From an article in the Alliston Herald.
Maddison Dombroski, 15, of Tottenham, and Kaleigh McIlveen, 16, of Angus have been chosen for the Canadian Cheerleading Union’s national team to compete at the 2009 International Cheer Union Cheerleading World Cup Championships in Orlando, Fla.
In all, 40 countries have entries in the competition.
From an article in the Tri City Sports online.
The East Tennessee Cheer & Gymnastics All-Star Cheerleading Squard, consisting of girls from 8 to 18, won the National Cheer Stars competition in Gatlinburg over the weekend.Â
They won first place in their division and are National Champions.Â
They also won the whole competition and received the titile of GRAND CHAMPIONS. This means that they beat every team there, all divisions.Â
Worth County cheer coach Sue Youngblood responds to a column written by The Herald’s Carlton Fletcher about the GHSA Region 1-AAA competition held recently.
As I read Friday, Nov. 7’s article in The Herald’s sports section by Carlton Fletcher, I was disturbed by the many inaccuracies in his article, but especially his “Oops — they did it again ” implication that the Worth cheer team had won the region title because the competition was held on our campus, as if some sort of home field advantage existed that caused the judges to forget the degree of difficulty guidelines, the safety concerns, the National Federation spirit rules book, and the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) cheer manual, as well as all else they had learned in the training required to judge GHSA cheer competitions. Mr. Fletcher’s opinion that Westover came closest to matching Perry is the point he wants to make, and those are the results of his connection to the Westover program as the parent of a cheerleader, the ex-husband of one of the Westover coaches, and a former teacher/coach at Westover High school. Just because Carlton Fletcher wrote it in a sports column for The Albany Herald does not make it the truth, or even creditable.
Mr. Fletcher says that recognition of cheerleading as a legitimate sport is a tough sell in Southwest Georgia. I completely disagree with that assertion as most who attend a cheer competition for the first time are enthralled with the level of difficulty, the capability and the energy of our cheer squads right here in South Georgia. It’s people like you, Carlton Fletcher, who want to turn it into only a popularity contest. Let’s just get out the old cheer-a-meter and award a region championship based on how long and how loud the parents and supporters of a squad can yell. Let’s ignore the training and expertise of the judges, as well as the hearts and souls of the competitors, in deciding who gets a trophy. And lastly, let’s ignore the life lessons that we as coaches are trying to teach our athletes — lessons like, it’s not the trophies that matter, but the journey we take together as a squad which enriches our lives, athletes and coaches alike. Did the Worth County cheerleaders, fans and coaches want their team to win a region championship? You bet! Are we proud of our athletes who overcame broken collarbones, torn elbow ligaments, strained shoulders, swollen noses and sore wrists? Absolutely! I guarantee you that all of the coaches at that region meet were proud of the progress that their teams made in the course of the season. It’s not the winning that coaches, including my fellow competitors in 1-AAA, want our cheerleaders to remember. We leave that to the uninformed like you, Carlton Fletcher. It’s what we have shared in the course of the season; it’s the distance we have come together; it’s the life-long friendships that have been established, and it’s the ability to overcome adversity and pain and hurt for a common goal that I think we all want our athletes to recall after our competitive season. So, Mr. Fletcher, get out of our way; let us focus on our teams — on what’s really important — and let us learn to ignore the criticism of uninformed voices like your own.
Fayetteville NC–Cheer Ltd. Inc. has announced that Cheer Coach and Advisor magazine (CC&A) will join Cheer Ltd. in sponsoring both The Pinnacle Awards for Coaching Excellence and The 30 Under 30 Award for Up and Coming Coaches beginning with the 2009 awards program.
“Cheer Coach and Advisor is a perfect match for this program of cheer coach recognition,” says Gwen Holtsclaw, president of Cheer Ltd. “Under the leadership of editor Valerie Ninemire, CC & A has become the definitive magazine written specifically for cheer coaches. We could not be happier to have Cheer Coach and Advisor magazine working with us on this prestigious award program.”
