Youngsters second on debut at tourney
A team of young Whanga¯rei cheerleaders have made a sterling start in the world of competitive cheerleading.
Black Magic, made up of eight athletes aged between 7 and 10, came second in their division at the Cheerbrandz Spring Carnival in Auckland earlier this month.
The team is from the Blackout Cheer NZ gym in Whanga¯rei and are coached by Grace Hegh and Lucy Bland.
The girls are all new to competitive cheerleading — having only started this year — and the Spring Carnival was their first competition.
Black Magic trained twice a week, and Hegh said they worked hard and exceeded expectations.
A few weeks ago, they were given the incentive of an ice-cream party if they won at Spring Carnival.
The team competed in the youth level 1R division and hit a zero deduction routine, which means they performed their routine perfectly.
Routines are made up of different components, such as stunts and tumbling, which have different difficulty scores.
The routine performed by the Christchurch team who beat Black Magic had a higher level of difficulty, which explains why despite hitting a zero reduction routine, Black Magic finished second.
Black Magic were fifth overall for their level.
Hegh said the team may not have won gold, but they worked hard enough and did well enough to enjoy their party.
The focus for Black Magic now switches to the nationals in November, where they will compete alongside two other teams from the Blackout Cheer NZ.