For many athletic sports, there is a group of athletes who serve the team as support. They receive little recognition for their efforts to generate Cyclone spirit.

These athletes are the Iowa State cheerleaders and poms.

ISU has three squads of talented individuals who are charge of stirring school spirit.

The three squads include: the cheer squad for football, the pom pon squad for football and the cheer squad for hockey.

The cheerleaders and poms tried out for varsity football squad positions last spring.

The cheer squad totals 16 members, including two captains and four alternates. The captains for this year’s team are DaShaun Carter and Erin Niblo.

Carter, a senior in computer science and electrical engineering, said he has already has made plans for the squad.

“My goal is to qualify for the NCA (National Cheerleading Association) nationals and to make the finals,” he said.

In order to qualify, a team must send in a video tape of one of its performances to see if they meet the standards to get into the tournament.

Carter also said helping out the ‘Clones requires rigorous physical and mental preparation. During the school year, the group usually works out regularly for two or three hours per night for five nights.

Chris Stuckley, who works in the athletic department, is the spirit coordinator and oversees both squads.

He said becoming a cheerleader does not require prior experience in pyramids, stunts, tumbling or any other of the activities.

“I couldn’t do a cartwheel when I first started out, and now I can do a standing back flip,” Carter said. “Just the school spirit made me think about joining. The challenge made me stay.”

The junior varsity cheer squad tryouts will be held later, on Sept. 27th, which should attract large numbers. “We will probably have 40-50 people for JV tryouts.” Stuckey said.

He said no one has a guaranteed spot on either squad. Someone showing potential can land a spot on varsity or become an alternate for the varsity team in case of an emergency.

The other group in charge of cheering on the football team is the pom pon squad. This year’s squad will have 13 members, including two captains and one alternate. This year’s captains are Carrie Salmon and Amy House.

Salmon, a senior in exercise sport science, has set high goals for this season. She said, “[We want to] improve [the] image with the school. Get more crowd involvement. Just improve individually as well as a squad.”

The pom pon squad features a varsity team only. The pom pons alternate attending road games with the cheer squad. Both squads participate at every home game.

The squad also tries to raise money for traveling by doing fund raisers, but the team is also supplemented by the athletic department. “You always worry about your budget, but we’re glad to have Chris this year. He has done a wonderful job,” Salmon said.

The squad works out for three hours five days a week. Three of those days include weight lifting and going over dance steps. Salmon and House, a senior in exercise sport science, are in charge of running practices this year. “We usually take turns running practices, workouts and new dances,” Salmon said.

Salmon said the squad is especially looking forward to the Iowa and Minnesota games. There is also a tournament for top pom pon squads at the end of the year. “We’re not going to [compete for] nationals this year,” Salmon said. “Were a young squad, and we don’t want to concentrate on them.”

The other group which bleeds cardinal and gold is the cheer squad for the Cyclone hockey team.

The advisor is Holly Fuller, who also acts as a game manager as well as helps with promotions and ticket sales.

Fuller will be aided this season by Amy Stauffacher, a senior majoring in psychology and sociology. Stauffacher is the only returner to this year’s squad and will act as the coach.

She will also receive help from her two new captains, Jamie Henaman and Michelle Grzes. “Jamie and Michelle are very good dancers. They will be working with dance techniques.” Stauffacher said.

Fuller said normally the team is made up of five or six cheerleaders, but since this year the Cyclones will be hosting the National Tournament, the squad needed to increase its membership to nine.

With the larger number of cheerleaders, the Cyclones hope to perform cheers on and off the ice. “By the second semester they will be cheering on the ice, especially for the tournament.” Stauffacher said. “To get them on the ice at Hilton Coliseum is a priority.”

The ACHA (American Collegiate Hockey Association) National Invitational Tournament will be at Hilton Coliseum for the first time ever.

The tournament runs from March 4-7 and will feature eight teams competing in an round-robin format. The last time the Cyclones hosted the tournament was 1994 at the American-ISU Ice Arena.