Cheer to participate in CIF
by Giovanny Martinez
Cheer will be participating in its first California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) season after it officially became a sport as of July 1, 2017.
The cheer team will be entering Competitive Sport Cheer during the spring sports season.
“I am very excited have to cheerleaders compete in CIF this year,” said Vanessa Gomez, cheer instructor. “These are a mix of current cheerleaders and a mix of new people who are not even on the team yet, but we see a lot of potential in them. In terms of a league, we are currently pending; however, our vision is to be at the top and make it to CIF.”
Competitive Sport Cheer contains two categories: stunt and competition. Stunt includes basic two-legged stunts to one-legged extended stunts, or high flying basket tosses.
They display a team’s skills and coordination as they include performances, such as building pyramids. Competition involves multiple cheer teams competing against each other with two-minute routines, which may involve stunts, jumps and tumbling.
The cheer coaches are expected to recruit up to 32 members. Tryouts were held on Tuesday and Thursday earlier this week from 3 to 5 p.m. People who are currently on the cheer team will have to try out as well.
“I was afraid of getting embarrassed,” said junior Ada Hsu. “This is a new experience for me, so I was scared of making a fool of myself. I was intimidated because some of the people trying out were already on the cheer team so they have more experience than me, but I soon became comfortable with the people around me and if I get in, I will be excited for the upcoming competitive season.”
The teams first competition will take place at some time in February. For more information on Competitive Sport Cheer or CIF, the official website is cifstate.org.