Bethany Houde

Campbell
UWRT 1101
November 5th, 2014
Mini-Ethnography: UNCC Cheerleading team
The group that I observed for the mini-ethnography project was the UNCC
cheerleading team. I observed the cheerleading team on Tuesday, October twenty-first at one of
their practices and Thursday, October twenty-third in the gym at an event called Midnight
Madness. After observing the team at two different times I decided to interview Samantha who is
a new member of the cheerleading squad and a freshman at UNCC. My outside research
consisted of looking up stereotypes and common misconceptions of cheerleaders. I also looked
up the purpose of cheerleaders, and life skills that can be learned from cheerleading. According
to dictionary.com, a stereotype is giving a fixed form or name to a group of people or ideas. I
have a connection to the cheerleading team, because I am a member of it.
There is a place on campus called the Sstudent Aactivities Ccenter, also known as the
SAC and this is where the basketball arena is found. The basketball arena at UNC Charlotte is
very large it almost seems to swallow oneself when you are found in there alone. There are doors
all around you and so many stairs you cant count them all. A basketball court is found on the
ground level and a track that circles around the whole second level. The gym is shaped like a
square where three mini basketball courts are found on each side of the second level and a fourth
side with a tremendous amount of concessions. When games or activities are being held in the
SACOn a day where people are found here it is very loud you can barely hear. and it hasIt is a
very exciting atmosphere, but on any other given day its just a gym. This gym that has a

alternating personality is where most of my research consisted. One time my observations

occurred when it was quiet and empty and the other time where it was so loud that you could
barely hear yourself think.
My observation period consisted of two different days in the same week. When I first
walked in the gym on Tuesday October twenty-first I saw many tired eyes and sluggish bodies
moving the large blue mats upstairs. It takes about two to three people to get one mat upstairs
that are used to practice on for safety. The team must arrive to the gym at approximately six forty
five a.m. to put out mats and run a mile to warm up for practice. At the beginning of practice it
was very quiet, because everyone seemed to still be half asleep. One thing I noticed was that all
the cheerleaders had on the same t-shirt and cheer shoes. They are required to match every
practice and have assigned shirts for certain days of practice. At 7:00 the coach, Adam Thomas,
arrived and started discussion the pros and cons of the last practice. He said that overall they
made a lot of progress, but there are things the team needs to work on for the next performance
called Midnight Madness. From seven fifteen to seven forty five the team warmed up tumbling
and stunts that were to be performed in the routine. One example of tumbling that was being
done was roundoff backhandsprings which are like backflips, but you put your hands on the
ground. Stunts were being performed like libs, baskets, extensions, etc, An extension is when the
people under a girl have their arms extended above their heads and it looks like she is standing
on them. A lib is the same idea as an extension except the girl is standing on one foot and the
foot that isnt being held is bent so her foot is beside the knee of the leg she is standing on. A
basket is when the people on the bottom throw a girl and she leaves their hands. From seven
forty five to nine the team did the routine many times while Adam nit picked everything that was
wrong. Many of the team members seemed restless from practicing the same thing over and over

again. I saw a lot of dancing, joking, and laughing and the coach was not the slightest bit
amused. He told the team multiple times to stop talking and they didnt listen so he made them
sprint two laps. One thing the coach made the team do was mark through their routine and
encourage each other while doing the routine. When a team marks through their routines it is just
like walking through the routine and not doing any stunts or tumbling it helps get yourself
mentally ready to do everything.. As the team talked through the next routine the energy seemed
to dramatically increase and the routine was fun to watch. Although cheer teams do cool stunts
and tumbling it is not as cool to watch a team unless they look like they are having fun while
performing those hard tasks.
The next observation took place on October twenty-third at event called Midnight
Madness. Midnight Madness is essentially a pep rally for the basketball team also known as a
season opener. I got to this event at six thirty p.m. and the team had to roll out mats and start
warming up. All the cheerleaders had on a green uniform with white and gold trim that said
Ccharlotte Ccheerleading. All the girls wore skirts and the men had the same uniform, but a pant
version. All of the girls had a UNCC tattoo on their face and a pink bow in their hair since
October is breast cancer awareness month. When their coach arrived there the team was already
stretched and warmed up and ready to do a run through. The team was not looking too good and
Adam was getting very angry. He exclaimed, this is not the team Ive been working with for
months. The team was very frustrated and finally pulled it together right before they needed to
perform. At eight p.m. the team had to roll up the mats and transfer them to the gym. After the
mats were set up there was a fifteen-minute down period to freshen up before people started to
arrive. People started arriving at eight forty five and the team was told to stunt and tumble. At
eighty fifty-two it was time for the cheerleading team to perform. Overall, they looked really