Cheer Coach and Advisor magazine is published by VAN Publishing Inc. and has been a longtime supporter of Cheer Ltd.’s award-winning national cheer conference CheerCon.
“It is such an honor for Cheer Coach and Advisor to partner with Cheer Ltd. to sponsor such prestigious awards within the coaching community. Cheer Ltd. is a pinnacle within the spirit industry and continues to be an inspirational force taking cheer to new heights. We look forward to honoring these exceptional coaches and highlighting them among the pages of our magazine to allow all coaches the opportunity to build exceptional cheer programs,” says Heather Portnoy, publisher ofCheer Coach and Advisor magazine.
Look forward to hearing much more about these inspirational coaches as well as the 2009 awards program in upcoming magazine issues. You can nominate an outstanding coach on the Cheer LTD Web site.
From an article in the Mudgee Guardian
Mudgee High School’s senior cheerleaders have been crowned the best in the nation after winning their division at the Australian championships.
Mudgee High School sent 42 students to compete in three divisions at the national competition, and took fourth and fifth in the senior and junior stunt divisions, as well as taking first prize in the senior pom section.
This is the third successful competition this year for Mudgee High’s cheerleading team, who have already ranked well in the Cheer It Up competition and the state championships.
Technorati Tags: Mudgee High School, Cheer It Up, Cheerleading News
From an article in the Kansas State Collegian
Dannielle Ruoff spent most of her time on the sidelines cheering her team to victories in both junior high and high school. Her athletic talent paid off in college as she cheered on Montana State University-Bozeman and joined an all-star team that traveled through California and Hawaii for competitions.
This is when Ruoff said cheerleading became serious for her, eventually leading her on a coaching path that started at her alma mater, then to Montana State University-Billings and now K-State.
As of Aug. 1, Ruoff is the new personality behind the K-State spirit squad, and her recent arrival was still evident by the unpacked boxes that clogged her renovated office more than a month after her arrival.
Congratulations to the NCSSE recipients of the 2008 Spirit Industry Awards! It’s the Academy Awards of the Spirit Industry! From “Best Spirit Apparel Catalog/Brochure Design” to “Best New Product or Service,” from”Best Lighting, Sound and Set Design” to “Best Philanthropic Initiative” and many more, peers are recognizing peers for raising the standards of excellence, professionalism and innovation in all areas of the Spirit Industry. The 2008 Spirit Industry Awards were presented at an exciting gala at the InterContiental Hotel in Chicago, IL on Tuesday, October 7, 2008.
AND
From and article in the Tahlequah Daily Press:
At halftime, the Keys High School cheer team presented the state championship trophy to the school after it won the state championship in the small co-ed division last week in Norman.
Read the full article…
iHigh.com has a great article comparing football and cheerleading. It is based on an interview with an 18 year old senior football player. It deals with the issues of lack of personal time due to training and competing, the level of physical work involved in each sport as well the similarity in types of injuries.
Both football players and cheerleaders experience problems with managing their time because both sports take up so much time.
“It’s hard with everything I have during season. I never have down time, or talk/see my girlfriend or my friends.”
[The student's] advice to football players can also be applied to cheerleading. “Persevere. Stick it out. Work hard in the off-season. Work 365 days a year. It’s a year round thing. Keep your strength up. Have fun.”
The bottom line here is that both sports take one thing more than anything else: heart. If you don’t have it, or love what you are doing, it is ten times harder to succeed.
According to a post at about.com the University of Idaho cheerleaders have changed their uniforms this year due to fan complaints.
According to Bruce Pitman, dean of students, “A number of fans were concerned that the uniforms were inappropriate. To be fair, there were a number of fans who liked them.” The cheerleading uniforms in question consisted of halter tops and very short black skirts. The new uniform will also have a halter top, but the skirts will be about six inches longer.
Technorati Tags: Cheerleading, University of Idaho, Cheerleading News
