Winning ways for local cheerleading squads
By Janet Kanters, Editor
Photo Courtesy of MCA
In mid-February, the MCA Platinum Elite team took third place in Las Vegas, a competition that featured close to 150 teams.
The JAMZ All-Star Nationals was an “open” nationals competition held Feb 15-16. There was no qualification requirement to register for the event. But Tabatha Poole with MCA said the competition was fierce – and fun.
“It’s one of the major competitions in the U.S.,” she said. “There are teams from all over Canada, the States, Mexico. This competition is known for the atmosphere and the athletes are treated really well.”
MCA’s Platinum Elite team members range in age from 10-16. According to Poole, the team – comprised of girls – train hard. And it pays off. Besides the vast amount of exercise the sport provides, the teamwork is second to none.
“The team bonding is really great for them,” said Poole. “They also get to experience new places. Down in the U.S., cheer is huge. And they, as crazy as it sounds, have cheer celebrities. Our kids have got to meet a lot of them and the experiences they’ve had meeting people is great, along with the places they’ve gone … it’s really cool to see.”
MCA has been around for about nine years now. The organization includes a competitive cheer program, which the Platinum Elite belong to, as well as a recreational cheer program.
“In the recreational program, you come and learn the sport of cheerleading, but you don’t go to any competitions,” said Poole. “Within the competitive part of Strathmore Matrix Cheer, we have five teams: Tiny Treasures and they range in age from 3.5-6, Mini Iridescence is 6-8, Youth Radiance is 8-11, Junior Elegance is ages 10 to 14 and Platinum Elite is ages 10-16.”
There are about 65 athletes in MCA’s competitive program, and organizers continue to grow it. The opportunities for excellent training and competition are high.
“Last year, our platinum team went to Niagara Falls for the Canadian National Championships, and we came in third in our division,” said Poole. “We were against teams from Toronto, Ottawa, etc. All these teams we were against had a population of two million or more. And we came in third place. So that’s how competitive our team is.
“We also just had our two youngest teams, our tiny team and our mini team, in Red Deer earlier this month (February), and they both placed first in their division,” added Poole.
MCA’s competitive program season starts in September with training. From January through to April, the teams take part in many and varied competitions.
Coming competitions include the Warman (Sask.) Cheer Classic from March 6-8, in which MCA’s Platinum Elite, Junior Elegance and Youth Radiance teams will be competing. March 14 is Stampede City Showdown in Calgary and all five competitive teams from MCA will compete. From April 3-5, Junior Elegance and Platinum Elite will be travelling to Niagara Falls, Ont. for the Canadian Cheer Nationals. And finally, Mini Iridescence, Youth Radiance and Junior Elegance will compete April 17-18 at the A.C.E competition in Edmonton.
To learn more about Strathmore Matrix Cheer All-Stars, visit strathmorematrixcheer.com.