MVC will be announced at 3pm today. Stay tuned!

MVC Hold Final Auditions
By Mike Wobschall
Vikings.com
4/22/2009
[Photos]

The Vikings front office and coaching staff is nearly set to choose the next generation of Vikings players in this weekend’s NFL draft, but before they do that the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders took their turn to select a new squad for the 2009 season.

On Tuesday night at the Mall of America, the 2009 MVC Final Auditions were held as 62 talented and deserving finalists competed for approximately 35 highly-coveted spots on the ‘09 squad. The 2009 MVC team will be announced on vikings.com at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

The finalists collaborated to perform a multi-faceted program that included an impressive variety of dances in front of a large panel of judges and hundreds of fans and mall shoppers at the Rotunda inside MOA. The program consisted of solo performances, personal introductions, group dances and cheers, a modeling segment and another pom/cheer segment.

“This is what we’ve all been working towards,” said Pam of Eden Prairie. “Tonight’s event is awesome with the judges here and a great crowd cheering us on. It makes me excited for what’s to come if I’m lucky enough to be chosen as a member of the 2009 team.”

The process of forming this year’s squad began with a tryout workshop in March that was open to anyone interested in exploring the opportunity to be a MVC. The workshop offered helpful hints and pointers to cheerleading hopefuls as they decided whether or not to audition for the team.

The first official stage of selecting the new squad occurred later in March when open auditions were held at Winter Park. MVC Coach Tami Krause and her panel of consultants narrowed a large group of more than 150 women down to a smaller group.

The next step was training camp, a 3-week period of practices, conditioning and interviews. The finalists also learned their routines, which they performed Tuesday night during Final Auditions.

Throughout the process, the candidates spent countless hours with each other learning routines and developing chemistry. In fact, they are split up into groups of 4 called “tryout teams.” These teams practice the routines and dance steps with each other in preparation for Final Auditions. What results is a strong sense of camaraderie among the ladies and friendships that will last beyond their time with the team.

“Looking back on it and on my time as an MVC, the relationships and friendships we build is one of the highlights,” said MVC veteran Sarah.

The chemistry built among the team was on display just minutes prior to Final Auditions when all 62 candidates huddled on the stage and broke the huddle while shouting a cheer in unison.

After that, it was time for the show to begin.