Kick’s Cheer and Events put on their 10th annual cheer celebration, attracting a wide variety of cheerleading clubs and university programs. Hosted over the March 24-25 weekend at the Centre d’excellence Sports Rousseau in Boisbriand, Québec, the Célébration Fiesta Mexicaine hosted the Marauders as one of five collegiate programs competing in the University All-Girl Level 6 category.
There were many programs competing across several different categories, ranging from different age groups and team sizes. Most were independent cheer gyms hailing mostly from nearby locations in Québec and Ontario, and each category had their own top-tier teams that put on excellent routines.
McMaster was the furthest-travelled team in their category this year, competing with programs like the University of Montréal Carabins and the Ottawa Gee-Gees. This is not the first time the Marauders attended this event, having a good reputation at the Québec-hosted competition as regular competitors.
“Originally we were supposed to go to Boston, but when we went to register for it, it was full,” second-year cheerleader Nicole Parker said. “So instead of waiting and possibly not even competing at all, we decided to just go to Montréal — which we’ve been to a lot in the past. It’s always a fun competition and more laid back. It’s not so intimidating. So it is a good way to end the year.”
Last year at Kick’s Célébration, the team finished in a surprising second place, upsetting usual favourites the Gee-Gees and the Western Mustangs. This year, the Marauders had an added challenge of facing a co-ed team despite being in the all-girls category.
"When the results came in I saw every single one of those girls finally see that they had what it takes. That was the moment that I believe will change this organization forever."
Kelly Van Burgsteden
Coach
McMaster Cheerleading
Co-ed teams tend to have an advantage over all-girl programs in cheerleading, usually being able to pull off more physically difficult stunts based on advantages in pure strength. However, to perform well in that category requires a larger number of guys on the team, as there is a higher expected difficulty from these co-ed routines.
Bishop University out of Sherbrooke, Québec was the co-ed program accepted to the category this year, but they landed themselves behind the Marauders in the final rankings due to a couple of falls and bobbles during their routine.
The Marauders designed a technically sound routine for this year’s competition and had a near-perfect score, maxing out their difficulty on several different stunts.
“We looked the best we ever looked, like we were a lot cleaner than we’ve ever been,” Parker said. “And you could see there was a lot of energy in the performance. So it actually was entertaining to watch rather than just everyone looking scared.”
Unfortunately, last season’s success did not carry over to this year’s competition. Their routine was somehow not enough to beat the other competing teams. The Marauders finished in fourth place in their category, with the Carabins hoisting the first place banner once again. Still, the performance itself was a major accomplishment for the program.
“Score wise, we basically almost hit a perfect routine,” said rookie Veronica Miele. “We had two points off I think, so much better than we did last semester, which is a huge improvement for the team. We had so much energy and we were so happy to be there and you could really tell.”
“Though we had a few mistakes in our finally routine of the year in Montréal, I believe there was not a single person in that team that was disappointed,” coach Kelly Van Burgsteden added.
Their performance was especially impressive considering the changes to personnel the team underwent over the course of the season, losing six cheerleaders from the season’s start.
“That amount of girls is a big blow to most teams and would usually result with decreasing the amount of stunts and difficulty in the routine,” said Van Burgsteden. “This team didn’t let this hold their potential back, and instead worked ten times as hard and didn’t even blink when I pushed them way out of their comfort zones to make up for those lost teammates. The end result was that the team was not only able to keep their routine by not losing a single stunt or pyramid, but was also able to increase the difficulty further.”
While the Marauders did not place as highly as they would have liked to, it was by all accounts a great way for the team to finish off their long and arduous season. For Miele, who comes from a dance background, her first year with the program went exceptionally well, noting how well she had personally improved from her first few weeks with the team. The Québec trip was just icing on the cake.
“I’m new on the team, but I thought the competition was a great way to end the season,” Miele added. “It was super relaxed and such a great atmosphere everyone was super encouraging with each other. So I think it was a lot less intimidating than going somewhere where you know that you really need to do well versus somewhere you can do well.”
As the team heads into their offseason and focus on upcoming exams, the cheerleading team will hit the ground running come the new school year, with tryouts beginning in the early weeks of September. Next season already promises to be a strong campaign.
“I think we’ve improved a lot, especially if you ask any of the coaches that have been with the team for four years,” Parker explained. “They say we have such huge potential compared to where the team was a couple of years ago and how far we’ve come in just that couple of months. And that next year, this team can even take it further. We can do better at nationals and we already placed better this year than last year. They think that next year we can even do better, better than fourth which is still very good.”
It is apparent the cheer team is heading in the right direction, trending upwards over the last few seasons and hanging with the best. No matter what competition the cheerleading team decides to participate in next season and where they place at nationals, there is sure to be a lot for the Marauders to cheer for.
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The term “sport” has been questioned lately as the definition is increasingly expanded to include many competitive physical activities that were never thought of as sports before. Where a sport begins and a game or hobby ends is often scrutinized by fans, with non-traditional sports often being excluded. However, the tide is changing.
