Mitch Calvert
The Muskie cheerleaders capped off a memorable year at the North Regional Cheerleading Competition in Thunder Bay on Sunday.
The squad, comprised of 20 rookies and five veterans, was one of 17 from schools and clubs all over Northwestern Ontario, and the competition was a good learning experience for the revamped team.
“They were really enthusiastic, got to see what these other experienced teams were doing,” staff advisor Mary Jarvis said.
“They hadn’t seen a lot of cheerleading before in competition, so they didn’t really have a sense of the sort of things they could be doing,” she added. “But the competition ignited some enthusiasm for things they could be doing here.”
The Muskies placed a respectable third in the intermediate “large girl” field (a category for teams with at least 25 members).
The cheerleaders were a fixture at Muskie home games all year long, filling the courts and arenas with positive reinforcement.
“This is the first year in several years where they’ve been a cheering squad, not just a competitive squad, so this was a change for them,” Jarvis noted.
“We had a number of parents and players who said they were quite happy that they had been out at the games.”
The squad is led by a revamped coaching staff including head coach Gillian Piccinato and assistants Sherri Puddicombe, Missy Woolsey, and Carrie Stinson.
Jarvis and long-time advisor Joyce Scott (who is retiring from her role after a decade with the team) would like to thank all the girls who finished off the season with such class and style.
“They start right at the beginning of September and go all the way through to mid-March, so it’s a long season for them,” Jarvis noted.
“We were pretty much starting from scratch, had a total change in coaching staff, and that brought a new mood and new way of looking at things.”
Tryouts for next year’s squad will take place in May.
