The cheerleading team has moved their season indoors and are ready to take on the challenge of performing in front of a packed Carver Center on Saturday nights. 
The team has been practicing and preparing for the upcoming basketball season. Every year, the Vikings squad welcomes several returning members, along with a few new faces. 
Last season, the Carver Center finished in fourth place in the nation in terms of average attendance for men’s basketball. While the team gets to perform in front of the crowd, so does the cheerleading team. 
“I love tumbling on the court for basketball season and I’ll miss that a lot. As much as I love football season, basketball is the best! The fast pace game and the amount of people that show up make cheering so much more enjoyable,” senior Rebecca Monreal said.
The Vikings cheer team requires two different rounds of tryouts that start back in the summer at the end of July. The first round consists of a video audition while the second consists of an in- person tryout
“For tryouts, we accept anyone who puts in hard work and is willing to learn. We try our hardest to make sure that everyone feels welcome and we are open to working with people if they are struggling with a certain aspect of the tryout. We expect that all cheerleaders come prepared to work with others although we understand it can be difficult to be outside of your comfort zone,”  senior Amber Summers said.
During the beginning of the school year, the cheerleaders begin preparing for football games in September and perform every Saturday home game wind, rain or shine at Lindberg Stadium. 
Several of the members are a part of both the football squad and basketball squad. During the basketball season, many of the cheerleaders have the opportunity to perform half-time routines, including courtside stunts.
“The best part of being a part of this squad is really getting to know people from all different backgrounds. Some girls come from cheer backgrounds, while others come from gymnastics, dancing, or no prior experience at all! Many of my teammates come from all over the country, and we even have some international students who have been on the team over the years,” Summers said. 
If a person is interested in joining the Augustana Cheer team, they can contact the coach Laura Terronez.