Ultimate Cheer Fusion showcases season to come
Medicine Hat’s Ultimate Cheer Fusion cheerleading group is gearing up for its first big competition of the year.
After putting on a showcase for local fans Friday, the group will be heading to Lethbridge next weekend for a meet.
“Right now it’s just us trying to perfect the routines,” said team co-owner Jenna Jelinski. “From September to November we really focus on learning skills and building a skill base. From there, the girls really start to build a routine, and start to really practice and perfect different things.”
The group has five teams with cheerleaders from the ages of four to 18, and since opening three years ago, the amount of cheerleaders has nearly doubled.
“We started at 26 kids and now we’re at 48,” said Jelinski. “We’ve really grown in size since we started this a few years ago. I have a lot of experience in cheerleading, so it’s been great to see the gym grow over the years.”
The teams train two or three times each week, depending on the team’s age, in hopes of perfecting their routines in time for their competitions.
“There’s a lot of work that goes into it,” she said. “Routines are marked out of 100, with deductions taking one point off every time someone falls, stumbles, or anything like that. Perfect scores are pretty rare, but it’s what you go for, you want to hit zero deductions. Last year we were hitting scores between 83 and 90 on average.”
For more information on the group go to www.ultimatecheerfusion.com.