Blue Mountain Cheerleading Wrap up
Varsity Cheerleaders Lexi Ball (top), Rachel Frey (bottom left) Sarah Frey (bottom right) and Kaylee Hillesland (back) preforming an extension stunt for Mill River High School’s Cheerleading competition.
March 13, 2023
Blue Mountain’s cheerleading teams consist of eight varsity members (8-12) and nineteen minis (k-8). Co-captain Rachel Frey, a varsity cheerleader, says “Blue Mountain cheerleading has been mostly positive. I work with many talented women and men who have always supported me in cheer, and out of it, it’s a great community to be a part of. ” Blue Mountain’s cheerleading season lasts from August through February, being both a sideline and a competitive team. Throughout history there have been many misconceptions about the sport, “Although cheerleading sounds like we just dance around all day we put in as much effort as every other sports team we have 2 hours of practice every day but once a week we do conditioning like all teams do,” Frey explains, “it takes a lot of muscle and balance, we put a whole routine together in two months to compete against other teams”
The cheerleading season starts out with creating, re-creating, and perfecting their competition routine for the fall months, with competitions taking place in the winter. The varsity team was able to attend three competitions this year while the minis faced scheduling complications, limiting them to one competition. February 18th was the Vermont State Cheerleading Championship, Blue Mountain Varsity was short by two cheerleaders due to injury, and they were left with no choice but to revise the routine just hours before competing. The latest cheerleading event was a cheer show, exhibiting what both the mini team and the varsity have been working on this year. Both teams performed their competition routines, which consisted of a dance, stunts (a vital part of cheerleading, usually involving up to four bases holding or tossing another cheerleader in the air) a pyramid (a two-part stunt that is connected), and a cheer. Also at the cheer show, the varsity team demonstrated the half-time routine they do for basketball games. Frey says “This year has been my favorite year, I’m surrounded by many friends and this year our school has been more excepting of cheerleaders. Our team is like one big friend group.” With a rollercoaster of a season, four new varsity members, and thirteen new minis, Blue Mountain cheerleaders have persevered making for a great season.
