Emily Leighton | Staff Writer

On Sunday, May 1, the Buena Vista University (BVU) cheer team held their first open gym. The team gathered for two hours in the gym and invited all current BVU students and incoming prospective students.

One prospective student and one current student attended as non-cheerleaders. The rest were current and graduating girls. The majority of the night was filled with laughter, stunting, and stunting with our coaches.

Coach Whitney Dickinson is a former cheerleader here and she is going into her fourth year of coaching starting next school year. This was her first attempt at an open gym.

“I think for our first open gym it went really well,” Dickinson said. “We had students that were interested in what we do and wanted to be a part of what we do. It was also just fun to be back together with our team and throw stunts up.”

As a team, we work together well and we enjoy the friendly competition between each other. Cheerleading is a lot more than just cheering on the sidelines. It takes courage and trust. Current cheerleader Taylor Yearous, was one that attended the event.

“I want everyone to know how much work we actually put into what we do. We invest just as much time in practice just like any other athletic group and we work hard for what we want. We are competitive and want to be the best we can be just like everyone else. We don’t just prance around in skirts and wear cute bows in our hair,” Yearous said.

Shelby Pittenger, a sophomore and second-year member also attended the open gym event.

“I thought that it was a nice opportunity for people who were interested to try it out and see if it would be something they would want to further pursue. Cheer is not respected at this school so it is hard to convince people to join,” Pittenger commented. “Open gym is an opportunity to show people what cheer is all about and have them try it for themselves.”

Ashley Farmer-Hanson is also a former cheerleader here who frequently comes to practices and games. Farmer-Hanson believes introducing an open-gym to the university is a great way to show future-cheerleaders the gaps between both high school and college cheerleading.

“Cheering in college is much different than high school and the sport has advanced a lot in the past ten years. It was a great way for people to come and give it a try and to learn new skills,” Farmer-Hanson said.

Claudia Devitt, a transfer student, cheered in high school but now she would like to continue on here at BVU.

“I was not sure if I wanted to try out for cheerleading, but after going to the open gym, I felt comfortable around everyone and I think it would be a fun experience, Devitt said. “As a new transfer student, it was also cool to meet some people that go here. I definitely think they should continue to hold the open gyms.”

Although the event was smaller than anticipated, the team believed the open-gym was a success. Despite the stress and complications that stunting can cause within a team, the activity resides as one of the most-liked during the sport.

Dickinson is proud of her team and their accomplishments during her time as a coach at BVU.

“It’s important for people to understand that cheerleading is much more than just ‘cheering,’ Dickinson said. “The physical activity and team work that is involved with stunting is unlike anything anyone will ever do. I would love for the BVU Cheer Team to be involved in multiple competitions during our season.”

Photo courtesy of Buena Vista University Cheerleading