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Friday, January 30, 1998

Raising Spirits

SPIRIT: There is more to the Spirit Squad than pomp and circumstance

By Traci Mack

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

They labor every game, giving the fans 110 percent. They practice for hours on end, risking serious injury, and contributing blood, sweat and tears. They are as much a part of our university as Royce Hall or Bruin Walk, yet we take them for granted.

They aren't the football, baseball or basketball team; they're the UCLA Spirit Squad.

Consisting of the dance team, cheerleaders, yell leaders and mascots, the squad has grown over the years to become an institution on campus. However, few students actually know how much work it takes to become a member.

The tryout processes for prospective squad members are rigorous to say the least. Depending on which division of the squad they try out for, prospective members are subjected to dance auditions, stunting displays or a performance of their own choreographed routine. Applicants are judged on precision, showmanship and a personal interview by a panel of former Spirit Squad members and UCLA officials.

After members pass the daunting audition process, they are in store for some hard work.

"We do a lot of work over the summer, when our practices can get to be up to five hours," says Erin Avalos. "During the year, we practice twice a week, three hours a day."

With all that practicing, one can easily see how being a member of the squad could be time consuming. However, there is one dancer who splits her time between dancing for the Bruins and performing with the Laker girls.

Some would venture to say that cheerleading and dancing do not make an athlete. However, it is a little-known fact that cheerleading injuries are likely to be more serious than those suffered on the football field. Dancers are also prone to hurting themselves, especially considering the high difficulty of the routines performed by the team.

Despite all of the hard work put into preparation and fine-tuning by the Spirit Squad, Avalos says it's all worth it in the end.

"I love what I do," says Avalos sincerely.

The Spirit Squad has come a long way from its roots as a small six-person afterthought to the football team. Back then, only one football road trip was financed by the university, and the team did not travel to basketball games at all.

These days, the team travels with accommodations that rival those of the teams they cheer for, with expenses paid by the athletic department.

In addition to not traveling in its early days, the squad was required to design their own uniforms. Now, the squad receives a bounty of equipment from Reebok, including uniforms, sweats and shoes. Again, this is at no cost to the members of the squad.

While the history of the squad has had its high points, there have been moments of discord as well. The most publicized of these occurred in 1972 when the squad consisted of five whites and one Asian.

Five African American applicants claimed that the tryout process was discriminatory, claiming the judging was biased towards sorority girls. (The squad had five Kappa Alpha Thetas and a Tri-Delta.)

In response to the charges, university officials placed the five applicants on their own segregated song squad. Consequently, the African American squad was booed at games, and fraternity members would stand and turn their backs whenever they began to cheer.

Despite some bumpy stretches in its past, the Spirit Squad embodies Bruin pride. They are often seen on the sidelines with television cameras focused on them as much as on the game. The team is no stranger to being in the public eye, after making public appearances and doing community service around Los Angeles.

"We don't really get that much media attention. We're here to support the team," says Avalos.

So, the next time you're at a game, enjoying an ice-cold drink at halftime, take a look down at center court. Those people do not get paid, they don't have many incentives - they do it for the love of what they do.

DERRICK KUDO

UCLA's outstanding cheerleading squad performs at the Bruin basketball game against Louisville.

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