This fall sports season Covid-safety precautions are being taken by the athletics department. Shortening seasons, mask wearing by players and coaches and fewer fans are just a few to list. The Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School varsity cheerleaders are no different in taking these precautions and have even gone through the nightmare of having the virus disband their team for a period of time. 
 
For the most part, cheerleading is running close to normal this football season. The sport is usually done where teammates are at a distance from each other for the majority of the game. 
 
“It can make it harder to yell when cheering  but other than that I think the rules are easy to follow. We also have to stay far from each other which can change some of our positions.” Olivia Eckstine said.
 
Stunting is one of the highlights and most important parts of cheerleading. Three girls propelling and lifting their fellow team into the air in the name of spirit. An impressive move that is also very high contact. 
 
“There is still stunting,” Grace Germinder said. “Some people wear a mask but if it affects your safety during stunting you can take your mask off.”
 
Although many precautions were and are still being taken, a member of the varsity cheerleading team, unfortunately the virus did strike one the members on the team. 
 
“I was very scared and panicked at first because only little bits of information were given out at a time,” Claire Cassidy said. “I stayed in and waited to get tested to avoid a false negative. I tested negative, but still continued my quarantine. It was weird to have started the season and then take a break, but we didn’t miss too much and we jumped right back in quickly to make up for our lost time.”
 
Precautions and a virus scare haven’t ruined the spirits of the team however. 
 
“We try our best to work very hard and think about what we do outside of school and how it may affect the team,” Germinder said. “We all love to cheer and we don’t want to mess up our chances of getting to show our spirit at the games.”
 
Be sure to cheer leading teams on the track at every football game.