cheerleading

Unless you follow me on Instagram or Spectator on Twitter, you are probably unaware that many members of the cheer team chose to take a knee for the first time during the national anthem at the homecoming game against Penn. We each had our own reasons for kneeling, and I cannot and will not speak on behalf of any of my teammates as to why they knelt or stood. But we did. You wouldn’t know this because you did not witness our kneeling, nor, in fact, did anyone in the stands. A few minutes before the Lions took to the field, we were moved to an area just behind the football field.

You may not know it, but as you sat in Contemporary Civilization last semester, contemplating whether it would be Ferris or John Jay today, the petite, bright-eyed girl with amber hair sitting next to you had dance combinations, complicated cheer choreography, and song lyrics running through her head. Danielle Carlacci, GS '14, spent last semester acting as a swing in "Bring It On: The Musical" on Broadway. In order to secure the role, she endured a myriad of auditions that ranged from an open call with hundreds of people to invited dancer auditions. She admitted, "I was the only person who showed up with my mom. It was fantastic. I panicked. Everyone looked older than I was... there was a bunch of people from 'So You Think You Can Dance'---just intimidating." more As a swing, Carlacci was responsible for learning the parts of five of the seven female ensemble members. She had to be ready to step in for any part at any given moment during the show—if an ensemble member was more than 15 minutes late to a show, if someone was injured, Carlacci stepped in. Memorizing is "really scientific," Carlacci said. "I literally would have notebooks just full of tracking sheets and different people wore different colors."

They train in the gym twice a week, not including time spent during games—or even the conditioning they do outside the structured practices. They compete at a national level and are in season for over seven months. But despite being a loud presence at many Columbia sporting events, the cheerleading team is one of Columbia's hidden student-group gems. For years, this group of dedicated students has been rallying school spirit around sometimes less-than-spectacular sports teams, keeping up a steady stream of cheering that might deceive a casual observer into believing there are more fans crowded into Levien. The cheerleading squad is a diverse group, including members from Columbia College, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, Barnard College, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and even graduate schools. Although the group expects dedication from its members, it welcomes those with all levels of experience. "We have a good mix of anywhere from starters—beginning cheerleaders with no experience—to people who have cheered all their lives, and it balances out really well," Marielle Young, CC '13 and co-captain of the cheerleading team, said. "As long as you're enthusiastic and have a great attitude and are willing to work hard, I think cheer would be a good fit." Despite the inclusive mentality associated with cheerleaders, it would be wrong to assume that they are not competitors. The program has immensely improved over the past few years, and the team has participated in the National Cheerleaders Association College Nationals. "I think a lot of people don't know that we compete at nationals and we place every year," Young said. The cheerleaders are equally dedicated to their sport on and off the court. Unlike many other Light Blue teams, the cheerleaders have to raise the money themselves to be able to go to nationals. "It's a project throughout the year," Young said. "It's a huge team effort to fundraise." This year, the team mailed letters to friends and alumni and organized a youth camp, teaching kids the basics of cheerleading and preparing them to perform at halftime during a football game. Young said many alumni contribute to the fundraising efforts and stop by practices when they can to lend their expertise. The fundraising efforts, the involvement of the alumni, and the long season all bring the cheerleading squad together into a community. As director of sports marketing, Daniel Spiegel has been a first-hand witness to the growth of the program for the last eight years. "Every year, they get better," he said. "They understand the dedication it takes to be a good cheerleading team, and I also think that their coach deserves a lot of credit." Head coach Yavonia Wise has brought the team to new heights. A former Georgetown University cheerleader, she understands what it takes for cheerleaders to be exceptional performers who genuinely contribute to the fan experience at games. With her at the helm, the cheerleading team looks to perform well at the United Spirit Association Nationals in March in Anaheim, Calif. "Every year, we expect higher standards, and that's just the natural projection of where we want to be," Spiegel said. He predicts that the partnership between the coach and the cheerleaders will drive the program to continue to climb the ladder of improvement. "They're always coming up with suggestions and ways to improve," Spiegel said, "so they deserve a lot of credit for that as well." sports@columbiaspectator.com

