UCLA basketball cheerleaders are one of the most unique groups on campus. With an impressive tumbling and baskets skills set, they are sure to get the crowd going at football games and basketball matches.
The team is led by Angela Scales, who has been directing the Spirit Squad since December 2018. In her role, she cultivates campus partnerships, promotes student leadership and manages performances at all athletic and campus-wide events.
The Spirit Squad
If you’re a fan of UCLA basketball, chances are that you’ve seen The Spirit Squad cheer on their team during games. They’re a group of students who perform in front of the crowd during the game, and they are an important part of UCLA Athletics.
The team is made up of a group of talented student-athletes who help represent UCLA and the University of California at various campus events. Their performances include Bruin Day, Volunteer Day, class appearances, grand openings and award ceremonies.
To become a member of The Spirit Squad, you must meet a few requirements. First, you must be a Bruin and a student in good standing. This includes having a minimum GPA of 2.5 and meeting the NCAA eligibility requirements.
Next, you must be willing to travel with the team. This means that you’ll be spending a significant amount of time traveling to different games and practices. You also must be prepared to perform a variety of moves, including running tumbling and gymnastics.
You must also be able to dance. In addition to learning the routines, you must also learn choreography for each move. You should also be able to demonstrate your dance skills in a way that is both impressive and believable.
It’s a great opportunity to showcase your talents and get on the radar of college coaches. Some colleges even require that you create a recruiting video that shows your skills in order to try out for their teams.
Practices
Cheerleaders at UCLA practice two to three times a week in the spring and are off during the summer. They train partner stunting, tumbling and material for upcoming events. They will also attend a skills training camp.
The cheerleaders who perform in a competition are evaluated in several different categories. The judges look for a wide variety of characteristics to judge candidates, including athleticism, coordination and a sense of pride in their team. They also consider their interview and appearance.
One of the things that some ucla basketball cheerleaders are dissatisfied with is the way they’re rated in certain categories. A former cheerleader told me that when she was trying out for the ucla dance team, she was shown a score sheet that had comments on it about her physique that made her feel uncomfortable.
When she was trying out again two years later, she went to see her score sheet and saw that the notes that were written on it about her physique were written in a man’s handwriting.
This made her think that her appearance had negatively affected her chances of making the team. So she went to talk to the cheerleading coach. She met with Kyle Bruich, who at the time was the ucla cheerleading coach.
Eventually, he told her that he wasn’t sure that she would be able to continue cheering with the body she had at the time. He showed her how to apply bronzer to her stomach and said that he would help her improve her overall body.
Performances
During basketball games, the ucla cheerleaders have one of the most recognizable performances on campus. With a high-energy performance, they get the crowd pumped up and often lead the 8-claps. Combined with the UCLA Bruin Marching Band, this group is always a sight to see at basketball and football games.
The Bruins cheerleaders have been a fixture at Pauley Pavilion since the 1970s, when a new spirit organization was introduced in response to a decline in school spirit and student attendance at basketball games. The group, known as “Frisbee’s Cheer,” was founded by Lawrence H. Davis, a UCLA grad and longtime fan.
He first created the cheer while attending a water polo game. It started with a call-and-response song, but he quickly changed the words to fit the basketball theme. The cheer has been a staple at UCLA basketball games ever since and is still led by members of the Den.
Aside from the traditional cheerleading, the ucla cheerleaders also have a unique stunting and tumbling routine. Candidates must have the ability to perform two sets of partner stunting, including running and standing tumbling. The tumbling and stunting are taught at a skills training camp in August, as well as through the cheer clinics that take place during spring quarter.
On audition day, a group of judges assign numerical scores to each candidate based on their performance. The judges are a mix of former UCLA cheerleaders, dance professionals and donors. They also evaluate the candidates’ interview and appearance sections, which are weighted heavily to help ensure that they represent UCLA in the best light.
The Director
The Director oversees the ucla basketball cheerleaders and other Spirit Squad activities, including seasonal kickoffs, banquets, alumni events, yell crews, sponsored promotions, TV and advertising, picture sessions and other media events. She also supervises the team’s performance at all UCLA athletic and campus-wide events.
The director is also responsible for overseeing the team’s judging panel, which features former cheerleaders, dance professionals and donors. Judges weigh the scores in a variety of categories, including performance, interviews and appearance, to determine who makes the final cut.
During a recent tryout, a former cheerleader recalls that her score sheet was littered with comments about her athletic physique that made her feel awkward. She also saw a few other interesting things on her sheet, like an image that was supposedly “the first of its kind in the world” and one with a “nice” inscription on it, but she did not make the cut.
But the biggest surprise on her score sheet was actually something she did not mention. She was actually a little surprised to see that the highest score on her sheet was for a stunt she performed with her partner.
The Director, a 2003 graduate of UCLA, has been at the helm of the UCLA Spirit Squad since December 2018. She manages large-scale campus traditions involving both students and alumni, such as Dinners for 12 Strangers, Spring Sing and the Beat ’SC Bonfire & Rally. In addition to planning and carrying out these activities, Angela has been responsible for expanding career programming and resources available to Bruins at every stage of the career lifecycle.