September 13, 2000
Competition a reason for good cheer
Cheerleading squads strut their stuff at mall contest
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
There's never a quiet moment at a cheerleading competition. Not one.
First, there is each squad's presentation, where between 12-20 girls try to raise the roof as they showcase their high-octane pep. Then, in lulls between performances where the judges scribble notes, cheers spontaneously circle the room. Occasionally, members of a squad cannot stop themselves from leaping up to lead the assembled in another cheer.
Even as a squad queues up to take the floor, members of other squads' cheer them on, inciting them to even greater heights of spirit.
For the cheerleaders, the experience could be summed up by one squad's chant:
"We cheer because we have to."
For two hours Saturday morning at the Grand Traverse Mall, the walls reverberated with this mandate as more than a dozen varsity and junior varsity cheerleading squads from around northern Michigan came for the Fall Spirit Festival. Cheerleader teams came to strut their stuff from as near as Traverse City and Suttons Bay and as far away as Petoskey, Alpena and Roscommon.
"We decided that Traverse City would be a great place to showcase cheerleading," said Heather Prentice of Chicago, who co-founded of PR Cheer this year with a friend to provide a competitive cheerleading forum. "These competitions provide the teams with unity on a different level than just the football game."
Representing their hometown, the cheerleaders from West High School joined the competition at the last minute. Despite their late night on Friday cheering their team to victory at Thirlby Field, they exuded boundless energy and enthusiasm for the judges.
"The competition was a great learning experience and I love the enthusiasm and everybody's spirit," said Lindsey Emanuel, a junior at West High School starting her second season of cheerleading. "We always learn a few cheers here, we try to memorize what we like and learn from other squads."
Coach Lori Tulgestke noted that she wanted her team to participate in the competition even though they are a game squad and do not gear their cheers to competitions. She views her team's fourth place showing in the Class A varsity competition as a learning experience, another step in the team's development.
"This isn't really our style of cheering but it is a good opportunity for us," said Tulgestke, who cheered at Traverse City Senior High and Alma College. "We just decided last night to compete and it was a chance for us to get out there and show what we could do."
So what do judges look for when evaluating a squad?
Perk is not everything, said veteran judge Julie Smith of Kalamazoo, who was a high school cheerleader and is now a cheerleading coach. Judges evaluate a squad's use of space on the floor, their motion techniques, unity and timing of moves and their skills at stunts, including jumps, tumbling and flying (a cheerleading term for stacking up two or three people high.)
Then there is that less quantifiable quality of team spirit, which is the foundation of any cheerleading squad.
"In just about everything they are doing there should be unity," Smith said.
The spirit of unity is the core of cheerleading and extends beyond individual teams during events such as these, Smith noted.
"One of the unique things about our sport is that even when competing against one another, it's about sportsmanship," she said.
Indeed, unity and communication are crucial when hoisting and catching girls in the sport's trademark human pyramids. Trusting your teammates while falling into their arms from 12 feet off the floor takes practice and skill.
"Cheerleading is mostly fun but it is challenging," said Lindsey Beers, a junior at West High School who has been on the squad for three seasons. "The stunting is one of the hardest aspects and communication is very important to make sure no one falls and that everyone works together."