good. Only one stunt fell which means the girl on top did not stay up in the air for the duration
she was supposed to. Also and the timing seemed to be almost perfect, in other words if two
people had to do the same thing at the same time it looked like they were one person which is a
good thing. The hard work and coachs frustration seemed to pay off in the end. At the end of
the night Coach Adam told the team that they looked good and was happy with their hard work
and cancelled practice for the next morning. Needless to say this was the happiest I had seen the
team during both observations.
There are many stereotypes that have been made up throughout the years. Some common
ones that you may have heard of are; blonde hair, stick figure, rich dad, dates the football star,
stuck up, etc. Although these can be true, they can be true for any girl. On the UNC Charlotte
team none of these are consistent throughout the team. Yes, there are blonde haired girls, some
do indeed date football players and most are skinny, but not everyone falls under these
categories. Many of the cheerleaders dont have rich dads and must pay for school themselves. I
asked Samantha how she planned on paying for her education and she said, My parents are
going to help me with books and thats about it, I have to take out loans for the rest. There are
about three girls that date guys on the football team, but one girl has a boyfriend in the military,
one played baseball at Charlotte and graduated, and I know this sounds crazy but many
cheerleaders dont even have boyfriends. Samantha doesnt have a boyfriend and says, its good
timing to be single since [shes] a freshman in college. Another common misconception about
cheerleaders is that they are all girls. In fact, according to cheerleading.isport.com the sport was
actually started for men, by men.
Along with other aspects found within the cheerleading team there is also common
shared values and communication. The cheerleading team has shared values like hard work,

dedication, perseverance and respect. All four of these values are important to the team in order
for it to function properly. All of the members must respect each other, because without respect a
flyer (the girl in the air) wont trust her base (the girl who is holding her). Dedication and is
important, because no one wants to be in the gym at 6:45, but at the end of the day they know it
is important to practice. Hard work and perseverance are important, because the cheerleaders
dont hit a new skill the first time they try it and sometimes it can be frustrating working on the
same thing over and over again.
The cheerleading team usess spoken language and common language intertwined with
each other, because there are many terms and phrases that only cheerleaders understand. During
both observations there were many repetitious words used such as, back handspring, tuck, lib,
heel stretch, pyramid, coed, partner stunt, etc. Back handspring and tuck fall under the category
of tumbling, which is essentially known as flipping. Lib, heel stretch, pyramid, etc. fall under
the category of stunting which is better known as holding a small girl up in the air. The
cheerleading team doesnt used written language; because when they are together they are
physically practicing. The cheerleading team meets three days a week at minimum for practice
from six forty five to nine a.m. The cheerleading team also meets for football games, basketball
games; competitions and pep rally events such as an event called Midnight Madness. There are
many things that one can get from being part of the cheerleading team. Many life skills can be
learned from being part of a cheerleading team like; dedication, perseverance and teamwork
seem to be of the most importance. These skills can be used in the future, because they would
benefit to any company once the cheerleading team members graduate with a degree. These
skills are also useful for the jobs that the undergraduates currently have. The cheerleading team
shares many tastes and beliefs. Many of the cheerleaders value sleep, dont like to run and

complain when things dont go their way. I noticed a lot of complaining at my first observation
period, but I think this was mostly due to lack of sleep and how early it was. The cheerleaders
treat each other very different than they would treat others outside of the cheerleading
environment. They seemed to form a family unit. They got mad at each other when they were
corrected, but at the end of the day were appreciative of the help they were getting from each
other. When they worked as a team instead of individuals the routine seemed to look a lot better.
The cheerleaders define their selves as an important athletic program found at UNCC. Often
cheerleading is underestimated and not considered a sport. Ask any cheerleader especially a
college cheerleader and they will tell you that cheerleading is definitely a sport.
From my observations I learned that you cant judge a sport, club, organization or any
type of friend group based on what other people say. The best way to find out if you fit in and
like a group of people is to hang out with them. Although there are stereotypes about
cheerleaders that are true, most are false and exaggerated. Being part of a club or sport is a great
way to meet new people and learn skills that can be used for a lifetime.Cheerleaders are just as
hardworking as any other sport and tend to form a family unit within the team just like any other
sport. Cheerleading is a team that is important to the athletic program at UNCC.