In Dec. 2016, cheerleading was granted provisional status as an Olympic event, along with Muay Thai. Both sports will have until 2019 to show the International Olympic Committee they have what it takes to make it to the worldwide event.
For a relatively young sport that continues to evolve, cheerleading offers an exciting opportunity for the Olympics to gain a whole new demographic of fans tuning in to the festivities. For cheerleading itself, it gives the dedicated athletes involved in the sport a new way to show the world how cheerleading is a sport — and a tough one at that.
Christa Kocha, head coach of the McMaster cheerleading team, has been involved in the sport since 1998 and has seen it rapidly evolve since her time cheering for the Marauders.
“A lot has changed since I was a cheerleader at Mac,” Kocha said. “The rules and how competitions are run have become very complicated, and they reflect the complications of the sports.”
As explained by Kocha, cheerleading has come a long way from the old days of a group of students standing on the sidelines and leading cheers. Yet, as the sport has evolved, the name has remained the same. The name of the sport can be misleading as most cheerleaders do much more than just lead cheers.
There are basically two major styles of cheerleading: collegiate cheerleading and all-star cheerleading. All-star cheerleading, which according to Kocha is the future of the sport, is primarily focused on competitions that feature a lot of aerobic stunts including jumps, tumbling, dancing and flips. This is all choreographed into a two and a half minute routine and is marked not only on their difficulty and ability to perform it, but also the stylistic choices of the routine.
Collegiate cheerleading also incorporates all of these stunts, but the cheerleaders on a university team also have to make sure they maintain and promote school spirit.
“There is a huge difference between collegiate cheerleading and all-star cheerleading,” Kocha explained. “Collegiate cheerleading involves our team being out there on the field and leading cheers, getting school spirit going which isn’t always easy for a lot of all-star cheerleaders. They have to learn how to lead cheers in a crowd, which doesn’t seem like it is a big deal, but is hard because you have to be on for four hours, smiling and trying to get the crowd engaged, while also performing highly athletic stunts and tricks.”
Nicole Parker, a second-year McMaster cheerleader, is one of many who now come into collegiate cheerleading from an all-star cheerleading gym. Parker also got involved in cheerleading in high school but decided to pursue it beyond that.
“I always thought that it was something I was supposed to do when I went to high school,” said Parker, who has been cheerleading for six years. “When I would watch all of the movies I was like, ‘oh cheerleaders are the coolest’. When I did high school cheer, someone on the team did all-star cheerleading and said that I was really good and should consider doing it.”
One of the most difficult challenges for collegiate cheerleaders is being able to balance the two styles, since the Marauders compete at all-star competitions during the year against other collegiate teams, like Western and Laurier, in addition to cheering along the sidelines. The team also attends extra events like the McMaster Children’s Hospital employee appreciation day or events surrounding the 53rd Vanier Cup. Not to mention the regular academic pressures on any other student-athlete.
“The toughest part is trying to balance everything and not bringing my stress from school or personal life to cheer practice,” said Parker. “I have two hours to practice and get everything done and not let my emotions get in the way with it.”
Keeping the crowd energized during a game is extremely important for any team, as any athlete can tell you. If a home crowd is quiet and disinterested, the whole idea of a home team advantage disappears. Athletes feed off of the cheers and applause of the crowd and sometimes the fans need a little help from the sidelines.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="69" gal_title="cheerleading"]
In addition to the demands on the team off the field, the physical skill that is required to cheer is evident to anyone who has ever seen a cheer routine.
“It requires you be physically fit and it’s hard,” said Parker. “You are lifting up people, and it is high intensity for two and a half minutes. You are running all over the place, flipping and stuff like that. It’s hard. Because there is a performance factor and looking nice is a factor, they think it should not be a sport because you are marked on if you’re smiling or not.”
Cheerleading is currently classified as a club rather than a varsity team. In addition to public perceptions of cheerleading being considered a sport, there is currently no fully established governing body to help advocate its position. While one is in the works and starting to gain traction in the community, it has yet to fully take hold. This is due to the newness of the sport, especially in Canada. It is well on its way to joining the ranks of the traditional sports.
“I always think it should be considered a varsity sport,” Kocha said. “I understand it is hard because we don’t have the proper governing bodies. There is a tight hold over varsity teams as I suppose there should be. You want to make sure the kids are safe and regulations are being followed and the brand is being represented properly.”
Yet, not being considered a varsity sport also has its benefits and freedoms.
“There are also a lot of benefits to it…. It’s hard,” Kocha added. “There are a lot of things I probably don’t understand with how things are run. And I know that a lot of other university teams that are club teams find a lot more freedom in what they want to do. That’s not necessarily what I want for our team, but I think it is a really complicated situation. I think that is partly our job and our challenge as coaches and members in the community who are we going to do this and make this an actual sport.”
