Adding to the University of Delaware varsity experience are the spirit squads, which provide a bright splash of color to Fightin’ Blue Hens athletic events.

One of the largest spirit organizations is the University of Delaware Marching Band, which this season fielded more than 350 performers, the largest unit in the band’s illustrious history.

Heidi I. Sarver, UD Marching Band director, says that the increased size of the band, which has averaged around 300 members since 1998, has provided more of a good thing for fans.

“Every year is a little different, but in the last two years the size of the band has changed everything,” Sarver says. “The pre-game program has had to be adjusted. It was still essentially the same traditional show, but the word ‘H-E-N-S’ was huge.”

Being a marching band member not only requires a considerable time commitment, Sarver says, but it also is physically demanding. Being in shape is as important to band members as it is to members of any competitive athletic group.

“If a nonmusician of average physical fitness simply walks down the street at the pulse of your average radio pop tune for about 3.5 minutes without slowing down or taking a break, he or she would begin to understand the minimum demands of a Marching Band member,” Sarver says. “If you increase the speed to slightly under that of speed-walking, strap on a 30-pound sousaphone or a 60-pound drum, don a lined jacket, pants, gloves and hat, play the instrument—which means controlling your breathing while varying your direction every 16 steps or so—you will start to understand that Marching Band is a sport.”

In 2004, both Sarver and freshman flutist Paula Freshette were invited to participate in the Bands of America National Honor Band featured at the 2005 Tournament of Roses Parade. Players were chosen from taped auditions. “The staff listened to hundreds of audiotapes and viewed hundreds of auxiliary tapes during last winter, spring and summer in order to create the band,” Sarver says.

The year was a special one for the UD cheerleaders, who not only finished third in the Universal Cheerleaders Association Division I national championship held in January 2005 at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., but also had a chance to cheer both nationally and internationally.

UD cheerleaders went abroad to introduce cheering to Wuhan, China, during the summer of 2004 and went national through an ABC-TV promotion. Exporting spirit to China were UD cheerleading Head Coach Joe Mackley, his wife, Amy, and Jenny Haight, Meredith Sullivan, Kayte Philson, Matt O’Neil, Seth Ribblet and Greg Gilbert.

“It was the experience of a lifetime,” Mackley says, noting that the Chinese are interested in developing a cheerleading program.

Stateside, cheerleaders Danielle Anari, Greg Gilbert, Lauren Kaplanis, Lisa Lim, Kayte Philson, Michael Tetlow and Stephanie Tucker appeared wearing ABC-TV cheerleading outfits in nationally televised commercials promoting college and professional football on the network.

The YoUDee mascot team, directed by Sharon Harris of the UD Office of Public Relations, won fourth place at the national competition and had a great deal of fun introducing a new character to the campus in Air YoUDee. The huge inflatable version of the mascot made its first appearance during the football season and was a consistent crowd-pleaser throughout the basketball season at the Bob Carpenter Sports/Convocation Center.

In addition, YoUDee was honored to be invited to New York City to tape a commercial for ESPN.

The UD Dance Team, which entertained fans throughout the basketball season, finished first in the Universal Dance Association hip-hop competition and seventh in jazz this year.

“The dance team had fun,” Head Coach Nicole Zehnder said after the first-place finish. “You could tell they were having fun and that dynamic really carried over. The crowd caught the sensation and loved the choreography and the style and the way the team made all the moves look so easy.”

In addition to the UD Marching Band and the spirit teams, there was a change for the student spirit organization formerly known as Blue Hen Fever. The group is now known as The Cockpit, according to Curtis Krouse of the intercollegiate athletics program.

Krouse says the goal of The Cockpit is to promote student spirit by using athletic events as a vehicle to encourage student involvement and foster Fightin’ Blue Hens pride. The Cockpit’s mission is to provide enthusiastic support for its classmates, thus giving UD an imposing home field or home court advantage.