is necessary; half of the club's members had never cheered before joining this year.