Matrix flip to sixth

Times Reporter     

 

For the Strathmore Matrix Cheer Team’s last competition of the year, the team placed a respectable sixth out of more than 100 teams in Edmonton on April 12.

“We did really good,” head coach Cassi Weiss said. “It was the team’s best performance of the year, so I’m really proud of them. There was lots of competition, but we finished with a finalist trophy.”

The team of 19 – 18 girls and one boy – ranged from 6-years-old to 15-years-old, and progressed largely from the start of the year.

“At the beginning of the season, many of them came in with no experience at all. By the end, they had full skill levels with tumbling and backhand springs,” Weiss said. “We’re a Level 2 team, so that means we build stunts up to extension levels, where the arms are at full length over your head.”

Registration is now open for the 2014-2015 squad, whose season begins on June 2.

“There are various tryouts, but we try to do it more like placements,” Weiss said. “We just like to see what team you’d fit best on.”

Weiss hopes to move from this season’s one squad with a wide age range, to a few smaller teams next season. For the first time since Matrix began, the Cheer Team is hoping for a Level 3 group, who would perform back tucks and twisting skills.

“Cheerleading is a great sport for self-confidence,” Weiss said. “It’s a good team sport that has lots of different areas for different skills and body types; and it’s a sport for girls and boys, so it’s great for everyone to come together.”

Weiss is in her third year with Matrix and said, “I’m really looking forward to next season.