You won’t find pom-poms here
Leave your pom-poms at home – this cheerleading is the real deal.
More than 700 cheerleaders packed the place for the inaugural New Zealand Cheerleading Nationals at Porirua’s Te Rauparaha Arena over the weekend.
Competitors from across the country, ranging in age from five to 25, spent two days wowing spectators with as many tumbles, stunts, basket tosses and human pyramids as they could fit into their 21⁄ minute routines.
New Zealand Cheer Union board member William Davenport said the cheerleading on show was not the stereotypical pom-pom waving people generally associated with the sport.
‘‘The type of cheerleading we do isn’t the type you see at rugby games,’’ he said. ‘‘Our cheerleading is more athleticfocused, so it’s got a good mix of gymnastics, aerial tumbling and throwing girls three or four feet in the air.’’
The 150-second routines were a lot more physically demanding than most people realised, he said. They combined a lot of the disciplines seen in gymnastics with tricks like ‘‘stunts’’, which involve a cheerleader being launched into the air and spun around.
‘‘These athletes train for four to six hours a week more than most recreational rugby players and football players . . . so they work really, really hard.’’
Emma Monks-Henderson, 10, from Wellington, was one of the competitors lucky enough to be designated as a ‘flyer’ by her teammates at Bigair Cheersports, meaning she got some air-time during their routine.
After two years as a cheerleader, she reckoned there were plenty of reasons to enjoy the sport. ‘‘It’s fun and it’s energetic and you get to tumble.’’
Cheer Union board member board member Sindy Gallen said the sport was becoming increasingly popular.