Sylvan Lake trio earn silver at international cheerleading competition

Three girls from Sylvan Lake participated in the Cheerleading Worlds competition held in Orlando, Florida from April 21 to 24.

During the competition, the girls participated with their team based out of Edmonton which became the first team from Alberta to win a silver medal on the Worlds stage.

The experience was a rewarding one, Halle Murray said.

“To be the first cheer team in Alberta to win the silver medal is just a rewarding feeling to know that the hard work paid off and we get to have that moment with our team to celebrate it.”

At the event, seven other All-Star cheer teams competed in the most prestigious invite-only cheer competition in the world the girls told Sylvan Lake News.

“The experience was like what you would expect it to be, overwhelming, but as soon as you are able to look at the stage and everything it’s like the thought comes oh, I’ve done this before,” Tayler Lambert said.

“The goals are definitely different in Canada, our goals when we are competing in Alberta is to first get invited to go to worlds and just increase our score in every competition. Once you get to worlds the goal is to do your best it’s not really about the scores anymore.”

Although the experience was overwhelming it was also an exciting one, Halle Murray said.

“It’s an exciting experience, all of your friends and family come to watch you so it’s just rewarding.”

During the competition each team only gets a certain amount of performances, Lambert said.

“You get to do two performances and on the first day you have to make finals.”

The performances are scored based on points for every section of the routine at the highest difficulty, Murray said.

“The difficulty rating is called a RAW score so your RAW score is before your deductions so you’ll get your RAW score and then when you add your deductions that determines where you sit for placements.”

For the three girls who began their cheer journey in Red Deer before making it to the international stage, on a team based out of Edmonton, there are many moments that will always be remembered.

“My top moment from the experience was the end of our routine when on day two everyone was so happy for us for how we performed and you could see all their faces in the crowd,” Lambert said.

“My top moment was just being with out team after our performance because we are all so close and that’s when you know that your whole season just like paid off,” Murray said.

“For me, every single moment before it ended was my top moment because it was all worth it and all the people on are team are so amazing, I wouldn’t trade them for anything,” Wynnyk said.

Cheerleading is more than just a sport, Murray said.

“The bonds people make through cheerleading are just different. We all met through cheerleading and we’re best friends, we hang out all the time and even with your teammates just being with them is one of the best parts even before actually doing the sport it’s just a different type of connection.”

@sarahbaker
sarah.baker@blackpress.ca
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