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Hamline Cheer Team is a group comprised of about 14 female Hamline students and one male, who take time out of their already busy schedules as students to perform all of the aforementioned tasks.

The team has been in existence here at Hamline for the last six years. In the last two years, though, the team has become a strong student organizations on campus. Their strength has been hard work and dedication from the individuals involved and the leadership of a close-knit group of upperclassman who have matured with the team.

“Dedication from our upperclassman and hard work from incoming cheerleaders have made us a stronger team in recent years,” said Sarah Elston, a fourth-year cheerleader. “We also have a lot of people from other organizations who have good leadership skills,” Elston went on.

What is particularly interesting and admirable about the Cheer Team is that they have no coach. The team is totally self-motivated. They are led by two captains and two officers but, as a team, they raise funds, create routines, develop their own stunts, and train themselves.

“We make the team our own and it is truly a team effort,” said Elston.

Cheer Team is a unique student organization, to say the least. They are chartered by HUSC but also receive some funding from the Athletic Department. They travel with the teams and are at most games but are technically not a team and not affiliated with Athletics. With Hamline Athletic Director Dan O’Brien as their advisor though, they are progressing closer and closer to being considered athletics. Cheer Team is a fusion of two pillars of campus: HUSC and athletics. Both HUSC and the Cheer Team are making concerted efforts to not just promote specific student organizations or teams but to promote all student organizations and teams by co-hosting or co-sponsoring events like last week’s Athlete Appreciation Day.

“In cheerleading, a lot of our members are in HUSC and other organizations. We are trying to work with other organizations and try to get people to come out to support not just athletic teams but other organizations too,” said Elston, who is also HUSC’s Public Relations Executive Board Committee Chair. “We’re trying to bring one spirit to campus to get more people involved in campus,” Elston went on.

Although the team is very cohesive and close-knit, they are always welcoming new members, especially those with prior cheer, dance, or gymnastics experience.

“I would encourage anyone and everyone to come try out. We are always taking on new people. It’s a good experience I feel because it is a great group of people who are hard working. We have fun. We are more than a team; we are a great group of friends,” said Elston.

In the course of the academic year, the Cheer Team covers mostly home games for men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s hockey and football in fall. Football is the only season when the Cheer Team travels to all the team’s games. During a typical football game, the Cheer Team arrives around 9:30 a.m., well before any fan has started tailgating. At this point, they check their uniforms, stretch, perform their warm-up routines. As game time approaches, the Cheer Team can be seen welcoming fans into the stadium, while occasionally handing out Thunder Sticks or some other promotion.

As the Piper football squad takes the field, the players are preceded by the Cheer Team who runs out the Pipers flags; getting the crowd pumped up during the pre-game. During the game, the Cheer Team performs their usual impressive, well-choreographed routines and their audacious stunts in an effort to get the fans into the game.

“When there is down time during a game, we try to get people excited without distracting from the game. Usually when we start cheering, the crowd knows to start cheering...[Overall] I think we are a positive aspect of the game. We impact the crowd to give a positive feel to the stadium,” Elston said.

After the game, they go home just like everyone else but they start training for the next game just as if they were competing themselves. Whether or not Cheer Team is or should be a “sport,” is arguable, but whether or not the individuals involved in Cheer Team work as hard as anyone in a sport is not. In the offseason, the team holds a two-week-long camp in which they practice from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. During the season, they practice three times a week for three hours a day, quite the feat considering that most members are involved in other organizations and have class.

Cheerleading as a legitimate program perhaps does not get enough credit as an organization with in most institutions and schools. At Hamline though, we have a Cheer Team that does more than just jump around and scream. We have a dedicated group of individuals who work hard, are good at what they do, and are constantly trying to do more to contribute to the betterment of campus life for everyone.