The Carleton Ravens cheerleading team competed in the FrostFest competition in Montreal on Jan. 23. The team didn’t come home with any medals, but said they are proud of their efforts and look forward to their upcoming season.
FrostFest is a new affordable competition this year, which helped teams get prepared for their 2016 season. The competition was held at Place Bonaventure in Montreal, where teams from all over Canada came to compete.
The competition was divided into different divisions, which depended on abilities of the teams. The Ravens were the only team competing in their level six division, however the grand champions were chosen based on overall scores and not based on competing against their own divisions.
The awards consisted of three grand prizes of $1,000 that went to the top three teams with the overall highest scores. The three teams that walked away with these cheques have all competed at the world level previously.
Carleton head coach Maurice Semaan said despite a rocky performance due to last minute illnesses and injuries, he is very proud of the team’s efforts and said he believes it was a good way to start the season.
“We did pretty well. It was more of a showcase competition so it was a good start. It is good to get past the jitters, continue the season, and continue to represent the school as best we can,” Semaan said.
Semaan said he believes the team is going to be very strong this year, as there is large talent. He said there has been a lot more interest in getting people to come to Carleton this year from all-star clubs from other cities.
In two weeks, the team will head for their next competition, the Big East Blast in Ottawa. Semaan said he has goals for his team in this competition.
“We will hit the competition in Ottawa, do well, show the school we can rock it out, and show Ottawa how proud we are to represent them,” Semaan said. “We will continue to grow as a team and keep representing the school as best we can.”
Team captain Taylor Sinclair also said even though their performance didn’t go as well as planned, she is very proud of her team’s efforts.
“I was very pleased with the team’s efforts as everyone fought for their stunts to stay up,” Sinclair said. “This past weekend we did not have a perfect run as we had hoped, but all this does is make us work harder for the next competition and teaches us that sometimes things happen to which we just have to breathe and focus on what comes next.”
Despite these setbacks, Sinclair said the team always has such great strength when it comes to motivating each other, other teams, and giving it 110 per cent when they get on the floor.
“I tend to give a speech before warming up letting the team know that we have all worked hard for this moment and that each and every one of us is fully capable of hitting the routine,” Sinclair said. “I also tell them that we have to put every ounce of energy we have when we go out on the mat because we only have two and a half minutes.”
In order to be a successful team this year, Sinclair said she believes the team needs to focus more in practice and focus on pushing each other out of their comfort zones, as well as trusting all 37 athletes on the team.
