Late last month, the TRU WolfPack Cheerleaders earned bronze in the University World Cup Cheerleading Championships in Florida for their premier small co-ed division and seventh place for the small co-ed game day division. The competition took place Jan. 17-19 in Orlando.
The 34 athletes and two teams from TRU set a program record for their premier small co-ed division by earning bronze on the podium at the competition. Not only did they make program history, but this was the first time the teams competed in both co-ed divisions. TRU was just one of two Canadian schools in their division and the only one from Western Canada.
Meaghan Blakely/Submitted
Preparing for competitions of this calibre takes months of training. To help ensure the team is ready for the competitive pressure, the WolfPack coaching staff try to simulate a competition environment to prepare their athletes. Creating “ high pressurized environments, like showcases,” Meaghan Blakely, co-head coach and program director, said. “This can help athletes learn what they may be like within a competitive environment.”
At Worlds’, teams only get 12 minutes to warm up before performing their routine.
“Our coaches do a really good job of recreating that environment for us in practice,” said Ian Brown, a first-year on the premier and game-day teams. “We do a dynamic warmup and stretch… then we do a modified full-out of the routine.”
Canadian teams face a special challenge when competing against many top teams in the U.S., as the American cheer competition season starts earlier in the school year and ends in January after the World competition. For Canadian universities, it’s the opposite, with the season beginning in January at the World Competition.
“You’re kind of going in blind. The routine hadn’t been scored yet. For some of the athletes, it was their first time competing ever in the sport,” Blakely said.
Meaghan Blakely/Submitted
With routines lasting just over two minutes, the work can be pretty intense. Each athlete on the mat pushes their body to the limit during the short but demanding performance, as routines are made up of tumbling, stunts, jumps, and synchronized choreography.
“ I’m throwing an athlete… 15-20 feet in the air, and then I’m trying to do that multiple times for three minutes,” Brown said. “It’s difficult and takes a lot of endurance and muscle.”
It’s hard to ensure everything is perfect within those few short minutes. Still, both WolfPack teams hit zero, meaning no deductions were made during their sets. “Immediately after my group hit all of our stunts, I felt really excited,” Brown said.
With a hard-fought competition, TRU wasn’t sure where they would place. “Our competitors performed and they looked good, like really good,” Blakely said. “We didn’t really know what to expect score-wise from the judges.”
When the first Canadian team was called, Brown said he held his breath until they announced the other school. “Then they announced a USA team in fourth place, and I knew we had at least medaled. I think our whole collective group was more excited to get bronze than some of the teams were to get silver.”
The TRU WolfPack cheerleaders will compete in two more competitions in Vancouver this season, where they will face teams like UBC, SFU, and UVIC.