‘The culmination of the year’

Oakland
Activities Association cheer teams gear up for league meet

By Sue Teggart

C & G Sports Writer

Photo
by Patricia O’Blenes

The Rochester High competitive cheer squad shows its pep during its
winning routing at the first Oakland Activities Association Red Division
meet Jan. 14. The Falcons will vie for a league crown Feb. 7 at the
league championship meet at Troy High.

TROY — When it comes to
competitive cheerleading, Oakland County is home
to some of the best squads in the state.

On Feb. 7, fans can catch a host of talented teams right in their own backyard, as the annual Oakland
Activities Association’s league championship meet gets under way at 10 a.m. at Troy High.

Teams from the OAA Red Division start off the competition;
White and Blue division teams get going at 2 p.m.

For teams that are vying for a division title, a clean
performance on this day could mean the difference between going home with
championship hardware or empty-handed.

What makes the championship so special is the double point
values teams can earn for how they finish.

Teams from each division have already competed in two league
meets and were awarded points — first place collected five points,
second place tallied four, and so on until sixth place, which received zero
points.

The third and final league meet is the championship.

At the end of the meet, points from all three meets are added
together to determine the champion of each division. If there is a tie
using the point system, the round scores from all three meets are
added together to determine a winner.

“The championship is the most important meet of our
season because it’s worth double,” Troy High coach and
tournament host Beth Campbell said. “It’s kind of like the
culmination of the year.”

“Doing well in our league is probably more important than
any other competition we enter because its based on schools that are of similar size and ability to us,” said Berkley coach
Karen Hathaway.

With the league crowns on the line, many teams plan to pull
out all the stops.

“You might see some stunts that you’ve never seen
before that teams are finally just
incorporating,” Campbell said.
“I think it should be pretty intense competition.”

Though high-flying stunts add flair, consistency is the
benchmark that every team strives for. Teams like Rochester High, Troy
Athens and Lake Orion High — which regularly qualify for the state
finals — have set the standard.

Hazel Park coach
Sarah Gallardo said simple routines that are also crowd pleasing should
prevail.

“All judges want is clean, solid routines …
because that’s what hits and that’s what scores well,”
Gallardo said. “Really, going out there and having a clean routine,
versus something out of your reach, is what it takes.”

“What’s worked for us so far is just being
clean,” Hathaway added. “We’re not going to worry about
hitting difficult stunts. It’s better to be clean and get all the
points you can on execution than put stuff out there that might look good
to the crowd but that the girls might not perform well.”

Whether fans come out for spectacular stunts or clean
routines, one thing is certain: Oakland County is a
hotbed for action-packed cheerleading.

“There are six teams in the Red Division, and (four) of
those are ranked in the state,” Campbell said.
“It’s the highest caliber of cheerleading there is.”

The host of talent includes perennial favorite and No.
1-ranked Rochester High — according to the Michigan High School
Cheerleading Jan. 26 rankings — No. 4 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek,
No. 6 Lake Orion, and Troy, which was honorable mention earlier in the
season.

With so much talent in one place, the league championship
certainly makes for good preparation for the upcoming district tournament,
which gets started Feb. 18.

“I think our league is tougher than most districts,
because the high caliber teams are more spread out when it comes to
districts,” Campbell said.
“A lot of the stronger schools are right in Oakland County.”

When the competition begins, it’s all about vying for
that title, but that doesn’t mean that the coaches and cheerleaders
alike don’t thoroughly enjoy themselves.

“At the league championship, fans are expecting us to
put everything on the floor,” Gallardo said. “I’m just
amazed, especially with Division 1 schools. I’m a huge fan.”