SHOWTIME AT THE PALACE: 50 cheerleading squads from across Michigan compete in
Auburn Hills

BY MARISOL BELLO

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

December 13, 2004

The Pistons held a competition Sunday and no televised brawl broke out.

Instead, a flurry of fliers, cradlers, tumblers, basket tossers
and spotters took over the court at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Fifty cheerleading squads from throughout the state competed in the 12th
annual Detroit Pistons Cheerleading Invitational.

The added incentive: The winners get to show off their moves before a
hometown audience of 22,000 fans.

The eight winning squads -- one from each division-- will perform before
Thursday's game and during halftime when the Pistons take on the Cleveland
Cavaliers. Game time is 8 p.m.

To get there, squads of up to 16 cheerleaders strutted, leaped, puckered
their lips and winked at the judges during three-minute routines backed by
music medleys made up of hip-hop, hard rock and the Motown sound.

"The girls really turn it on," said Angela Trombley-Goralski,
the founder and director of Cheer One All Stars with locations in Rochester and Shelby
Township.

All-star squads, like Cheer One, participate in competitions; they don't
cheer at school sporting events.

"We exist solely for competition, so it's about the showmanship,"
said Trombley-Goralski. "I tell the girls they
have to be an actress. They have to put on a performance."

Trombley-Goralksi's Cheer One junior squad put on
a showstopper Sunday morning, winning their division for third- through
sixth-graders for the second year in a row.

This year, the squad won with a Motor
City music medley,
relentless back flips, cartwheels, one-person mounts and lots of attitude.

Even for these younger girls, the days of pom-poms and "Gimme a C-H-E-E-R" are long gone.

Megan D'Arcy, 11, of Rochester Hills used to take dancing lessons until she
joined Cheer One this year with her older sister.

"I like that there's dancing, but you get to
do more stunts, there's more variety," Megan said.

Last year, Megan watched from the stands at the Palace as Cheer One
performed their winning routine during a Pistons game.

This year, she's excited about performing herself.

"It's just fun," she said.

And while cheerleading competition is not a big sport in Michigan, those involved in it say it has slowly been growing in popularity.

"I get kids from all over, Canada
and Ohio," said Lea Hebert, owner and
founder of Elite Cheer, a Chesterfield
Township gym devoted
exclusively to cheerleading training and competition.

"It's been popular in the country for the last 10 years. But in Michigan, it's been
taking off more in the last year."

Contact MARISOL BELLO at 313-222-6678 or [email-masked].

Copyright © 2004 Detroit Free
Press Inc.