07.05.09
NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleaders rock the UK
As part of the NFL Bucs cheer girls‘ UK tour this week, they dropped by three primary schools in three different cities to teach youngsters all about the sport.
The Bucs were over drumming up support for their team before they come back over on October 25th to host the New England Patriotsat Wembley – the third annual NFL match-up that the UK has seen in recent years.
As a former cheerleader, it was hugely rewarding to be able to set up these school camps, and show young kids first hand what cheerleading can bring. I was only given the opportunity at uni and I wished so much that squads had been active and available when I was little too.
But what was most heart-warming was Head Teacher of Newcastle’s Wingrove Primary, Denise Harland’s glowing endorsement of the girls when they came to visit the school – hopefully dispelling the renowned air-head myths surrounding the cheer community:
“It’s a great opportunity to have the cheerleaders come into the school and show the children a different side of sport. These girls are very fit, articulate and fun, and it’s gives our children an idea of what sport can offer. They need to see and experience as broad a range of activities as possible and are very fortunate to have been part of the Buccaneers tour.”
Bring it on.
04.14.09
The Sunday Times Magazine showcases champion cheerleaders
© Joachim Ladefoged/VII, for The New York Times
How I love it when the national UK press features cheerleading – believe me, it is a rare occurrence.
This weekend, my eye was caught by a double page photo spread no less in the Spectrum section of The Sunday Times Magazine, featuring the image above. Albeit that the image is not exactly recent – Ladefoged’s shot was originally taken for a New York Times feature on the Kentucky athletes in September of 2005- but it does showcase the colourful, fun vibrancy of the sport and, of course, the immense athletic prowess required to perfect the partner stunt (for cheer ignorami amongst you, the image above features 5 simultaneous partner stunts in mid-flight).
Interesting facts were included in the ST Mag caption too:
Members of the University of Kentucky team practise their high-flying routine before the national cheerleading championships. Although 97% of competitors are female, the physical demands of stunts mean that men are often recruited. Surprisingly, cheerleading began as an all-male pursuit, with the first females participating in the 1920s. The University of Kentucky team is seen as the best in the US, having won the championships 14 times in the past 17 years.
For those who aren’t regular readers of the ST Magazine, Spectrum is a section dedicated to the week’s news photographic highlights – so I was pretty proud to see the US Nationals (from April 5) selected to feature as one.
Go Wildcats!
04.05.09
A little nostalgia for the Brighton Tsunami Wavettes class of 2005
The Tsunami Wavettes sideline c.January 2005 (yes, we were as cold as we look)
I really have no idea what prompted me to post this today. I suppose recently I have been thinking about a return to the world of cheer performance, given how much I miss it, but mostly I just enjoy looking back at what was without a doubt the Best Year Ever.
Rather than ramble on endlessly about why, I wanted to bring back into circulation our unofficial song from that year, which quite frankly sums up all the best bits of the season. For guidance, it’s to be sung to the tune of Don McLean’s American Pie (in honour of Wavettes founder Kristina Hultman) – the short version, not the 5 hour one, though granted we probably could have found enough material to fill the long one too.
Anyway, as we bottled out of singing it at the 2005 Awards Dinner, here it is in it’s entirety. Enjoy – we certainly did…
The Greatest Year of Our Lives
A long, long time ago, we can still remember
How it felt to be the winning side.
The Stags and Kent were washed away
The yards were gained, the plays were made
A season full of promise, started well.
Then someone had the bright idea
Of bringing girls along to cheer,
But with this ‘good luck’ token
Their winning streak got broken.
But on they fought and on they played
Against Bullets, Stingers, Wolves and Blades.
They fought and lost, but still got laid
And so, the cheeries stayed..My, My, Brighton Tsunami guys
Never weaken when they’re beaten and will always aim high
Win or lose we all still have a good time
And it’s been the greatest year of our lives
It’s been the greatest year of our livesDid you learn the sacred ways
Of peaks and troughs in that book of plays
Cos Coach Chris told you so?
Or were you out all night again
At the Honey with Ali, Nick and Ben?
(Where they go to dance together real slow)
Cos Wednesday Nights are why we’re here
Forget the game, embrace the beer
The game is what we cheer for
But it’s the socials that we live for… and
Though the President is drunk by ten
And the Social Sec is late again
And there are fights and tears every now and then
Still, the cheeries stayBecause we know that: My, My, Brighton Tsunami guys
Never weaken when they’re beaten and will always aim high
Win or lose we all still have a good time
And it’s been the greatest year of our lives
It’s been the greatest year of our lives.For the Warwick game we were up at 3
On the coach for hours, stopping just to pee,
Hawaiian was the game-day theme.
From the sideline we all cheered our best
But Warwick put us to the test
And soon, it looked like another defeat..
But as those Wolves were looking down
Potter waved his wand around
Tsunami took the lead
But the Wolves caught up with speed..
To the Superbowl we fled with glee
Where the boys all drank until they couldn’t see
And though the girls wound up in A&E
Still, the cheeries stayed.And so we sing it: My, My, Brighton Tsunami guys
Never weaken when they’re beaten and will always aim high
Win or lose we all still have a good time
And it’s been the greatest year of our lives
It’s been the greatest year of our livesRemember, now the season’s done
With battles lost but Little Victories won
You’re still the best team in the league.
It’s not about the final score,
Who won and lost on that field of war,
It’s all about the spirit of the team.
But there’s rumour of a cheerie curse:
That girls in skirts just make things worse;
That player interaction
Is just one big distraction..But jinx and curses cast away
We know you’ll win the league someday
Tsunami can go all the way
That’s why we cheeries stay.And we’re still singing: My, My, Brighton Tsunami guys
Never weaken when they’re beaten and will always aim high
Win or lose we all still have a good time
And it’s been the greatest year of our lives -
It’s been the greatest year of our lives.
