New rules to govern cheerleader selections

By Emily Richmond

Tuesday, July 13, 2004 | 11:02 a.m.

Jontee Tolbert, who will be a freshman next month at the new Canyon Springs High School, said it was her straight kicks, high jumps and loud voice that won her a spot on the cheerleading squad.

"People think it's a popularity thing but it's not -- it's competitive," said Tolbert, who has been cheering for nine of her 14 years. "We're athletes just like the guys who play basketball. We're not out there doing a beauty pageant."

This is not your mother's cheerleading squad. Gone are the days when hopeful girls performed during an assembly and were subjected to the popular vote of the student body.

These days cheerleading is serious, competitive business. It's the kind of high-dollar sport that leads parents to pay for private coaching for their daughters as visions of college scholarships kick high in their heads.

The Nevada Interscholastic Athletic Association is struggling to adjust to that shift with recommendations that go into effect this fall about the selection of school cheerleading squads.

Cheerleading coaches have typically brought in an an outside panel to handle the judging, to avoid charges of favoritism.

Beginning with the 2004-05 academic year, cheerleading coaches will be encouraged to choose their own squads, said Bill Garis, director of athletics for the Clark County School District.

"We're giving cheerleading coaches as much leeway as the coach of any other team would get," Garis said. "Basketball coaches don't bring in someone from the outside to grade a kid's layups. There's a lot that goes into making a good team besides just physical skill and that's why the coach should have a say in the matter."

The district hasn't set many regulations when it comes to cheerleading, other than those related to student safety, Garis said. But with more squads entering competitions -- rather than only performing at school-related games and events -- it's time to make the rules clear, Garis said.

"This is a nationwide trend -- cheerleading has gotten to be serious business," Garis said, noting that many top colleges and universities have begun offering full athletic scholarships to cheerleaders. "We want Clark County to be on the front end of things."

Terrie McNutt, who is director of spirit squads for the NIAA said if the new recommendation works well it could become a regulation for the 2005-06 school year. The recommendation was drafted by the Spirit Coaches Associations of Southern and Northern Nevada in an effort to achieve consistency between schools and districts, McNutt said.

"Fifty years ago the girls went in front of the student body and were picked on the basis of popularity -- that's the dark ages and not applicable to what cheerleading has become." McNutt said. "The bottom line is that we want to add some validity, recognition and consistency for spirit squads."

The recommendation doesn't require a coach to pick her own squad, McNutt said. A coach could still choose to use an outside panel or even divide the final vote between a group of judges and herself, McNutt said.

The stereotyped image of the cheerleaders always being the prettiest and most popular girls in school is the result of having outside -- and potentially unqualified -- panels pick the squads, McNutt said. In fact, cheerleaders not always girls anymore. Boys are allowed, and a handful each year end up on squads, she said.

"When a coach chooses the squad the decision is based on ability, not appearances," McNutt said.

Tiffani Allen, a junior at Green Valley High School, said the stereotype of cheerleaders as little more than an extension of "the popular clique" is alive and well at her school -- and it's one of the reasons she opted not to try out for her school's squad.

"You have to be thin and blond," said Allen, who trains with a private squad in Henderson. "The guys look at you like you have to perfect all the time. I don't like that kind of peer pressure."

The plan to leave the final selection up to the high school coach isn't sitting well with everyone.

Bekki Crone, who coaches a private all-star cheerleading squad at the Academy of Gymnastics and Dance near the Galleria mall, said schools shouldn't abandon the practice of using outside judges.

"This isn't like baseball when a home run is a home run," Crone said. "Cheerleading is subjective. When girls go out to compete they're being judged by people they don't know and their coach has no say in it. The squads should be picked the same way."

All-star squads, which operate similarly to Little League or Pop Warner programs, give cheerleaders the chance to compete against other teams from around the country. The proposed recommendations being considered by the NIAA would prohibit students from competing with all-star squads during the varsity season but allow them to practice or take classes with the private outside group.

There's little question the popularity of cheerleading is growing exponentially in Southern Nevada, said Don Spencer, owner of Go For It USA gymnasium in North Las Vegas where the Mojave High School squad is practicing this summer. Spencer plans to open a new, 25,000-square-foot gym in late August that will have dedicated space for cheerleading classes.

"Cheerleading hasn't really gotten much attention or resources here, not like what you see in most other states," said Spencer, who became a cheerleader at Oklahoma State University after injuring his shoulder playing for the school's football team. "A lot of the big cheer competitions happen right here in Las Vegas but our local squads usually don't make the cut. We're working toward seeing that change."

Watching Mojave's varsity cheerleaders flip, leap and jump their way across the floor of Spencer's gym last week, coach Belinda Marentic said she couldn't have chosen a better group of girls herself -- even if she had been allowed to do so.

"These girls have heart, they're dedicated and they're talented," said Marentic, a math teacher and coach at Mojave for three years. "I have no complaints but it would have been nice to have some input in the selection."

Marentic said she plans to phase in her own involvement in the squad selection so that students -- and their parents -- are prepared.

"Anytime there's change there are going to be people who liked the old way better," said Marentic, a 1996 graduate of Cimarron-Memorial High School where she was also a cheerleader. "If we ease into it things will go a lot smoother for everybody."