Competitive cheer shows no sign of slowing

Tuesday,
December 14, 2004By Dean Holzwarth

The Grand Rapids Press

When competitive cheer
became an official Michigan High School Athletic Association sport in
November 1993, there were mixed feelings about how the sport would be
received.

As competitive cheer
enters its 11th year of existence, there has been steady support and
participation, and a recent survey states that it is thriving at a stunning
rate.

According to the National
Federation of State High School Associations' 2003-04 sports participation
survey, competitive cheer is the fastest-growing high school sport for girls
nationally.

"I think the first
five years of competitive cheer was more of a let's-see-what-happens
attitude, but this sport has shown that it's not going to go away," Comstock Park coach Kathy Felty said.
"It's growing and I can see it increasing every year. It's big and our
school loves to host competitions. There are huge crowds that come and the
revenue from concessions and ticket sales is amazing."

Competitive cheer now ranks
as the 10th most popular sport for girls in terms of school sponsorship and
ninth most popular in terms of participants, according to the survey.

Growing the sport

Longtime Grandville coach
Julie Smith-Boyd said the sport has come a long way in the past decade.

"Before it was a
sport that we had to talk people into going to, but I think once they see it
they have a new respect for it," Smith-Boyd said. "There's a
certain drama to it and it's just different. It's not a sport that everyone
understands like basketball and there's a performance atmosphere to it.

"At the beginning I
think it was kind of boring and slower, but new rules have been put out to
make it more interesting and more exciting."

Felty also said the
energy and sport's up-tempo nature have made it a crowd favorite.

"It's
non-stop action and you're seeing eight to 12 girls at one time doing so many
things," Felty said. "It's the excitement of it and there is not a
lot of down time."

The growth of the sport
and its following were never more evident than at last school year's state
finals hosted by Walker's
DeltaPlex.

Competitive cheer set
attendance records at both regionals and the state
finals, and the estimated 5,000 on hand to witness the finals was the highest
of all Michigan High School Athletic Association girls
tournaments in 2003-04 except for basketball.

"The support has
been awesome," said Grandville senior Amanda Ward, who was a member of
last year's Class A state championship team. "It makes it fun and we
never expected the place to be full at the state finals. It was packed and it
makes us feel good when we get the chance to perform in front of so many
people."

Breaking down barriers

Increased skills among
all teams and a stronger dedication to strength training also have dispelled
the previous notion that cheerleaders aren't athletes.

"It's not like it
was when their parents were cheerleaders," Felty said. "It's a
sport now and we get kids who are real athletes and they get the same
accolades as other sports such as all-conference and all-state."

Forty schools have added
the sport this season, making competitive cheer the fastest-growing sport in Michigan, as well.

There are 186 teams
across the state that will compete in the 2004-05 season. The sudden surge in
popularity and participation isn't surprising to Rockford coach Kathy Jo Resseguie,
who has noticed a change in the sport since she competed at Grandville in
1993-94.

"I'm more excited
than anything because it shows that our sport is growing," Resseguie said. "I cheered the first year
competitive cheer came out and it's nice to see how much it's grown and how
much more recognized it has become. I hope it continues and will eventually
be recognized in all schools the way basketball and volleyball is."

© 2004 Grand Rapids Press.
Used with permission

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