competitive cheerleading at life university
On Monday July 18, some amazing women and one amazing young man assembled for the second tryout in 2011 for competitive cheerleading at Life. The fresh faces of hopeful cheerleaders bore smiles as they learned a dance, two cheers, and how to throw each other up into the air safely. As the evening progressed, Captain Travis France discussed fundraising options, uniform ideas, and cheerleading camp with the squad.
On August 12, the cheerleaders will venture to Myrtle Beach, SC for the National Cheerleading Association’s local cheer camp. This camp will prepare the cheerleaders for the great endeavor of their upcoming cheerleading competitions. The team will compete in the National Cheersport Competition in Atlanta in February, the Atlanta Grand Championship, the Big City Jam Mega Jam Fest Atlanta in November, the Music Jam Nashville in February, and the College Nationals Competition NCA located in Daytona Beach, Florida in April.
The squad has been enthusiastically raising money through bake sales, anonymous donors, and other various fundraisers including cheer camps and a deal on facebook which gives a $50 gift card to a large selection of restaurants with a $20 donation to the cheer team. These funds will go directly towards uniforms, camp, and various other necessary items for the cheerleaders.
The cheerleaders come from various backgrounds. Some have never cheered before attending Life University, and some were collegiate cheerleaders before. Many who joined the squad did so to learn a fun new way to work out and push their bodies past what they previously thought possible.
Ultimately, the cheerleaders function for several reasons. The squad performs essential functions of cheering at basketball games. There are those who hope to expand the cheering events to the rugby games as well. Additionally, the competitions serve to help recruit new students to Life and to educate other athletes about chiropractic. With several of our cheerleaders pursuing DC degrees currently or in the near future, they are able to “talk the ‘TIC” with a large group of athletes who would most definitely benefit from chiropractic care. Any time an athletic team from Life pursues competition outside the school, they open the door for such conversations, and allow students who tend to be undergraduates to see that they can pursue the sport they love after their bachelor’s degree if they choose to pursue one of the graduate level degrees offered here.
While the Life University cheerleading squad might not consist of life-long cheerleaders, they do encompass that which cheerleaders are—athletes who work very hard to produce an amazing result. They bring an atmosphere to sporting events, and provide much-needed optimism around campus. The jovial nature of the sport requires that athletes overcome what emotional issues they might endure to bring out the positive instead. This is a lesson that would benefit all of us to learn.
Pull-outs: The jovial nature of the sport requires that the athletes overcome what emotional issues they might endure and bring out the positive instead.
competitions serve to help recruit new students to Life and to educate other athletes about chiropractic.
The team will compete in the National Cheersport Competition in Atlanta in February, the Atlanta Grand Championship, the Big City Jam Mega Jam Fest Atlanta in November, the Music Jam Nashville in February, and the College Nationals Competition NCA located in Daytona Beach, Florida in April.
