This winter will be a change in pace for the OHS sideline cheerleaders. The number of girls trying out has decreased over the past few seasons and Head Coach Mara Oien thought that bringing a competition team would bring excitement back to the sport.

The cheerleaders have spent the last few weeks trying out for this upcoming winter season. In previous years, the participants have tried out to be on a specific squad. This year, however, the cheerleaders were also trying out to be on the competition squad. The competition team is made up of 20 girls on one of the varsity stunting squads; Girls basketball, Boys basketball and Wrestling.

This team will be competing at two competitions in January. The team hopes to perform a solid routine with elite level stunts including full downs, 360 ups, single leg stunts and basket tosses. To finish the routine in time, it will take a lot of practice and hard work. Oien has high expectations for this team, “We’ve got a lot of practice to do, because most competition squads started practicing in September, so we’ve got some time to make up.”

There has been another change the team has made to improve their numbers. The cheer team has opened spots to junior high students. Junior high students are allowed to be on JV. In comparison to the varsity squads which cheer for only one sport, the JV team will cheer at various JV games throughout the season. Those girls will have the opportunity to stunt as well but will not be on the competition team.

The new changes to the cheer team will add new challenges and experiences for each individual. The coaches as well as the team members are excited to start the upcoming season, and are excited to show off their talents in a different atmosphere.