Lehigh cheer and dance teams lack funding

Lehigh’s cheerleading and dance teams are both distinguished as clubs, which results in their frequent practicing and performing on campus.

However, their funding doesn’t reflect their rigor. 

Every athlete in the two groups must pay for the required equipment to participate.

Sophomore cheerleader Hannah Rosenel said she feels that her team is not given the same opportunities as other schools’ cheer teams. 

“Our team is fairly small, so while we are meant to spread spirit on campus and at different athletic events, it can be difficult to do so when we as a team feel underappreciated,” Rosenel said. “We don’t have a lot of funding, we only recently got mats to practice on, and we have had trouble, more so last year than this year, finding a place to practice.”

The cheer team practices on the second floor of Grace Hall and shares three small mats for the whole team. 

Rosenel said that the mats do not comfortably fit the whole team.

First-year cheerleader Alyssa Vandett said there are also often other sports, clubs or activities they are asked to share their practice space with. 

“The biggest thing that I feel we are lacking is a safe practice space, which is one thing that I have not heard to be an issue for any other programs,” Vandett said. “This has really limited our confidence and ability to try new things just because we want to protect ourselves and our teammates.” 

In addition to the poor practice conditions, the majority of the fundraising is done by the teams themselves. 

“Everything has to be approved by (the Athletics Department) first, which can be a timely process and makes such efforts difficult,” Rosenel said. 

Many parents ultimately support the athletes financially. Vandett said their parents are always looking for ways to help pay for things that the team deems necessary to expand and improve their program. 

Sophomore dance team member Alexa Segal said her team captains and co-captains took the initiative in setting up a fundraiser at Dinky’s Ice Cream Parlor & Grill. 

“Our entire team then enjoyed dinner there after practice and spread the word to other students at Lehigh through the use of flyers on social media,” Segal said. “The money we raised during this fundraiser alone allowed us to get new dance team sweatshirts which we wore during our bed-racing performance.”

The financial constraints for both teams are a result of a lack of appreciation and support from the university and the NCAA. 

The cheer team’s uniforms were paid for by an anonymous donor a few years ago, however, they only donated enough for 18 uniforms. 

Because of this, the team’s roster is capped at 18. Other Lehigh teams do not restrict the number of players based on how many jerseys they have.

They also have a yearly $100 fee per cheerleader and have to pay additional costs throughout the year for hoodies, backpacks and other items. 

The dance team does not require members to pay out of pocket, instead, they rely on sharing and passing down used uniforms and generating their own fundraising. 

“The captains do a great job of making sure uniforms are freely provided for dancers from year to year,” Segal said. 

Senior Olivia Nunamaker, co-captain of the Dance Team, said because the school is growing, they are admitting more members, but the number of uniforms has become a problem. 

Whether on the sideline or courtside, the cheerleaders and dance team are constantly performing despite the conditions. They perform in freezing temperatures, torrential downpours and blazing hot days. 

“There’s more talented people trying out each year,” Nunamaker said. “Obviously, we’re not going to take girls just because we don’t have enough uniforms for them. It’s frustrating considering we are performing events that the school wants us to be there for.”