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FEATURE
Cheerleading through the decades All photos courtesy of University Archives/ Spencer Research Library
1930s
1950s
Weston White/
KANSAS cheerleaders practice last week in front of Watson Library for a video to be sent to a national competition. The cheerleading squad has two practices per week in addition to two other workout sessions and open gyms.
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Stone says the cheerleaders learn their stunts in a progression, starting first with an easier stunt and slowly adding difficulty as the earlier ones are perfected.
"You don't try a flip and twist before you have a straight twist," he says.
But that doesn't mean there aren't injuries in that progression. Stone says the team endures about two concussions per year and a number of minor injuries in between.
Borgmeir can attest to that. He's broken his nose, dislocated his thumb twice, hurt his neck and he's no stranger to having shoe prints all over his body from stunts that weren't yet perfected.
"You get tore up,"he says.
But that doesn't mean he gives up
"If your partner gets hurt, you don't have a partner," he says. "I get frustrated when I drop a stunt."
On the field
When game time comes, the cheerleaders know it's time to get the crowd excited, something that can be challenging because the cheerleaders are so much farther away from the crowd than where they are during basketball games.
"I get the opportunity that a lot people don't get in college," Bellinger says, "it's kind of being the face of KU."
Football games allow for more elaborate stunts after a change in rules that make some stunts illegal on hard ground, like a basketball court. That opens the door for bigger stunts, such as basket toses, when girls are thrown high into the air by multiple guys.
So how exactly do the guys balance girls on their hands for cheers?
"The girl is supposed to be tight up there like a piece of wood" Stone says. "The girls have to figure out how to turn off their balancing instinct, which is sometimes hard for gymnasts to do because they are so good at balancing themselves."
Borgmeir says guys learn pretty quick how to get the girls up on their hands, but it takes a lot of balancing and a slight move of a hand can make the girl fall, something Bellinger has experienced before. In her time on the squad, she's had a concussion and once thought she'd broken a hip, although it turned out to be a bad bruise. But she says girls just learn from it and get over any problems they might have with their partners.
Follow Kansan editor Brenna Hawley at twitter.com/bhawley.
"If you don't trust someone, you'd better get over it." Bellinger.
Borgmeir says the squad, which is split in half on opposite corners of the stadiums for the games, has multiple responsibilities during the game. They fill empty time, they help step up the atmosphere and they bring excitement in between plays.
"It's our job to get the crowd involved," he says.
And there's always room for improvement. Borgmeir says cheerleaders never hit a plateau of skills or get bored.
"You can always learn something new every time you do it," he says. "There are always new skills to try and can always be getting better at it."
When the game is over
Both Bellinger and Borgmeir graduate this year, but they've taken a lot away from their experience as cheerleaders, both on and off the field.
Borgmeir's made his time cheering permanent with a tattoo on his foot of a Jayhawk with a megaphone, the cone the guys use to make their yells heard better. He's one of eight guys who are either currently on the squad or have been in the past to have the tattoo. It's a reminder of the people he's met on the squad and the experiences he's had, and graduating won't erase those.
"I don't think I could just get rid of it," he says.
Bellinger says she's learned time management skills and made lots of good friends during her time on the cheer squad, but that time is almost up.
"It's kind of bittersweet," she says. "I'll probably come back."
Stone says cheerleaders get a lot of great memories and friendships from their time on the squad, and he's even seen members get married.
"It's a lot of fun," he says. "It's part of college atmosphere — marching band, cheerleaders."
But in the end, there's one main purpose to the squad — getting the crowd excited for the KU game at hand.
"Ultimately, we just hope that they'll yell with us," he says.
THE WAVE SEPTEMBER 25, 2009
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN