For those of you who are wondering about the N.S. Cheerleading tryout procedure we have given what we believe to be a complete explanation below. Please keep in mind that we typically have between 80 and 100 girls tryout. Everyone cannot make the squad just as everyone can not start for the football team. We do our best however, to see that every girl is judged on an even playing field.
TRYOUT PROCEDURE
• The routines and cheers used at tryouts are sent to us on a DVD by UCA (United Cheerleading Association).
• Everyone trying out is taught the dance routine, cheer, and jumps that are required for their age group.
• The day of tryouts, each girl is given a number tag, not name tag, to wear on their shirt.
• Girls enter the gym in groups of 2 or 3 and perform for the judges.
• This year there will be 3 UCA judges hired to come in and judge our tryouts. These judges are trained in proper judging procedure by UCA and are often college cheerleaders. They are seated at tables on the long side of the gym floor.
• The girls face the judges and perform their jumps individually, then the cheer together, and last the dance routine together.
• There is a pause between each performance while the judges record their scores.
• AT NO TIME DO ANY N.S. COACHES JUDGE THE GIRLS.
• The scores on each girl’s sheet are totaled, then they are passed on to a coach to be rechecked, and then they are entered into the computer.
• Every girl’s number is in an Excel chart. The 1st column contains the total of the judge’s scores.
• The 2nd column contains any demerits the girl earned the previous year. It is not our goal to give demerits but rather to see that everyone follows the rules consistently for the purpose of safety and to ensure that the girls are representing North Schuylkill to the best of their ability
• The 3rd column contains their final score which consists of the judge’s score minus demerits.
• When the last girls have finished their tryout, all of the data entries are double checked.
• The Excel program is then used to sort the scores from the highest score to the lowest score.
• The use of the Excel program to sort the scores means there is no room for human error in that process.
• The numbers, not the names, of the girls who made the various squads are then posted on the cheerleading blog. This allows every girl to leave as soon as they complete their tryout, and to later find out if they did or did not make a squad in the privacy of their home.
