Cedar
Springs denied state nod via controversial ruling; Cheer

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Newspapers, March 02, 2009

Cedar Springs'
eighth-year competitive cheer coach Pam Ingles has seen a lot of different things
in her coaching career, but never what happened after the MHSAA Division 2
regional championships at Caledonia last Saturday afternoon.

With the top four teams
advancing to the MHSAA state championship at the DeltaPlex next Saturday, Mount Pleasant won the regional with 764.7
points, but after that, the controversy begins.

"I have never seen a
ruling changed after the fact," Ingles said. "It states right in
the rulebook that a penalty cannot be challenged or changed. Both Grand
Rapids Christian and Mason were penalized and had their safety penalties
reduced after their coaches complained to the judges, which is totally
against the rules. Christian had a 32-point penalty reduced to 16 points and
Mason had a 16-point penalty reduced to eight points."

Grand Rapids Christian
placed second with 744.7 points. Kenowa Hills placed third with a 744.4
tally, while Mason qualified for the state meet with 743.1 fourth-place
score.

Cedar Springs finished
fifth with 742.4 points, but would have finished third if both penalties were
enforced to its fullest value, with Kenowa Hills moving to second place. Sparta placed sixth with 733.2 points.

"Our goal at the
beginning of the season was to go to the state meet at the DeltaPlex,"
Ingles said. "We just missed out of the competition last year by a
couple of points, and now this controversy. We're trying to get competitive
cheer recognized as a sport and this controversy set us back a lot.

"The parents got
involved and there was a lot of arguing. It wasn't pretty, that's for sure.
Our appeal is going to Kathy Westdorp of the MHSAA,
and possibly all the way to Jack Roberts, the (executive director) of the
MHSAA, but we won't know anything until Monday."

Cedar Springs, which has
no seniors on the team, were led by juniors Dakota Dombak,
Jessica Lewis, Sam Kinney, and Ginda Farnsworth.

"Our girls competed
hard and I hope we can compete in the state competition," Ingles said.
"I don't wish anything bad against the girls from Grand Rapids Christian
or Mason, but our girls deserve to compete. If things don't go our way, we
don't sit and cry about it or stomp our feet and whine about it. How we
handle ourselves in adverse situation is an example that we need to show our
kids.

"We're hoping that
the MHSAA would allow us to compete as an extra team. That way, it would be
fair to all concerned."