Not everything on campus is as it appears. There is an elite group of Columbia students specially trained in aerial tricks and backhand flips who masquerade as innocent sports fans. Really, they're much fiercer than that. The cheerleading team, as it happens, is a competitive squad looking to place at the NCA/NDA Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championships this April in Daytona, Fla. "Our goals for nationals are to do our best, have some fun while we're there, and see all the other amazing athletes [from] across the country," head coach Yavonia Wise said. Wise, Law '09, came on four years ago to coach a team that now consists of 15 females and one male. Seven freshmen and a visiting student from the University of Melbourne have brought fresh spirit to the group this year. A former Georgetown cheerleader, Wise provides the encouragement and that has led to what will mark the Lions' third consecutive appearance at the championships. To get there, the squad attended camp at Boston University this past August for four days, where they earned the coveted "spirit stick" on awards night. "Camp is probably the most trying experience out of all the seasons because you're working what seems like 24 hours a day," said senior co-captain Kristen Nicol, who has been cheerleading since second grade. "You get up at eight in the morning and you don't finish until eight or nine at night. And [we're] just doing stunts, jumps, dances, cheers all day, and you have to smile throughout it all because at the end of the day, you want the spirit stick." The spirit stick is a decisive factor in who gets a bid and financial support to go to the championships. A squad can earn a full bid, which pays for all expenses to Daytona, or a partial bid, which covers some of the expenses. The team received a partial bid for the third consecutive year, winning the judges over with their spirit and ability to perform stunts with a small team. "Not very many people can get to camp in the summer," Nicol said, explaining the reduced squad. "A challenge is definitely only working with seven or eight people and trying to do stunts, whereas other teams have 30 members with them." Despite the cost of a hotel, new equipment, and the competition itself, the squad may not need to foot the bill for anything at all. The team fundraises by sending out letters to family, friends, and members of the athletic department, asking for financial support. "We just sent out our letters a week ago, so we'll find out in about two weeks how well that turned out," Nicol said. "We've done it in the past, and we did well so I'm confident that we'll be able do it again." The senior also has high hopes for the team's performance this year, hoping to crack the top five at finals. With harder tumbles, now including running and standing forms, the squad should be able to place at a higher level than last year, when they only made it to the preliminaries. After falling in the first round, the Light Blue unsuccessfully cheered in the consolation Challenge Cup, in which teams compete for a second chance at finals. The transition from Levien Gym may have contributed to the poor timing that hurt their first performance. The team has just 30 minutes of allotted time the night before competition to adjust to the new environment. "The floor at nationals is a lot larger than our practice space so we have to redo all our formations, run our routine, and make sure that when they get on the mat for competition, they're not thrown off by the differences," said Wise. Columbia did manage to make the finals in their first year at nationals, finishing tied for ninth out of the 11 registered teams competing on the co-ed Intermediate level. With their hopes hinging on this year's routine, the Lions have nearly completed their choreography but have yet to perform it entirely. At practices, the cheerleaders work in small teams, rehearsing individual stunts. They began football season by learning fundamentals like their Roar cheer and New York dance. Basketball season marks a transition in focus, as the team can start practicing the basic skills and choreography for nationals. Games provide an opportunity to practice more complex moves in front of a crowd. "They saw a few of the stunts. I did a 360 up and right," Nicol said. "It's just a basic level where I spin in a circle on top of my bases, and I go back down into a squish but in the competition, I'm going to do a 360 on top of my bases and stop in the air. While there is crossover between the group's dual roles as the University's cheer team and as a competitive squad, the Lions always make school spirit their main priority. "They have to be about Columbia athletics and the spirit that comes along with supporting an athletics program," Wise said. Correction: A previous version of this story mistakenly stated that the team holds additional practices in Daytona. It also misstated the team's prior results in the championships, as well as the number of competitions in which the team has participated. Spectator regrets the errors.

While this past weekend, the men's basketball team faced the daunting task of taking down Dartmouth in Levien Gym, there was another group on the court who worked just as hard—Columbia cheerleading.