By: Kaylee VanderHeide
March 6, 2024
Imagine competition day for a varsity cheerleader. Its an exiting but a nerve-wracking day and experience for the girls.
First things first, the varsity cheerleader wakes up bright and early, ready for the competition that is just a couple of hours away. She starts her day off with a fueling breakfast to give her the energy she needs to compete. After breakfast the cheerleader gets ready. She puts her team uniform on, making sure she looks nice. She ties up her hair in the cheerleading style, ready to compete at her competition.
Next up is the most important, the team gathers up and starts to warm up their bodies and vocals. They run through their routines, stunts, tumbling, and jumps, making sure everything looks flawless. As the competition arrives and leans closer, the excitement draws near, although the girls may be nervous. They cheer on their teammates letting them know that they are going to crush the competition. Finally, its showtime, the team takes their places and runs onto the mat, they are ready to give it their all. After they preform, the cheerleaders find a wave of relief and accomplishment, if them team doesn’t do well or if they do awesome, they know they tried their hardest. They sit and cheer on the other teams preforming their hard work they have put into their routines. The teams reflect on the competition and support eachother knowing that they all did great.
“Cheer is a competition, its a sport” says Alyssa Saymoungkhoune. Cheer requires a lot of training, determination, and coordination. Cheerleaders work very hard to prepare for their competition; practice for 9 hours.
Cheerleading is definitely a sport because it requires serious athletic ability. Cheerleaders have to train for strength, and flexibility. They preform complex routines that include, tumbling, jumps, stunts and more. Plus, its competitive, with teams going head to head in competitions. Just like basketball or soccer players, cheerleaders work as a whole team, strategize, and compete to win. So, cheerleading isn’t just about cheering on other teams, its an intense demanding sport!