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Taylorsville Journal

Cheerleaders compete at nationals

Mar 12, 2018 04:58PM ● By Greg James

The 2017–18 Taylorsville cheerleaders are active in the Taylorsville community by walking in parades and supporting the high school athletic teams. (Charli Cramer/Taylorsville Cheer)

The Taylorsville High School cheer team is scheduled to compete in the USA Spirit Nationals in Anaheim, California.

“Our girls always put in 100 percent. They practice every day early mornings and stay after school,” Warriors head coach Charli Cramer said. “They are constantly conditioning and practicing. They really work on our routines, which can be very hard.”

The Warriors took second at the 2018 state cheer competition in the song leading/pom division. The division includes any crowd-oriented, dance style that is appropriate for timeouts. This division showcases dance skills and has an emphasis on crowd entertainment; no stunts or tumbling are permitted. They are usually appealing to crowds. 

“I always want these girls to have a good attitude and represent our school,” Cramer said. “They go to every single sport event from swimming to tennis matches and everything in between.” 

The cheerleader’s job is to lead the school and represent its student body. The Warriors’ cheerleaders participate in parades and many other community events.

“The school is a big part of the community,” Cramer said. “These girls are right out front for everyone to see.” 

The show cheer and pom team will attend nationals in California. The team represented its school Feb. 23–24 (after press deadline.)

The team is all girls and has 32 team members. Camille Fivecoat is the head cheerleader. 

“Every single one of the girls has above a 3.0 GPA,” Cramer said. “We have several that get straight A’s. They are super smart and very kind.”

The state cheerleading competition was held Jan. 27 at Salt Lake Community College. Cheerleading is not sanctioned by the Utah High School Activities Association. Cheerleaders do provide support to most high school sports by attending games and creating a spirited atmosphere.

Many Utah cheer teams have added the competitive element as part of their teams. They compete in regional and national events. 

“It helps when our girls come to us with some experience, although it is not required,” Cramer said. “There are several pre-high school teams that teach the girls to become better cheerleaders.” 

Cheerleaders from seven countries participated in the Winter Olympics in South Korea. They provided crowd support to the athletes participating in the games. Recently, the California High School Activities Association voted to make cheerleading a sanctioned sport under the high school sports commission.

According to the website statista.com, in 2016, the number of participants (aged 6 and older) in cheerleading amounted to over 4 million, an increase of more than 1 million participants since 2013. Nearly 90 percent of all cheerleaders are girls. 

The governing body, the United States All Star Federation, was founded in 2003 to establish safety regulations and competition standards. 

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