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2012-13 TRYOUT INFORMATION

Tryout Information:

Clinic: Friday, April 20^th, 2012 from 5:30pm – 8:30pm (Central) in Belmont’s Curb Event Center
Tryout: Saturday, April 21^st, 2012 from 9am – 1pm (Central) in Belmont’s Curb Event Center

Both the clinic and tryout are mandatory for all participants and open to the public. There is a $25 registration fee for all participants. This fee can be mailed in along with your application or paid the day of the clinic. Exact cash or a check made out to ‘Belmont University’ will be accepted. No credit cards please!

Tryout Application (Click here to download):

All who plan to attend the tryout need to download and mail in the tryout application by April 13^th, 2012. If you have missed this deadline and would still like to tryout, please contact the coach at lindseytonkin@comcast.net.

Female Tryout Requirements:

Female Tumbling Requirements
- 1 Running Tumbling Pass of your choice (minimum round off back handspring series)
- Standing Back Handspring (required)
- Standing Back Tuck (optional for additional points)
- Standing Back Handspring Back Tuck (optional for additional points)

Female Coed Stunting Requirements
- Toss Chair (performed in the Fight Song)
- Walk-in or Toss Extension, pop off
- Coed stunt sequence of your choice

Your coed sequence must include a minimum of 2 skills (Examples: Toss extension, back to hands, heel stretch, full down OR Full up cupie, back to hands, arabesque, full down OR Chair, hands, extension, pop off, etc.). All participants will be allotted time at Friday’s clinic to work on their sequence.

Cheer & Fight Song: All females will perform the Belmont Fight Song and a Cheer, which will be taught at Friday's clinic.

Male Tryout Requirements:

Male Tumbling Requirements

o Running Tumbling Pass (optional)

o Standing Back Handspring (optional)

o Standing Back Tuck (optional)

o Standing Back Handspring Back Tuck (optional)

Tumbling is NOT required for males in order to make the team, but is encouraged and included on the score sheet.

Male Stunting Requirements

o Extension (performed in the Sideline Chant)

o A Coed or Assisted Coed Stunt Sequence

Sideline Chant: All males will perform a sideline chant, which will be taught at Friday's clinic.

Please Note: No former cheerleading experience is required for new, incoming males. However, please contact the coach prior to tryouts to discuss how you can best prepare.

***HELPFUL TIPS: During the tryout, everyone is encouraged to stunt with at least 2 different partners. Also, you are only allowed to stunt with people trying out or current Belmont Cheerleaders. You are not allowed to bring your own stunt partner to tryouts.

Required Clinic & Tryout Attire:

Females should wear red or navy shorts, and a fitted red, navy or white sleeveless, athletic tank top to both the clinic and tryout. Hair should be worn half way up with a solid white ribbon. Makeup should be natural and red lipstick should be worn. Cheerleading shoes are required. Please do not wear clothing with your high school or college name, logo, or mascot on it.
Males should wear red or navy athletic/basketball shorts, a presentable red, navy or white t-shirt tucked in, and tennis shoes. Please do not wear clothing with your high school or college name, logo, or mascot on it.

Additional FAQs:

Do I need past cheerleading experience to cheer at BU?
Females must have a minimum of high school, all-star, or college cheerleading experience. Males do not need previous cheerleading experience.

Are scholarships available?
Yes. All cheerleaders receive a partial scholarship ranging from $1,000 - $3,000 annually. The amount received is determined by the number of years you have been on the squad and applied to your spring semester tuition. In addition, all uniforms, shoes, practice clothes, warm ups, bags, poms, megaphones, etc. are paid for by Belmont Athletics.

What do BU Cheerleaders cheer for?
The Belmont Cheerleaders cheer at all home men's and women's basketball games, and travel to conference and NCAA tournaments and some regular season away games. In addition, cheerleaders will attend community service events and appearances throughout the year.

Do you compete?
Yes. The Belmont Cheerleaders placed 6^th in the Nation in the Division 1 category at UCA’s College Cheerleading National Championship in Orlando, FL in 2010 and 2011.

What is the practice schedule like?
The squad will attend UCA College Camp in July. Once school begins, the cheerleaders are required to attend 3-5 night practices per week. This includes squad workouts with Belmont’s head strength & conditioning coach. Cheerleaders are expected to maintain specific cardiovascular goals in order to remain in good shape throughout the season.

How many spots are available each year?
All returning cheerleaders are required to tryout again each year. The 8 females and 9 males with the highest scores will complete the team.

Do I have to be a full-time Belmont student to tryout?
Yes.

What if I have not received a letter of acceptance from Belmont, but still want to tryout?
You can still tryout. Just make sure you note this on your application.

What if I have a major conflict with the tryout date?
It is to your advantage to be at the tryout, and there are rarely any exceptions. However, in some cases video auditions are accepted. Contact the coach immediately to receive approval and guidelines.

What do I need to do if I want to tryout for the 2012-2013 squad?
All who plan to attend tryouts need to download and mail in the application (posted at the top of this page) by April 13^th, 2012. If you miss this deadline and would still like to tryout, please contact the coach.

Recruiting Visits
If you have additional questions or would like to set up a recruiting visit to see the cheerleaders in action at a men's basketball game, please contact Lindsey Tonkin via e-mail at lindseytonkin@comcast.net or call (615) 415-3989.