Virginia Tech Cheerleading
Tryouts

2026-27 Season
Tryout Dates: April 24-26, 2026
Location:  Cassell Coliseum

Tryout Registration Paperwork

Any current High School students need to bring a copy of a physical within the last year to tryouts.
Anyone who cannot attend tryouts in person can submit a video tryout.

Videos are accepted and must be received by Thursday, April 23 at 5pm.  Videos must include all of the required skills performed at tryouts as well as all tryout paperwork and the reason you will not be attending tryouts.  We also request that you start the video with a brief introduction and tell us a little bit about yourself and why you are missing the in-person tryout.

- Introduction and Reason for missing tryouts
- Sideline chant
- Fight Song (Fight Song Videos & Music)
- 5 consecutive standing Tucks
            + Standing full if you have it
- Standing back handspring tuck
            + Standing series to full if you have it (1 to full, 2 to full, 3 to full)
- Running tumbling pass
- Toss Stunt
- Walk-in
- Dismount from stunt
- Combo Stunt

Videos and forms can be sent to larrickj@vt.edu.  Please send videos in the form of a Google Drive or YouTube link.

Important Dates if you Make the Team
June 26-28 – Summer Practice weekend in Blacksburg
July 17-19 – Summer Practice weekend in Blacksburg
August 15 – Report Date for Preseason 2-a-day practices (Will lead into first day of class)

Open Practice Dates
Wednesday, March 25  6:00-8:00pm
Thursday, March 26  6:30-8:30pm

Wednesday, April 1  6:00-8:00pm
Thursday, April 2  6:30-8:30pm

Wednesday, April 8  6:00-8:00pm
Thursday, April 9  6:30-8:30pm

Wednesday, April 15  6:00-8:00pm

Wednesday, April 22  6:00-8:00pm
Thursday, April 23  6:30-8:30pm

Please note that some open practices may be cancelled due to NCAA/NIT Tournament conflicts. Updates will be announced on the @HokiesCheer Instagram page.

Open practices will be held in the Back Gym of Cassell Coliseum.  You must see our athletic trainer, Maddie Dobscha, before participating in any open practices.  The athletic training room is located on the first floor of Cassell Coliseum.  You will need to bring your insurance card and allow 10-15 minutes to see her to be cleared before practicing.  High school athletes will need a copy of their high school physical in order to participate in open practices.  When seeing our athletic trainer, expect to fill out several forms and vitals to be taken (height, vision, weight, blood pressure, temperature).  If you are unable to come to the training room between 4:30pm-6:00pm, email Maddie Dobscha directly (mdobscha@vt.edu) and at least 24 hours prior to attending.

TRYOUT SCHEDULE

Friday, April 24, 2026
3:30-4:30pm  Registration
4:30-5:00pm  Stretch & Warm-up
5:00pm  Tryout Begin: You will be judged on ALL tumbling, a toss extension/hands extension, and a walk-in
~8:00pm  Learn Chant Choreography
~8:30pm  Guys will do physical Fitness testing
9:00pm  Everyone Dismissed
9:30pm  First round of cuts/Day 2 List should be posted on the door

Saturday, April 25, 2026
8:45am  Girls return & begin stretching
9:00am  Girls physical fitness & Interviews begin
10:30am  Guys arrive and begin Interviews
Once all fitness testing & interviews are completed, there will be a brief lunch break
~1:00pm  Begin day 2 judging: You will be judged on your Chant and Sideline motions, Dismount stunt and Combo Stunt
~5:00pm  Final List will be posted on the door and the 2026-27 squad members will come inside for a team meeting & gear sizing

Sunday, April 26, 2026
9:00am  2026-27 team will have its first practice
12:00pm  Team Dismissed
12:30pm  New Member Physicals
 
What to wear
Girls- sports bra, shorts, and cheer shoes (bring running shoes for fitness testing)
- Day 1 hair should be half up half down with a bow and Game Day makeup
- Day 2 hair in low pony and GameDay makeup (look at @hokiescheer on IG for reference)

Guys- t-shirt/tank top, athletic shorts, running shoes
 
Point Breakdown

Tumbling

Back Handspring Tuck
- Execution out of 5 pts
- No stepping into BHS

5 Standing Tucks
- 1 point per tuck
- Execution out of 10 pts
- No stepping into tuck

Running Pass
-Execution out of 15 pts
- Difficulty:
            1- RO BHS
            2- RO Tuck
            3- RO BHS Tuck
            4- RO BHS Layout
            6- RO BHS Full
            8- Specialty pass with a Full (Arabian, whip, full to a full)

Bonus Tumbling
+2 pts for Standing Full
Standing Series
+1 3 to full
+3 2 to full
+5 1 to full

Fight Song & Chant
The Chant will be taught at tryouts on Day 1 and will be judged on Day 2

The Fight Song will be judged on Day 2 and athletes will need to know it coming in. Here is a link to the videos and music: Fight Song Videos & Music

Stunting

Toss Stunt
- Execution out of 10 pts
- Difficulty:
            1- Toss Chair
            2- Toss Hands
            4- Toss Extension
            6- Toss Platform pull skill
            8- Toss Liberty
            10- Toss Stretch(Girls)/Toss Cupie(Guys)

Walk-in
- Execution out of 10 pts
- Difficulty:
            1- Walk-in Chair
            2- Walk-in Hands
            3- Walk-in Extension
            4- Walk-in Liberty
            5- Walk-in Torch

Dismounts
- Execution out of 15 pts
- Difficulty:
            1- Hands Cradle
            2- Hands Full down
            3- Extension Full down / Hands Corkscrew
            4- Lib Full down / Extension Corkscrew
            5- Stretch Full down / Lib Corkscrew
            6- Arabesque Full down / Stretch Corkscrew
            7-Stretch Double down
            8- Arabesque Double down
            9- Scorpion Double down
            10- Arabesque 1.5 

Combo Stunt
- Execution out of 15 pts for difficulty levels 1-8
- Execution out of 20 pts for difficulty levels 9-18
- Difficulty:
           1- Hands, cradle out, toss hands
           2- Hands, toss hands
           3- One leg stunt, cradle out, toss hands
           4- One leg stunt, toss hands
           5- Toss stunt, cradle out, toss hands
           6- Toss stunt, toss hands
           7- Toss stunt, cradle out, toss stunt
           8- Toss stunt, toss stunt
           9- Full up, cradle out, toss stunt
           10- Full up, toss stunt
           11- Toss stunt, full up
           12- Full up, cradle out, full up
           13- Full up, full up
           14- Elite, cradle out, toss stunt
           15- Elite, toss stunt
           16- Elite, cradle out, full up
           17- Elite, full up
           18- Elite, Elite
Bonus
           +1 for a full down in middle of combo
           +2 for a corkscrew in middle of combo
(Elite stunts include: Rewind, Back Handspring Up, Hand in Hand, Cartwheel Up, Front Handspring Up, Side Sumi, Double Up, Bufu)

Everyone must stunt with 3 different stunt partners and cannot use same stunt partner twice on the same day.