Wayne State College cheerleading tryouts will be held April 1 and 2, a Saturday and Sunday, at the Rice Auditorium.

The tryouts will be for the 2017-18 school year, involving home football and basketball games. Registration will be from 12 to 12:30 on Saturday and tryout material will be taught from 12:30 to 6. Tryouts will be from 1 to 5 on Sunday.

“The first day we will be learning material such as dance cheers and stunt skills,” cheerleader Mackenzie Myers said. “Previous knowledge of stunting skills is not required.”

Before the tryouts begin, each individual must have a physical and be cleared by doctors, who will also need to sign the pre-physical form as well as the on-campus tryout form. Proof of medical insurance is also required and anyone under the age of 18 will need parental signatures on their form.

After material and skills are taught on Saturday, tryouts will consist of groups competing in front of judges on Sunday. Dances, cheers and stunting skills learned the day before as well as two jumps (one must be a toe touch and the other a jump of their choice) and any other skills such as tumbling can be done for extra points from the judges.

Girls are asked to wear athletic clothing (shorts and tank tops) the first day of tryouts and then plain black shorts and a plain white shirt the second day of tryouts (do not wear another school’s shirt).

You may submit video tapes before 1 p.m. on April 2, but coming to the tryouts is highly recommended. The video must include one dance, two cheers, two jumps, extra skills (stunting or tumbling) and explaining why you want to be a WSC cheerleader.

Once on the team, cheerleaders will be active August through February.

“We practice two to three times a week,” Myers said. “It’s a lot of work and practice. It’s also a lot of fun; you meet a lot of people and make close friends. It’s also a great way to support the school.”

“If you want to come tryout don’t be afraid,” Myers said. “Anyone can do it. No prior experience is needed.”