Page created by: Alisa Doncella Tizio

Description of the Cheerleading Squad  

The Washington and Jefferson College Cheerleading Squad has become a growing organization over the past few years. The 2007-2008 squad has 15 members and each year more students have shown interest in trying out.

The squad cheers at all the football games and home basketball games. During the football season, the squad performs two dances during the game as well as  and chants, stunts, band dances. One dance is performed between the first and second quarter, and the second dance is performed during the third and fourth quarters of the game. When the referee calls a timeout, the cheerleaders perform stunts, which are any skills that may involve tumbling, mounting, forming a pyramid, or tossing someone in the air. Stunts are performed to entertain the crowd and to show off how great the squad can look. During Homecoming, the squad performs in the campus wide parade. For the Homecoming game and Senor Recognition game, the squad performs at half time, the cheerleaders perform a routine on the football field. The squad also performs chants and dances at the basketball games, and cheers at Convocation, which is a new but growing tradition at the start of every school year where the President addresses the student body, faculty, and staff.
During the Fall Semester, the cheerleading squad usually has practice on Monday and Wednesday nights and sometimes on Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays the squad conditions at the gym, and the workout consists of 30 minutes of cardio and any weight training which helps with stunting. For the 2007-2008 season, the squad has conditioned at the gym using the buddy system. Cheerleaders are required to go two times a week with someone on the squad and perform the cardio and weight training requirements, and everyone must sign in to keep track of hours.

Over the summer, the squad has raised money in order to help traveling expenses for the away football games. Fundraisers have included car washes at Trinity Point in Washington,PA, and selling raffle baskets at the home football games. The raffle baskets include memorabilia from the college as well as gift certificates for places to eat in the greater Washington area. During the school year, the cheerleaders sell Secret Service t-shirts to faculty, staff, and students to wear during the football games. Also during the summer, the squad tries to meet once a month to get an update on fundraisers and to hold a practice/workout session. However, it is very important for the members of the squad to workout throughout the summer to get in shape for camp, which is held the week before school, as well as keeping in shape for cheering at the games. 

Every year, the squad tries to exceed performances and routines that were done in the past. Being a member of the squad is not only a great way to stay in shape and cheer on the school's sports teams, it is also a way to meet other W & J students and establish friendships and memories that will last even after college.

Helping Local Squads and the Community 

Every season, the Cheerleading squad takes part in some type of philanthropy. Squad members either participate in a Washington community service event or become involved in the local schools. Most of the time, the squad helps other local cheerleading programs in neighboring school districts. The squads usually consist of girls in the elementary school, and this is very exciting for the younger girls to learn from a college squad. Most of the time, the W & J cheerleaders will teach a few chants or a cheer to the younger cheerleaders. This serves as a workshop for the girls; they have new things to add to their dances and cheers, and they can continue to work on stunts that the W & J cheerleaders provide. Also, members of the squad have judged competitions for the local schools. During the year, there are local parades in Washington, such as the Christmas parade that the squad participates in. Another community service activity is making Christmas shoe boxes for local churches.  

A Few Words with A Squad Member

Based on an interview with Lisa Midgley, Class of 2008 

I decided I wanted to try out for the Cheerleading Squad because my brother, who also attended W & J, had friends who were on the squad. I asked about the squad to different people on campus, and I contacted the advisor to find out about try-outs and any other information I would need to know.
The girls on the squad definitely contribute to the success of the squad. Every girl on the squad is very unique. Our personalities blend together very well, and it helps when the girls bring their own ideas from earlier years of cheerleading to the W & J squad.
I have a lot of great memories from being on the squad; one of them is meeting my best friend. Another memory I have is from an away football game. The van that we were driving home broke down. There were three of us that had to go out and push the van from being stuck under mud. When the van finally started to move, the mud that was on the tires splashed all of us in the face. To make matters worse, we fell into more mud while trying to climb back into the van. This is a memory I will never forget.

I would tell all incoming freshmen and current students who are interested in trying out for the cheerleading squad that it is a growing club/sport on W & J campus. Being a member of the squad requires a lot of hard-work and commitment; however, you become great friends with the other girls and if I wasn't on the squad, I would most likely never laugh!

Where To Start

Any student who would like to try out for the cheerleading squad should contact the squad's advisor, Cheri Duball at cduball@washjeff.edu. Tryouts for the new season are usually held during the Spring Semester of every school year sometime in April or May. Also, the cheerleaders will be happy to talk with anyone who is interested in trying out for the squad either by e-mail or even coming to a sporting event when the squad will be cheering. 

Visit Our Site!

W & J Cheerleading Website

Universal Cheerleaders Association