Matrix Cheer Platinum Elite brings home bronze
By Adelle Ellis, Times Reporter
Photo Courtesy of Strathmore Matrix Cheer
The 16 young cheerleaders, ranging in age from 11 to 17, jumped, tumbled and performed serious stunts to win the third-place title in the Senior 2 All Star category.
Strathmore Matrix Cheer houses five Allstar teams as well as offering recreational tumbling classes and cheerleading. Only the senior team competed in nationals this year.
The team entered the competition having mastered their skills and with a strong record for their season. Prior to nationals, the Platinum Elite team entered eight competitions and cartwheeled away with five first-place finishes and two second-place finishes.
“I believe the reason we had such a successful season is because we have really trained to master our skills, the team is very driven to succeed – they work together and compete as though as they are one,” said head coach Cassi Weiss, who added that finishing third in all of Canada at nationals was the icing on the cake.
She attributes the team’s success to the young athletes being well-rounded in all skills of jumping, tumbling and stunts.
The team performed one two minute 30 second routine to a compilation of both well-known songs and personalized lyrics. The routine they performed has taken shape over the season to increase the difficulty in the stunts and tumbling to try to build better athletes.
With the goal of winning and coming out of the competition as national champions, the Platinum Elite team nearly saw that coveted first-place finish before being barely edged out by a familiar team from Calgary.
On the first day of the competition the Platinum Elite team was sitting in first place. Due to an unfortunate stunt fall on the second day of the competition, the team dropped 0.75 points to secure the third-place title in all of Canada – no small feat.
The Platinum Elite also saw some other victories during the weekend as they received their first ever perfect five rating for their basket tosses on both days of the competition.
One athlete attributes the team’s willingness to focus on the little things that counted and to work on the corrections the judges suggested to make their routine cleaner as part of their success.
“I think our performance at nationals was amazing … my favourite part was probably the atmosphere we were surrounded in; cheer is a sport that everyone is one big family,” said 15-year-old backspot Alyssa Poole, who has been competing in cheer for four years.
Poole said her favourite part about cheer is the bond one makes with their teammates and how they become a second family. It is also a sport where you can let out all your frustration and forget about your stress and instead just have fun with your friends.
“This group of athletes this year was amazing; we all worked together so nicely and the bond we all had was amazing,” said Poole. “My cheer team is like a second family to me; the gym is like a second home. It has become such a huge part of my life and I don’t know what I would do without it.”