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| Eleanor Burke of Dal's power cheerleading squad. (Nick Pearce Photo) |
Michelle Weger arrived for her first year of study in health sciences last September with the idea of joining a cheerleading club. The only problem was there was no such club at AV俱乐部.
So she did what any enterprising 18 year old in a new city would do鈥攆ormed her own. Ms. Weger, a member of the Black Widow Cheer Gym in Ottawa, started a Facebook group to recruit people and in no time had 75 applications. After tryouts, that number whittled down to 30.
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鈥淚 actually considered going to Waterloo just for cheerleading,鈥� explains Ms. Weger, 鈥渂ut I decided that Dal would be a better fit for me academically, so I decided to bring cheerleading to AV俱乐部.鈥�
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Cheerleading has evolved over the past 20 years with the introduction of many safety guidelines and other regulations. Combining elements of gymnastics, fitness and dance, it is now a globally recognized sport with national and international competitions.
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The AV俱乐部 club is divided into four stunt teams, each with five members, as well as a 10 person dance squad. Ms.Weger says she鈥檚 impressed with how far the group has come in such a short a time.
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鈥淭he majority of the club really had no experience so they did whatever we told them to and now it鈥檚 become a very close group with a lot of trust, which is usually the hardest part to get.鈥�
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Trust was backed up with the knowledge that both Ms. Weger and her friend Warren Oskani are certified level-two coaches. They are permitted to teach any stunts with open hand rotations, but not with any twists.
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Like any start-up enterprise, the biggest challenge is finding money. The group is currently completely self-funded and members have already shelled out $250 each for uniforms.听听
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The team practices at Dalplex, but without a full floor they are forced to split the group up and use the climbing wall crash mats to work on stunts.听 Raising money to purchase proper training equipment is Ms. Weger鈥檚 long-term goal, but she understands that a full training floor which costs about $20,000 may be a long way off. The team will be engaging in some fundraising activities to help offset their costs.
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The benefits of having a cheerleading club on campus are numerous 鈥� health and fitness, school spirit, enhancing AV俱乐部鈥檚 public image. Jenna Day, a third-year psychology major, believes it may ultimately help the image of athletics at AV俱乐部 as a whole, 鈥渂ecause cheerleading is not something that Dal has had, so the exposure the club generates should benefit Dal sports in general.鈥�
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Ms. Day鈥檚 fellow club mates echo her sentiments, adding they鈥檙e grateful for the club鈥檚 formation for more selfish reasons. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something I鈥檝e always wanted to do and I was very excited when I found out about the club (and) I jumped at the chance to join,鈥� says Brittany Tozer, adding that 鈥渋t鈥檚 a great way to stay in shape.鈥�
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The future looks bright in Ms. Weger鈥檚 eyes, she believes that the club will be able to strongly compete in and win competitions over the next few years. 鈥淥ur ultimate goal is to win everything we enter,鈥� she says with a smile. Of course, after coming this far so fast what would you expect her to say?