Grand champion cheerleaders
YOU don’t have to be able to tumble to become a cheerleader, but you do have to be extremely fit, and able to work in a team.
That’s according to the manager of a gym that trained a Paraparaumu College cheerleading team to win the grand champion title at the recent Cheer Brandz Rock n Cheer national competition.
‘‘People with different skills have an equal place in the team,’’ All Star Victory Kapiti manager Julie McLeod says. ‘‘They might be a side base, a back base or a flyer, a part of a stunt group . . . you do not have to be able to tumble.
‘‘It takes a lot of trust in your team members. If 20 kids don’t do the right thing at the right time in the right place, it just looks messy.
‘‘You have to have good skills, a good coach, good routine and put it together on the day.’’
The team, featuring two boys and about 19 girls aged 12-17, won first place in the secondary schools division as well as the grand champion title.
‘‘It was well deserved . . . everyone was stoked,’’ McLeod says of last weekend’s victory in Auckland.
The fast-growing sport is attracting hordes of students – about 60 teams competed in this year’s nationals, about 20 more than last year.
She has been amazed at the growing popularity of the sport. The All Star Victory gym she owns in Manchester St, Paraparaumu, started with a small number of members 21⁄ years ago, which had since quadrupled to its current 160 members and 10 coaches.
They are installing a new sprung floor because ‘‘our tumbles are getting so advanced. We have opened up in Otaki, take people all year round, it is something for everybody.
‘‘It has matured – there are no poms poms in sight, no dancing at rugby. It is a competitive sport which could be in the Olympics.’’
Music is a vital component of every routine, she says, with