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WELCOME! The UC Irvine Spirit Squad consists of the Cheer Squad, the Dance Team, and our beloved mascot, Peter the Anteater!
 
Our squads support the UC Irvine Athletics programs by generating crowd enthusiasm, promoting school spirit, and supporting our student-athletes throughout the year. We cheer and perform at every men's and women's basketball games, men's and women's volleyball games, the Big West Basketball Tournament, and various other Anteater games and events. UC Irvine Spirit Squad members are great ambassadors of not only the University, but the surrounding community as well. Spirit Squad members participate year-round in a variety of special appearances, alumni events, community service opportunities, and charitable events, generating energy and excitement for UC Irvine.

  • The UC Irvine Spirit Squad is supported by UC Irvine Athletics
  • Cheering/dancing for a Division I Athletics program
  • Opportunities for our dance team members to attend professional dance camps
  • Opportunity to travel to the Big West and NCAA Basketball Tournaments
  • Adidas uniforms,  travel and practice gear
  • Opportunity to practice, perform, and learn in a fast-growing and professional environment 

INTERESTED IN JOINING THE TEAM?
We are looking for highly committed, talented, and enthusiastic individuals who want to be a part of a fun and exciting team environment, and will represent our University with pride and confidence! Being a member of the UC Irvine Spirit Squad is a year-long commitment. We practice twice a week, typically on Sunday and Wednesday evenings. After making the team, we require a non-refundable $300 commitment fee, which is due by our New Team Orientation meeting after you have been selected to the team. 
 
In order to audition for the Spirit Squad, you must be either a current UC Irvine undergraduate student in good academic standing, a newly admitted/incoming freshman, or transfer student to UC Irvine. All newly admitted students must provide proof of admission to UC Irvine before auditioning. 
 
IMPORTANT for this year: Only admitted and committed students will be allowed to audition in person. If you are on the waitlist or undecided, you will need to email Coach Christy cmecxin@uci.edu to request a video submission. Students on the waiting list are highly encouraged to attend at least one of the in-person tryout workshops. 
 
MASCOT: If you are interested in becoming our beloved mascot, Peter the Anteater, please fill out this interest form to be notified of future opportunities. This will be a separate tryout and interview process from the Spirit Squad but will take place the same day.
 

UC IRVINE 2026-2027 SPIRIT SQUAD WORKSHOP & AUDITION INFORMATION
We are hosting 2 prep clinic workshops before our actual auditions! This is an excellent opportunity to meet the coaches, current team members, and to get a feel for what our program is about! If you are interested in auditioning in May, this will help ease your nerves and prepare you for the actual audition. The coaches will go over the expectations for the audition and give you feedback on what to work on ahead of tryouts. Attendance is STRONGLY encouraged for anyone interested in auditioning. 
 
PREP CLINIC WORKSHOP #1
DATE: Sunday, April 12, 2026       
LOCATION: Bren Events Center, 100 Mesa Rd, Irvine, CA 92697
TIME: 11:00 am - 1:00 pm (Cheer), 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm (Dance)
PARKING: Mesa Parking Structure (participants responsible for parking fee)
CONTACT: Christy Muckenthaler, cmecxin@uci.edu
FEE: $20 non-refundable payment is required to participate in the prep clinic workshop. If you attend both, you must submit two payments.
For online application and advance payment:
Please fill out the application online here: 2026-27 Prep Clinic Workshop #1 (4/12/26) 
Submit your non-refundable audition fee ($20 online) here.
 
PREP CLINIC WORKSHOP #2
DATE: Sunday, April 19, 2026       
LOCATION: Crawford Hall, 903 W Peltason Dr, Irvine, CA 92617
TIME: 11:00 am - 1:00 pm (Cheer), 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm (Dance)
PARKING: Mesa Parking Structure (candidates responsible for parking fee)
CONTACT: Christy Muckenthaler, cmecxin@uci.edu
FEE: $20 non-refundable payment is required to participate in the prep clinic workshop. If you attend both, you must submit two payments.
  
For online application submission and advance payment:
Please fill out the application online here: 2026-27 Prep Clinic Workshop #2 (4/19/26)
Submit your non-refundable audition fee ($20 online) here.

