Freshman  theatre major, Shaunte Caraballo, forgets part of the routine during practice and stops performing.  She later leaves the competition altogether, saying she wants "to be on a squad that does stunting [like building pyramids] and cheering."  Caraballo who has been on stunting and cheering teams, says the squad does too much dancing, and she does not want to dance.

"Go Beach"

When students go to a game in The Pyramid, they expect to see three things: a game, our mascot Prospector PeteÖand cheerleaders.This year, 65 women showed up at The Pyramid on April 13 to try for 18 spots on the cheerleading squad.

The tryouts began with registration. The women, one-by-one, then go through an interview in front of a panel of six judges where they are asked questions like, "What qualities would you bring to the Long Beach team?"

Next the women as a group are taught a cheer that they have about fifteen minutes to practice. Then they go out in front of the judges, in groups of three, and present the routine.

After everyone has been judged on the first cheer routine, they are taught a hip-hop routine, which they, again, have about fifteen minutes to practice before they are judged. By the time the second routine comes around, about ten to fifteen women have already gone home. Some left after they saw the first routine.

Thirteen of the women trying out for next year's squad were on this year's squad. The cheerleaders have to try out each year no matter how many years they have been on the squad. Cheering Coach Dani Dawson said it has never happened that a woman who has been on squad one year does not make it for the next year.

But it happened this year. Four members of last year's squad did not make the cut this year.

This does not happen because of bias on the part of the judges of the tryouts. The judges are independent, hired from the United Spirit Association, an organization which judges most university level  cheerleading tryouts.