Cheerleaders Cheerleaders
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Cheerleaders are present at all NFL Professional Football games, each team has its own set of cheerleaders who dance, cheer and spur the crowd on. But Cheerleading is not restricted to American Football in fact Cheerleading is a recognised sport of its own. Its beginnings though are by no means as glamorous a spectical as they are today.
Cheerleading History
The first pep club was established at Princeton University in the 1870s and the following decade brought about the first organized yell. According to legend, at a Princeton football game, Thomas Peebler gathered six men to lead a yell on the sidelines in front of the student body. In 1884, Peebler reportedly took the yell to the University of Minnesota campus and on November 2, 1898, a cheerleader named Johnny Campbell got so excited that he jumped out in front of the crowd. The University of Minnesota is also credited with the first school "fight song". |
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Women became active in cheerleading in the 1920s. The University of Minnesota cheerleaders began to incorporate gymnastics and tumbling into their cheers and the first flash-card cheering section was directed by Lindley Bothwell at Oregon State University. In the 1930s, universities and high schools alike began performing pom-pom routines and using paper poms, still the most widely recognized cheerleading prop. In the early 1940's, when men went to war, women not only went to work, but also on to the cheerleading squads. Cheerleading then became more of a female sport. When the men returned from war, new twists and turns were added. Gymnastics were always done by men, while the girls danced which gave rise to dance teams . |
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In 1948, Laurence "Hurkie" Hurkimer (founder of the spirit industry) organized the first cheerleader camp at Huntsville's Sam Houston University with just 52 girls in attendance. The first cheerleading organization, the National Cheerleading Association (NCA), was founded and Hurkimer created spirit slogans, ribbons, and buttons to raise spirit and money. In the 1950s, college cheerleaders began conducting cheerleading workshops to teach fundamental cheerleading skills. The modern vinyl pom was invented by Fred Gastoff, around 1965, and introduced by the International Cheerleading Foundation (now the W.C.A.). The "Bruin High Step" style of pom-pom routine was developed by UCLA cheerleaders and the International Cheerleading Foundation. In 1967the first annual ranking of the "Top Ten College Cheer Squads" was begun as was the initiation of the "Cheerleader All America" awards by the International Cheerleading Foundation.
The Baltimore Colts organized the first professional cheerleading squad in history. Up until then, high school squads were used on the sidelines to promote spirit. The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders created a pure pom-pom "Broadway-style" dance entertainment for the crowds. |
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In 1980, universal standards were established and safety guidelines precluded many dangerous tumbling moves and pyramids. National cheerleading competitions for junior and senior high school as well as collegiate squads took place across the U.S.. The I.C.F. Training Course for faculty cheerleading 'sponsors' and coaches was offered at locations nationwide. Today, collegiate pom and dance is a fast growing segment of the spirit industry. Partly in response to the "internationalization of basketball and American football, cheerleading is now itself international, with Japan, Europe, Australia, Canada, and Mexico involved in the sport. . |
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Modern Professional Football Cheerleaders often also appear and perform at special events, grand openings, corporate meetings, parties, trade shows, state and county fairs, sporting events and any other event that brings people together for fun and excitement and are great for the publicity of a team. |
Typical Professional Football Cheerleader Audition Criteria
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Attire
Preliminary Auditions
Contestants will receive a competition number and perform freestyle dance in groups of 5 to music we will provide (Top 40 music). After all contestants have auditioned the judges will retire to make their decisions. Please do not lose your contestant number, it will be your admittance to Semi-Finals, if you are selected. At approximately 11:30 a.m. call backs for the Semi-Final Auditions will be posted outside Gate C. Those selected will re-enter the stadium and proceed to the Club Level at this time.
Semi-Final Auditions
Contestants will need their Preliminary contestant number to re-register for the Semi-Finals. You will be given a new competition number and have a Polaroid photo taken. As soon as registration is complete, you will be asked to come up to the judge's table in your new groups of 5 to introduce yourself (name, age, hometown and occupation). Immediately following introductions, the Cheerleader Choreographer will teach a dance combination and kick line with splits. After the teaching process is complete, you will perform the dance combination and kick line in your groups of 5. Upon completion of the dance section, the judges will retire to make decisions and return shortly for the announcement of those selected to advance to the FINAL ROUND. Finalists will stay for a brief meeting with the Cheerleader Director and receive information regarding their Interview, Clinics and the Final Audition and Performance.
Final Audition Dates (only for candidates selected at Semi-Finals) |
Although it had been in use on the day cheerleading
began in 1898, the 1900s saw the popular use of the megaphone. The first
cheerleader fraternity, Gamma Sigma, was also organized in the 1900s.
The first "homecoming" was held at the University of Illinois
in 1910. In 1920, "yell leaders" brought in drums and noisemakers.
As football became more popular, so did cheerleading.
As the 1970s began, cheerleading was building
greater and greater momentum. In addition to cheering for the traditional
football and basketball teams, cheerleaders began supporting all school
sports, sometimes selecting several different squads to cheer for wrestling,
track and field, and swimming. The first nation-wide television broadcast
of the Collegiate Cheerleading Championships on CBS-TV in the Spring of
1978, was initiated by the International Cheerleading Foundation. In 1976,
the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders performed at 