Cheerleaders are one of the many joys of football and basketball games, but they don’t just support players at the games. They also do their own thing. They compete in competitions for themselves and their own trophies.
“Competition cheer is completely different from the sideline cheer we do at the games,” Junior Lauren Sutton explained. Junior Zoe Lini added, “Competition cheer is basically a team that has a set routine including a cheer, elite stunts, jumps, dance, and pyramid! The team competes in that routine at different competitions and try to win!” They present to a panel of judges who happen to be cheerleading experts. The performance is 2 ½ minutes long and they are ranked on difficulty and execution.
Many components go into making a good competitive cheer team. Like making sure everyone fits in the right place and having a good routine to present. Everyone on the team has positions. We asked Coach Bercegeay, about the process of giving positions, and she answered, “At tryouts, we ask each candidate their height and skill level prior to tryouts to place them with heights and skill levels. Then we have them perform multiple skills starting from the least difficult up to the most difficult skill they are able to perform safely. They are judged on how well they are able to execute each skill and their coachability.” There are multiple positions in cheerleading that you can be selected for such as a flyer, a base, a spotter, etc. “Well I am a side base so I am holding the flyer up and making sure she does not fall,” exclaimed Zoe Lini.
When it comes to competition cheer, you have to have a routine to perform at competitions. Coach Bercegeay explained, “For the last six years we have choreographed our routines each year. This year, we hired a choreographer to come in and team up with us to help choreograph our routine. We try each year to make our routine fit the skill set that our girls have and to make it as competitive as possible for our competitions.” Their routine may change every competition; they change it based on feedback they get at each competition. So far, the team has place 4th at both of their compeitions.
Just as you support the football players, basketball players, etc. you can also support the cheerleaders at their competitions. Their competitions are mostly on Saturdays so go and support them! There is just a small fee to pay to get in but, it’s no different than going to a game.