 
 

SPIRIT SQUAD CLINIC AND AUDITION 

DATE: Sunday, May 17, 2026 
LOCATION: Bren Events Center, 100 Mesa Rd, Irvine, CA 92697 
CHEER SCHEDULE: Mandatory Cheer Clinic 9:00 - 11:00 am, Cheer Audition 3:00 - 5:00 pm. 
DANCE SCHEDULE: Mandatory Dance Clinic 12:00 - 2:00 pm, Dance Audition 6:00 - 8:00 pm.  
PARKING: Mesa Parking Structure (candidates responsible for parking fee) 
CONTACT: Christy Muckenthaler, cmecxin@uci.edu 
FEE: $40 non-refundable payment is required to participate in the tryout clinic and audition. 
 
For online application submission and advance payment: 
Please fill out the application online here: 2026-27 UCI Spirit Squad AUDITION Application  
Submit your non-refundable audition fee ($40 online) here. 
 
Results will be posted on our Instagram @ucispiritsquad and emailed to all candidates by 5:00 pm on Monday, May 18th. There will be a mandatory orientation meeting for the new team on Tuesday, May 19th at 7:00 pm via Zoom. Links will be emailed to the new team in their welcome email. 
 

DANCE ATTIRE FOR CLINIC AND AUDITIONS (See images below for hair and make-up guidelines)

  • Female (dance)
    • 2-piece set or form-fitting athletic attire
    • Pair of poms
    • Top: sports bra top or fitted tank top
    • Bottoms: spandex shorts or booty shorts
    • Shoes: Both jazz shoes and sneakers are required
    • Hip-hop attire: you may bring sweats or baggy t-shirt for the hip-hop combo 
    • Game-ready make up (red lips, smoky eye, lashes, and blush are required)
    • Hair down and styled (must be styled in wavy curls)
    • Overall collegiate presentation
    • NO JEWELRY
  • Male (Dance)
    • Tank top
    • Shorts 
    • Shoes: Both jazz shoes and sneakers are required
    • Hip-hop Attire: you may bring sweats or baggy t-shirt for the hip-hop combo
    • Overall collegiate presentation
    • NO JEWELRY
CHEER ATTIRE FOR CLINIC AND AUDITIONS (See images below for hair and make-up guidelines)
  • Female (Cheer):  2-piece set or form-fitting athletic attire
    • Pair of poms
    • Top: sports bra top, tank top, or close fitting t-shirt
    • Bottoms: any type of athletic shorts (no pants)
    • Shoes: cheer shoes or athletic shoes
    • Game-ready make up (red lips, smoky eye, lashes, and blush are required)
    • Hair needs to be in a SLICK high ponytail (NO HAIRS OUT OF PLACE)
    • Bow or ribbon matching UCI colors (yellow, blue, white)
    • Bangs need to be pinned back or neatly styled (not messy)
    • Overall collegiate presentation
    • NO JEWELRY 
  • Male (Cheer): 2 piece athletic attire
    • Athletic shorts or pants
    • T-shirt or tank top
    • Shoes: Athletic shoes.
    • Hair off face
    • Overall collegiate presentation
    • NO JEWELRY
​   
SKILLS AND TECHNIQUE REQUIREMENTS
DANCE:
  • Dance Technique:
    • Pom technique (motions, performance quality)
    • Jazz technique (body positions, performance quality)
    • Cheer technique (voice projection, stage presence, strong motion placement)
  • Dance Skills:
    • Triple Pirouette (minimum requirement)
    • Turns in second (minimum 8 a la secondes required)
    • Leg Flexibility
    • Leaps (all required)
      • Switch leap, calypso, firebird, C jump, turning C jump, arabesque leap
    • Tumbling
      • Headspring (required)
      • Back Handspring 
      • Back Tuck
      • Roundoff Back Handspring 
CHEER: 
  • Cheer Technique: 
    • Strong voice projection
    • Confidence in stage presence and performance quality
    • Strong motion placement and execution
  • Tumbling:
    • Standing back handspring (required)
    • Round-off back handspring series (highly recommended)
    • Standing back tuck (recommended)
    • Round-off backhandspring series into a tuck/layout/full (recommended)
  • Stunting:
    • Flyers: Liberty and extensions, proper cradle technique 
    • Bases: Liberty and extensions, proper cradle technique
  • Jumps:
    • Toe-touch
    • Front hurdler
    • Right/Left hurdler
**DISCLAIMER: While we require tumbling experience, there is a possibility that a candidate may score high enough in other categories to qualify for our team without showcasing tumbling. The scoring categories highly favor tumbling skills, and the coaching staff reserve the right to accept or deny someone a position based on their skill set. It is also possible that a candidate who performs tumbling skills may not be guaranteed a spot on the team. We recommend that you do your best in every single category to ensure your best possible outcome.  
 
