Bowdoin's cheerleading squad plans to kick up its intensity this year while increasing its visibility on campus.
Now in its third year as a club sport, the squad is practicing more often in order to show how much school spirit they truly possess.
Although past squads at Bowdoin have dissolved after only a few years, members of this year's squad say they want to reverse this trend.
"Our main goal is to be sustainable and to pull in enough members every year," said Yuna Oh '10, the team's co-captain.
"We want to ensure that there is a squad next year, even if the founders graduate," she added.
The team, led by Oh and Emily Andrade '10, consists of nine returning members and six new members. Andrade said that while past squads set flexible practice schedules, this year's team plans to work more rigorously.
"In the past, it was really relaxed, with two hours of practice a week," Andrade said.
"This year, we have at least five hours of mandatory practice a week with an additional workout schedule created by the football coach. We will also have two hours of additional rookie practice this year," she added.
While both Andrade and Oh cheered at their high schools, many members of the squad had never cheered before Bowdoin.
"We've gotten a lot of criticism for not being as spirited as some people would like, but many of our girls have never cheered before," Oh said. "We stress that it's about confidence, because if you're really shy you'll have a harder time pumping up the crowd."
Danielle Drew '12 joined Bowdoin's squad after visiting its table at the Student Activities Fair. The cheerleading culture of Drew's hometown in Alabama provides a stark contrast to her new home in Maine.
"I lived 20 minutes from the town where MTV's 'Two a Days' was filmed," she said. "Cheerleading isn't big here because hockey is so big, whereas in the South it's all about football and race cars."
Oh said she would like the squad to cheer at hockey games, but concedes that Dayton Arena may not be able to accommodate a cheerleading squad for its games.
"We wanted to do hockey games, but it's not plausible, since we can't be out on the rink," she said.
"We haven't seen the new arena yet, so that might be a possibility, but we're really focusing on strengthening what we have right now. We want our football and basketball appearances to be really solid," Oh said.
Still without a coach after three years as a club sport, the squad is hoping student leadership can help keep the organization viable this year.
"We would love a coach, but we understand that it's really expensive and that providing a coach for every club team is not a main priority of the school right now," Oh said. "In later years hopefully we can prove that we are serious enough to deserve a coach."
Despite all of their struggles, Oh said the team remains close-knit.
"We're definitely close," she said. "We all call each other, we have cheer lunches, and we have an annual retreat that is a lot of fun and a good way to bond."
The team prides itself on being, in their eyes, the most diverse group at Bowdoin. Oh said she hopes the squad's increased presence on campus will combat the negativity she believes surrounds the team and cheerleading in general.
"We're not all size two, tall blondes with blue eyes like your stereotypical cheerleader," said Oh. "But I think that all in all we do a pretty good job."