On December 7th, 2024 around 2:40 p.m. Alta’s JV cheer team came onto the mat roaring with spirit and excitement. They performed an incredible routine featuring a solid pyramid and an outstanding running tumbling sequence. Overall they hit zero! This means they got zero total deductions from their routine. By the time awards were announced for JV’s division everyone was ecstatic to see the results. In the end, JV took home 1st place.
“Cheerleading is a numbers game, it’s about individual skills combining as a team to be successful,” said Annaje Vandertoolen, Alta Cheer Coach “ This makes cheerleading heavily dependent on individuals working together as a team.”
During these regional competitions, these girls will get a total of 7 minutes to warm up every skill in their routine including tumbling, jumps, and stunts. As they enter the loud warm-up rooms they have to have all their focus on the skill they are performing in the routine. The pressure is on to have a good warm-up and prove to the other teams in the warm-up room that there will be a fight for first place. These girls get a two-and-a-half-minute routine to display the skills they have been working on for months. The skills they have to have in a routine include standing tumbling, running tumbling, a main stunt sequence, a jump sequence, a pyramid, and a dance.
“My expectations for both teams are to have a successful season whatever that may mean,” said Atlanta Baker, Alta Cheer Coach. “ Of course I want to win nationals but, more than that I want them to feel accomplished.”
Later that day, the Varsity team took the mat at around 4:50 p.m. They came on with a strong cheer to set the stage for the rest of their routine. In their routine, they had one tumble touch in running tumbling and a bobble in the main stunt. A tumble touch is exactly what it sounds like, it’s where you touch the ground with your hands out of a tumbling pass. A stunt bobble is when a stunt almost falls but is saved. Even with both incidents, there was only a one-point deduction, and at awards, it was announced that our Varsity team got 2nd place along with a bid to nationals in Anaheim, California.
At this same competition last season our JV team got 2nd and our Varsity team got 4th place. It’s amazing to see the contrast that only a year creates. These girls have worked so hard and we are so excited to see their routine in January.
USA (United Spirit Association) Cheer was founded in 1950 by Robert Olmsted and has been training cheerleaders at cheer camps and hosting competitions since. Inside the USA corporation, there are a variety of different categories you can compete in. Today, there are over 10 million cheerleaders across all continents. This year our Alta Cheer team will compete via USA Cheer in two regional competitions, a national competition in Anaheim, California, and Varsity in state competitions.
