The basketball teams at the YMCA will have a little extra support this year.

For the first time, the YMCA of Selma-Dallas County is offering cheerleading.

The YMCA is holding cheerleading registration through Oct. 28 for ages 5-12 and for older pre-K students.

“This is the first year. We’ve had people ask about it, and we are hoping it will get up and running … and that people will be very interested in it,” said Stacey Buchannan, who is overseeing the program for the YMCA.

Practices for cheerleading will start on Nov. 1, so that the cheerleaders will have time to learn their cheers and dance moves before basketball season gets underway.

Cheerleaders from Selma High School, Dallas County High School and Morgan Academy are helping out, Buchannan said.

“We will [be] teaching them the basic cheerleading stuff, the motions of what they are doing, jumps and chants and how to make sure they perform well as a cheerleader would,” she said.

Registration for the YMCA’s basketball program is also underway and will continue through Nov. 11. A mandatory evaluation day will be held Nov. 14-15 and practices will begin Nov. 17.

The league will be broken down into several leagues: kindergarten-second graders, third and fourth graders and fifth and sixth graders. A player has to be in sixth grade as of Oct. 1, 2016 and cannot turn 13 prior to Aug. 1, 2017.

The price is $45 for members and $55 for non-members.

For more information on either program, contact the YMCA at 874-9622.