The Cheer News

From an article in the Tahlequeh Daily Press

Fans of football and basketball normally see cheerleaders on the sidelines of games jumping, yelling and swinging pompoms around. Few get to see the competitiveness of the sport. These days, the sport of cheerleading is just as much of an athletic event as football and basketball.

This new version of cheerleading combines the athleticism of gymnastics with the pure beauty of figure skating. “This is a time when a cheerleader is considered an athlete and they work out just much as a football player would or a baseball player would,” cheer coach Tad Pruetz said. “A routine contains motions, tumbling and dance. it’s pretty hard core.”

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From an article in the Boston Globe

The family of Lauren Chang, the 20-year-old Newton North grad who died after a cheerleading routine, has released funeral arrangements and a brief biography.

“Lauren was born in Melrose, MA and was a graduate of Newton North High School. Her father, Ramon Chang, is a machinist at GSIG Lumonics. Her mother, May Chang, works in the accounts receivable department at Harvard University.”

“Lauren, 20, was a sophomore majoring in biology at Suffolk University, and worked at the law firm Rosenberg, Freedman, and Goldstein in Newton. She was passionate about her studies, loved children and was loved by her community.”

“Lauren leaves behind three siblings, Nancy, Jason and Marcus. A wake will be held at the Wing Fook Funeral Home in Boston on Sunday evening from 6 – 9 pm, and a service at the same location will take place on Monday morning at 9 am. The burial will be private.”

Lauren Chang, a member of the Energized Athletics in Watertown, was competing in the Minuteman Cheerleading Championships in Worcester. When a stunt went wrong. She was somehow kicked in the chest. She was taken to St. Vincent’s hospital and later transfered to UMass Memorial Medical Center. She died there at 1:05 p.m. on Monday.

On Wednesday an autopsy ruled Chang’s death an accident. Terrel Harris, a spokesman for the state Executive Office of Public Safety, said Chang died of “complications” after air leaked into Chang’s lungs and collapsed them “following a kick to the chest.”

Read more about this from the Boston Globe.

From an article in The Olympian Online:

You can argue whether high school cheerleading is a sport. Twenty states consider cheerleading to be a sport. But Washington does not. According to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, cheerleading in this state is an activity, despite it having a state championship just like any other sport. In fact, there were five South Sound schools (Black Hills, Chehalis, North Thurston, River Ridge and Tenino) represented at the state cheerleading championships at Bellevue Community College in March.

Everyone agrees that cheerleading has changed since the days of the archetype cheerleader attached to the high school quarterback. It could be said that cheerleading in the 1950s and ’60s was the lone opportunity for girls to participate in something semi- athletic in high school. Title IX, a federal law enacted in 1972 to end gender discrimination, changed that.

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During Namco Bandai’s Gamers Days Namco announced another new Cheerleading video game.

Putting players at the center of a nationwide cheerleading competition, We Cheer utilizes two Wii Remotes as virtual pom-poms to create an authentic cheerleading experience. Players must move the wireless Wii Remotes as directed by the on-screen indicators to choreographed routines, utilizing a full range of arm and body movements such as spins and twists. As each routine is successfully performed, the player will be able to recruit new team members to their squad, adding new cheerleading abilities and choreographed routines. The first cheerleading video game to offer licensed music, We Cheer features 30 smash-hit master recordings for players to perform to, including tracks from Hilary Duff, Aly & AJ, The Plain White T’s and Natasha Bedingfield.

Letting friends and family participate in the cheerleading fun, We Cheer features cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes for up to four players to determine who deserves to stand at the top of the pyramid. The game also features a workout mode that lets players keep track of approximately how many calories they have burned while cheering. Each character in the game is fully customizable, with a variety of uniforms, shoes and accessories to choose from for added personalization.

The article from Worthplaying.com includes screen shots of the game.

You can read the full article from WorthPlaying.com

From an article in Dayton Daily News.

The Lehman Catholic High School competition cheerleading squad was named Grand Champion at the recent 2008 AmeriCheer Great Lakes Open National Championship held in Chicago’s Navy Pier on April 4-7.

After two rounds of competition routines, this year’s team took first-place honors in the high school varsity nonmount division, defending its titles from both 2006 and 2007. The nonmount division forbids dangerous stunts such as pyramid building and lifts.

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From a story in the VSU Spectator.

The VSU cheerleaders cheered their football team to a National Championship in December, now it’s their turn to take the floor and bring home two more National Championship rings. This week the cheerleaders will compete in Daytona Florida for the chance to be ranked NCA Collegiate Cheerleading National Champions.

For the past few years they have competed in the small co-ed division, consisting of four guys and 16 girls. Unfortunately they are usually slightly outscored by Hawaii Pacific University. Last year co-ed placed second in the nation. This year the team has come up with a difficult routine in hopes of defeating HPU. The co-ed team consists of many seniors who are determined to go
out with a bang and come home with the satisfaction of beating their long time rivals.

In addition to the co-ed team Valdosta State has a new all girl team competing this year. After suffering an injury to a male cheerleading during the finals, the coed team finish 5th in the Small Coed Division II competition. The first year VSU all girl team had a great showing, finishing 3rd in the All-Girl Division II competition.

From an article in The Vista Online.

UCO’s cheerleading squads are looking forward to establishing themselves as a cheer power after the large coed squad became national champions at this year’s National Cheerleading Association Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship, which took place April 10-11 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

The large coed squad competed against Division I schools, such as the University of Maryland and the United States Air Force Academy.

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From the Northallerton Times:

HARROGATE Town cheerleaders Harrogate Hornets have returned from their first British Cheerleading Association Classic Competition as runners-up. The squad were competing alongside more than 1,800 cheerleaders in front of an audience of over 2,600 at Telford International CentreThe 12-strong team were selected from the squad who train at Granby Sport and Play Development Centre, and would like to thank Community Champions for funding the trip and Harrogate Borough Council for their ongoing support.

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From an article in the Sun Chronicle by Rich Foster

ATTLEBORO – When Attleboro High School’s cheerleading squad headed south to defend its 2007 national title, the team’s 16 girls and two boys felt rested and confident.

But few dared predict they would win a repeat championship in the U.S. Spirit nationals at Universal Studios in Florida after last year’s emotional victory by an elite unit. That was before the team performed its first practice after arriving at its hotel Saturday – in the rain.

“It was probably the best practice we ever had,” said senior Allison Haggerty, one of four squad captains, along with Shasta Murray, Kara Blais and Nicole Currier.

The Attleboro squad pulled out to an early lead that day against a dozen other schools from across the country, and never looked back. The team was crowned the 2008 national champions in the coed small varsity division Sunday at the Toon Amphitheatre at Universal’s Island of Adventure attraction.

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