Decked out in pink, the dance team took the sideline on Friday night for the varsity football game against Del Campo.

The month of October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and since this game was the first home game of the month, the theme was “pink-out”. The color pink typically represents the disease, so athletes often incorporate it into their uniforms on game day, and the dance team showed their participation on Friday.

The team wore their usual gold dresses with pink bows, pom poms, and a T-shirt over their dresses reading “Get your pink on” and “I’m a dancer against cancer” on the back.

Team captain Nicole Foster explained what being a “dancer against cancer” means to her.

“It means that I’m a supporter of breast cancer awareness, and I can do what I love while spreading awareness across the school at the same time,” Foster said.

Coach Halley Crandell adds that breast cancer is not the only cancer that her team is fighting.

“They’re taking a stance against cancer and putting in their effort and support. They wear pink, but really they’re fighting against all cancers,” Crandell said.

Besides wearing pink on the sideline, the dance team has shown their support out in the community as well.

“We have a couple team members’ moms that are going through cancer, so to support them we’ve done Light the Night and Relay for Life,” Foster said.

Light the Night is a walk that raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and Relay for Life is another walk, put on by the American Cancer Society. At the Relay for Life walk in September, the dance team raised nearly $900 to donate for cancer research.

Malia Blume said the events have strongly affected the dancers.

“Both Light the Night and Relay for Life had a huge impact on our team. We got to support our teammates going through hardships and it was really eye-opening to all of us seeing how many people are impacted by both leukemia and other cancers,” Blume said.

Supporting cancer awareness is something that the dance team girls bond over and pass on to their new teammates every season.

Crandell said, “It’s something that our team, throughout the years, has developed a tradition for. The girls are really passionate about it.”

by RYLEA GILLIS