VIDEO SUBMISSION FOR OUT OF STATE OR WAITLIST CANDIDATES: 
Any student who is on the waitlist MUST audition by video. Results for waitlist candidates may be shared a few weeks after our in-person auditions have concluded. Any admitted and committed student who cannot audition in person, must email coach Christy to request a video tryout. All video auditions candidates must still fill out the audition application! 
 
The video material must be requested by email no later than Monday, May 11th. Videos of tryout material will be emailed to video candidates on Wednesday, May 13th. You will receive a unique link to an individual folder where you will upload your video by the due date on Friday, May 15th. Late submissions will NOT be accepted - NO EXCEPTIONS. All videos must include the following information: 
 
ALL VIDEOS MUST INCLUDE: 
  1. All video candidates must follow the same attire guidelines listed above
  2. Your full name and audition number (will be emailed to you with video links) 
  3. Year at UCI  
  4. Intended major of study 
  5. Team you are trying out for 
  6. Past experience in cheer/dance 
  7. Proper cheer/dance attire (see above) 
  8. Transitions and labels for skills performed 
  9. Arrow indicating where you are in the formation (if showing previously recorded material)  
  10. Year recording took place (if showing previously recorded material) 
CHEER VIDEOS MUST INCLUDE:
  1. Jump sequence (Toe-touch, pike, and front hurdler) 
  2. Standing tumbling skills 
    • Back walkover / front walkover 
    • Back handspring  
    • Tuck 
  3. Running tumbling skills 
    • Round-off back handspring  
    • Round-off back handspring series 
    • Round-off back handspring tuck/layout/full 
  4. Stunting 
    • Include a video of your stunting skills as a flyer, base, or backspot 
  5. Performance of our UC Irvine Cheer (material will be shared on May 13th) 
  6. Performance of cheer dance choreography (material will be shared on May 13th) 
DANCE VIDEOS MUST INCLUDE :
  1. Turn sequences (pirouettes and turns in second) 
  2. Leaps (calypso, firebird, leaps in second position) 
  3. Flexibility extensions 
  4. Video of tryout choreography (material will be shared on May 13th) 
  5. Performance of our UC Irvine Sideline Cheer (material will be shared on May 13th) 
  6. Showcase any specialty skills you'd like to "show off" 
    • Side aerials, front aerials, kip ups, headsprings, spider cartwheels, 540 jumps 
*IMPORTANT: DANCE AND CHEER TRYOUT VIDEOS MUST BE UPLOADED TO YOUR INDIVIDUAL LINK BY 6:00 pm on FRIDAY, MAY 15th in order to audition. Late submissions will NOT be accepted - NO EXCEPTIONS. 
If you have any additional questions, please email Christy Muckenthaler at cmecxin@uci.edu

TRYOUT INFORMATION/FAQs:
Q:  Do the Cheer and Dance Teams participate in national competitions?
A:  Both Cheer and Dance have participated in competitions in the past. The decision to compete will be decided upon by the team on a yearly basis.  At this time, we do not intend to compete nationally.

Q:  Does the program offer any scholarships?
A:  No.  At this time, UC Irvine does not offer scholarship opportunities for the Spirit Squad.

Q:  What are the time commitments for being on the team?
A:  Spirit Squad practices typically take place twice a week, on Sunday and Wednesday evenings, from 7:00 PM-10:00 PM. Members are required to make it to all practices, men's and women's basketball games, and may be asked to attend other athletics or community/campus events. Practices may also take place once a week during the summer. Winter quarter tends to be the busiest due to the heavy game and event load.

Q: How many people make the team?
A: The number of participants varies each year and is determined by the needs of our group. We do offer spots on our waitlist before selecting our team. 

TEAM FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS:
Team members pay a yearly fee of $300 for the season. The equipment fee is due by our first practice, date and time TBD. You will not be allowed to participate in practice until the fee is paid. There is an additional uniform fee for those who wish to purchase their uniforms.  

 

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