Who doesn’t like a Fightin’ Blue Hen? The cheer squad represents the University of Delaware and makes many appearances throughout the state, and beyond. Whether they are cheering on their football team at the friendly confines of Tubby Raymond Field, traveling with the team to Frisco, Texas to take in the national championship game, cheering on the basketball team or competing at nationals in Orlando, Florida, the Delaware cheer squad has done a great job representing the university and the entire state of Delaware.
College Sports Madness Cheer Squad of the Week
University of Delaware
Your Name: Stephanie Reiner
Your Relation to the Cheer Squad: 4 year member, Senior
Cheer Squad Name: University of Delaware Co-ed Cheerleading Team
Most Popular Cheer/Dance/Song: Most popular cheer is “We Are Delaware” in really gets the crowd involved and amped up to cheer along with us. The most popular dance and song is the fight song.
What is the most memorable moment during your time with the cheer squad?
One of the most memorable moments was competing my sophomore year in Orlando, Florida. We had the most athletic cheerleading teams Delaware has had in a long time. We came in second place at Nationals with a very hard routine. I had known I had done my personal best performance and one of the best performances as a team. It was very memorable because that year we all became really close as a team and had a lot of fun.
Another memorable moment for me would be when our football team made it to the championship game. We were able to fly down to Frisco, Texas with the team and cheer for them. It was an awesome experience to be down in the stadium with so many fans.
How much preparation goes into your performance?
We practice twice a day leading up to the beginning of school for a few weeks. Then when school starts we practice 2-3 hours a day, 3-4 times a week. A lot of preparation goes into our performance along with going to the gym and making sure we stay in our best physical shape by lifting weights and doing cardio. On top of that, for nationals we use football and basketball games as another form of practice demonstrating pyramids, baskets, and stunts in front of a crowd to better prepare ourselves.
What charitable causes does your cheer squad support?
The cheerleading team supports local elementary school functions, breast cancer awareness, and also the relay for life. On top of supporting charitable causes we support almost every function our school has to offer. We regularly attend events around the campus to show our support and school spirit.
Your Name: Nicole Arkey
Your Relation to the Cheer Squad: Senior member, part of the team for three years.
Cheer Squad Name: University of Delaware’s Co-ed Cheerleading Team
Most Popular Cheer/Dance/Song: We are Delaware cheer
What is the most memorable moment during your time with the cheer squad?
Our team is together almost every single day beginning in early August continuing throughout the year at practices, events, and especially games. We build strong friendships with each other and the team becomes like a second family. Our first priority is focused on cheering on our Blue Hens. Our second goal focuses more on our own performance at a competition held in Orlando, FL where our team gets to put on a performance against other nationally ranked teams from all around the United States. That one performance shows off all of the hard work.
How much preparation goes into your performance?
Our team begins summer practices starting at the end of June. We then arrive at campus in early August to being preparing for the school year. We attend a UCA college cheer camp for four days and then return to campus to begin our two a day practices. Once school starts we have mandatory workouts to keep us in shape as well as practices four times a week practicing our skills needed for each game and performance. We practice and prepare our skills to make them as close to perfect as possible for when they are presented in front of the crowd. All of the practices and workouts that we do become worth it in the end. We show them off with confidence at all our performances.
What charitable causes does your cheer squad support?
Our cheerleading team makes numerous appearances at community events throughout Delaware. Some of them include putting on performances for young elementary students. We also have done events for Breast Cancer Awareness.
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