Bakersfield College cheerleaders can be spotted at most sporting events rooting for the college team.? This year, the cheerleaders have joined with the football team to make calendars featuring the cheer squad, football players and the BC campus.?
The calendars will be sold by cheerleaders on campus and are available in the BC bookstore. They cost $15 each and will help benefit the program.
“I dragged my feet a little bit on the idea but we decided to do it,” said BC professor Becki Whitson, who is the cheer adviser. “I was worried.?The girls were excited, but they don’t think about things like legal issues, printing, cost.”
The production of the calendar was paid for out-of-pocket.?If the calendar is successful, they hope to try again. Whitson said the money used by the cheer squad is money they have managed to acquire without school assistance.?”We receive no financial support from this college.”
The women dedicate their time to represent and support our school’s athletic teams.? Whitson estimated the members spend approximately $1,000 each on cheer-related expenses.
“It’s really tough,” she said. “They pay out-of-pocket, up- front, on-the-spot for these things.? We try our best to fundraise, but it’s still hard.? These are college students.? College students aren’t rich.”
Whitson said a couple of women on the team have used all of their graduation money to cover the costs.? “We hope this calendar will help the girls and make this easier on them financially,” she said. “They’re here because they love to cheer, and they all work very hard.”
At 6 a.m. the girls showed up at the school in uniforms ready to shoot.? It took a total of two days to photograph all the pictures.?
Whitson said, “It was a lot of hard work, lots of racing around.? They were all troopers.? We all pulled together.? I’m really satisfied with the results.”?
They had 1,000 copies of the calendar printed.? “The printer was actually a football player at Bakersfield College back in the day,” Whitson said. “He was happy to help us and gave us a good deal.” ?
Every year around 30 girls show up in hopes to make it on the BC cheer squad.?Judges grade them on different areas deciding who makes the cut on the team. This year, there are 14 girls on the team.?Outside of cheering at sporting events, cheerleaders also help with charity events.
“We just did a CASA golf tournament,” Whitson said. “The girls handled tasks like driving the carts and handing out raffle tickets.? We’ve worked with an autistic group. Basically any time someone gives us a call, we’ll usually go make an appearance and help do our part in the community.”