2004 American School Spirit Award Finalists

2004 American School Spirit Award Finalists

Congratulations to our fellow Iowans...

In Third Place...
BCLUW High School
Conrad, Iowa (just east of Ames & north of Des Moines near Marshalltown)
Coach Jeanne Ehn
Squad GPA: 3.481

This small Iowa cheerleading squad has accomplished some very big feats. For the last three years, BCLUW has earned the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Distinguished Academic Award for teams with a 3.3 GPA or higher. They are five-time Iowa state cheerleading championships in Division 1A, and this year they won the IHSAA Sportsmanship Award for squads who displays or show excellence in sportsmanship. This little school has some great cheerleaders!

It's no wonder they won the Iowa Sportsmanship Award, because they developed and piloted the "Be a Winner in the Sportsmanship Game" program that is now practiced in all Iowa schools. Tips about sportsmanship are presented before athletic events by cheerleaders and athletes, the cheerleaders post signs about sportsmanship at athletic events and address similar issues at pep rallies as well. The cheerleaders go above and beyond these lessons by packing sack lunches for the entire away team of every home game.


Since 1993, this team has volunteered as line judges for the volleyball program at BCLUW. This past year, BCLUW adopted a military unit in Iraq; the cheerleaders packed the 4000 items that were collected into 70 boxes to ship overseas. Throughout the year, the cheerleaders give a variety of speeches in the community about cheerleading, being a leader, and saying "no" to drugs. And this squad goes out of their way to make their classmates feel special; in addition to locker decorations for athletes, the cheerleaders make signs for every student in the school.