“We are – City!”

The sounds of the Fresno City College spirit team can be heard on campus during football and basketball seasons. The cheer squad has evolved into a strong and athletic group of students dedicated to supporting their school.

The team’s season runs from June through February. The cheerleaders host pep rallies and cheer at games. They put in long hours of practice and often deal with a constant question: Can cheerleading be considered a sport?

Team captain Tiffany Deez said that cheerleading, on the surface, might look just like pretty girls in skirts, cheering. But being on the team is much more, she said. The cheerleaders dedicate their lives to the sport year-round.

“We don’t kick a ball around, we don’t throw a ball, and we don’t shoot for the hoop,” Deez said. “We throw people.”

Deez also said the squad works together as a unit like any other team, and on top of that, goes out to support the other athletic teams at Fresno City.

Fellow cheer squad member Michael Snap said that the individual physical, mental and athletic challenges of cheerleading were similar to those of other teams. The squad learns multiple cheers and two- to three-minute routines, Snap said. He also mentioned the precision needed to catch a teammate who is free-falling from 15 feet up in the air.

“The question is not ‘why cheer is a sport’,” Snap said. “It’s, ‘why is it not?'”

The team is led by Hope Villines, who has been cheering and playing sports all of her life. An FCC alumna, Villines said her goals are to continue to build the cheer squad.