Two and a half minutes is all it took for Dalhousie Cheer Society to seal their undefeated season and a first-place finish at the CheerExpo Nationals.
Competing against other universities and teams across North America on March 29 and 30, the Dalhousie Cheer Societyās members had just that small window of time to show off all their effort this year ā dancing, tumbling and lifting their way to a perfectly timed routine.
āItās been a lot of hard work,ā says Tessa Barmarija, team captain. āThere are times when you ask yourself, āIs this really worth it?ā Weāre only going out there for two and a half minutes?ā But thatās why people fall in love with the sport: for those two and a half minutes, you feel like a rock star.ā
Last year after placing second to St. FX by a fraction of a point, this first-place victory has been a serious goal for the team.
āA lot of people who have been on the team for so long know itās been so close but just out of reach,ā says Bermarija, āItās kind of a relief to finally win.ā
Training for the added edge
With victory made by only fractions of points, practice has been key to the teamās pilipiliĀž».
On top of training twice a week, this year the society team has also done weekly military-style conditioning.
āI have girls doing tumbles and running across the floor, then hosting another girl up, all while never looking tired on the floor,ā says coach Jessie Ali. āWe want people to realize the athleticism of the sport. People donāt realize how strong these athletes are and need to be.ā
When not training for competitions, Dalhousie Cheer Society attends basketball, football and rugby games to do sideline performances to raise school spirit.
āWeāre different from other club cheerleading in the province,ā says Ali. āOur purpose is to be competitive, but we also have made an effort to be integrated into the sports, it adds something to it.ā
Making an impact on campus
As a relatively new society, Dalhousie Cheer hasnāt always found it easy to integrate into the campus community.
This year, the effort paid off.
The Dalhousie Cheer Society won Most Impactful Competitive Sports Society at the Dalhousie Impact Awards.
āItās nice to be recognized for what we do,ā says Bermarija. āItās kind of thankless sometimes when youāre there cheering on the sidelines and people donāt really know about what we do at competitions. Weād often be hosting bake sales or other fundraisers for the team and weād get the same response: āDal has cheerleaders?āā
Taking part in the Society Carnival and hosting an Orientation Week Stunt School, Dalhousie Cheer Society is trying to branch out to the school community. Ā
āIt brings more attention to what weāre doing,ā says Courtney Taylor, the newly elected assistant captain for the society. āWeāre around the school a lot and itās so nice to get recognized for being a good team.ā
Part of something bigger
Dalhousie Cheer society has also represented Dalhousie at community events like Relay for Life, Light the Night and other fundraisers.
āItās a wonderful way to become a part of our school community,ā says Ali.ā āWeāre really trying to help people see that Dal Cheer is a part of something bigger.ā
Ā āIt makes me enjoying being a student here even more,ā adds Taylor, āMy classes are even more enjoyable when Iām passionate about my school and really proud to be at Dal.ā