Regardless of their classification, the team still competes regularly against other collegiate teams in level six categories. Level six cheerleading is the highest category of all-star cheerleading, featuring the most complex routines and challenging stunts. Mac’s program offers their athletes the opportunity to compete among the best in Canadian collegiate cheerleading while also allowing them time to focus on their life as a student.
“It is a high-level team,” said Parker. “Level six is pretty difficult, but the good thing about Mac is that they balance your schooling. You are a student first so the competitions don’t interfere with midterms or exams. They give us breaks when exams are coming up and stuff like that.”
To finish off the month, The Marauders will be competing in the Power Cheerleading Athletics Collegiate National Championship. Mac is coming off a fifth place finish last year in the small co-ed division, but this year will be competing in the larger all-girl category that features 10 teams.
“We feel very prepared this year,” Kocha said. “It is always a challenge trying to create a really difficult routine in less than three months. Level six is hard because you are doing a lot of free flipping. So you want to make sure that it is safe for them, but it is challenging at the same time and they can do it. I think we put together a pretty good routine that way this year.”
“We feel pretty confident and I’m proud of the team this year,” Kocha added. “They’ve worked really hard through everything and I think it just shows in their routine. I hope we have a lot of fans there this year that would be great. We try to put on a really good show.”
Whatever position the team places in, Kocha is proud of how well the team has integrated with the school community in recent years and represented school spirit in any setting.
“I’m really happy how we have come together with the school community and I hope it continues that way,” Kocha said. “I really like having them at the games. I think it is really fun for them. I hope the school responds to it and joins in on the fun too.”
At the end of the day, classifications become meaningless. It is not about what word you can point to in a dictionary that defines a sport. A sport is made up of the hard work, sweat and tears that are put into every hour spent preparing for each competition or game. It is defined by the teamwork displayed on the field, court or mat in front of a rowdy cheering crowd. And ultimately, it is one of the few things that works to bring humanity together for one common goal. So whether you are watching or competing, just enjoy it.
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Fraser Caldwell
Sports Editor
McMaster’s cheerleading squad changed its composition this season and has seen immediate returns on that decision.
On Dec. 3, the Maroon and Grey representatives topped the University Small Co-Ed division of the National and Open Championships, surpassing the other four members of the field.
Team member Janelle Smith believes that her team was confident of their chances at the event, as they are perennial powerhouses within the nation’s cheerleading ranks. The move to a co-ed team from the Marauders traditional all-girl competitive make-up also placed them in a smaller field.
“Truthfully, I don’t think we were all that surprised to win,” said Smith of the December event. “We don’t usually compete in the small co-ed division because we’re usually an all-girl team. The last time we were co-ed was three years ago, but this time around we decided to take a few guys along as well.
“We’ve always been a very strong team – even when we were an all-girl team – and the boys only made us stronger. We understand that there’s a good level of competition but we’re confident and we’ve got an incredible coach.”
Smith explains that the transition to a co-ed team allowed the Marauder cheerleaders more flexibility in their selection of routine pieces, an advantage the team used to full effect in competition.
“It matters most in terms of stunts, particularly the number that we’re allowed to have,” said the fourth-year senior. “We’re able to have more if boys are able to be under a stunt by themselves. The same goes for pyramids. We’re able to do more and vary our stunts more.”
In the wake of their national success, the Maroon and Grey received a unique opportunity: the chance to take part in the Universal Cheerleading Association’s World College Cheerleading Championships in Orlando, FL. The Jan. 15 event saw McMaster’s delegation compete against representatives from Asia and the United States.
“There were teams from Puerto Rico, China and a few US teams,” said Smith of the field in Orlando. “UCA was in their first year of running the World division, so it was quite a bit smaller but still a fantastic competition, and they put it on well.”
Not only was the competition located in Orlando, it was actually staged at Disney World, allowing the team a vacation of sorts alongside the event itself. The trip represented an unusually exotic move for a Marauder squad that typically stays closer to home due to funding challenges.
“It was a great experience being at Disney World,” said Smith of the Florida competition. “It came to us very last minute but our coach was thankfully able to pull some strings. When we got the opportunity, we jumped at it.
“We usually travel to two US competitions in the second semester. Usually they’re fairly close in places like Pittsburgh or New York. A few years ago the team went to Myrtle Beach, but getting the opportunity to go to Disney World was pretty intense. A lot depends on what we can afford.”
Beyond their competitive schedule, the Marauder cheerleaders take an active role in charity work with the help of the Mac Athletes Care organization. Smith indicates that such activities are a conscious part of the team’s effort to diversify their operations.
“We have one member in particular – Lauren Hurst – who is part of the Mac Athletes Care program, and she’s sort of our liaison between the team and the charities. Each week she posts and tries to get the team involved.
“We always want to present the image of a well-rounded team that is interested in the wider Hamilton community.”
The Marauders will continue to demonstrate that balanced approach as they compete at the Cheer Evolution Nationals in Kingston and the Kicks Championship in Montreal while maintaining extra-curricular charity events.
