The Carleton Ravens cheerleading team came home with gold medals after competing at Jamfest in Syracuse, N.Y. on March 7.
The team was one of two in their level 6 division, and won the spirit award for positive sportsmanship during the entire competition of 30 or 40 teams, according to Ravens cheerleader Miranda Moore.
Aimee Ker, one of the head coaches for the Ravens, said winning a competition in the U.S. was a huge accomplishment, especially since cheerleading in more prevalent there.
“It was really exciting, and Carleton has never competed in the States before,” she said. “So just going to a competition like that, having an open mind, and then actually winning is just really, really exciting.”
Maurice Semaan, the other head coach alongside Ker, said the spirit award came from the supportive atmosphere the team was exuding.
“The girls and the guys on our team are great. They were just constantly, no matter where the teams were from or what level they were, they were cheering them on,” he said.
Leading up to the competition, the team was practising two days a week for a total of four hours with open gym time and personal practices in between.
But you won’t be seeing the cheer squad performing stunts around campus any time soon, since their lack of funding has them practising at Corona Gymnastics in Nepean.
“The funding has actually increased a little bit this year, which was extremely helpful and we are very grateful for it, but I mean obviously if we had more funding it would be a lot easier for us to practise on a regular basis,” Semaan said.
Throughout the year, the team hosted bake sales and pub nights to help lower the costs for practising, travelling, and membership fees.
According to Ker, cheerleading is one of the most expensive sports, and since the Ravens don’t compete at varsity level, a portion of the cost is the responsibility of the membership fees.
“For our team, they do have to pay to be a part of it, which is unfortunate because we obviously want to be able to offer everyone a chance to be a cheerleader and come to tryouts without the burden of having to pay a couple of hundred dollars a semester,” Ker said.
Semaan said a part of this has to do with getting confused with other dance clubs on campus, and the lack of recognition resulting from the stereotype saying cheering is mainly a feminine sport.
He said they currently have three males on their team of more than 30 athletes.
The Carleton squad used to have more men than women, but due to restrictions on when and where they would be able to perform their stunts, it’s been harder to show people what they do to help encourage people to get involved, Semaan said.
“I never had a male tryout and leave without wanting to be on the team,” he said. “I was forced into cheerleading too. I did not want to start it when I was a gymnast, but the coach at the time was a friend of mine, and she was working with me and she was like, ‘Nope, you’re going to try out!’ and I’ve loved it ever since.”
The team also faced losing one of their coaches halfway through the year after their graduation, but Ariel Strength, a member of the team, said they were ultimately able to pull through.
“It was just such a crazy feeling, like a huge adrenaline rush when we ran out on stage,” she said. “We were out there just giving it our all.”
“It shows who we are, and how we represent our school really well,” Ker said. “We do well, and we’re going to keep doing well once we fill that foundation of a team, get that recognition and start attracting younger students who are coming to Carleton who want to be on the cheerleading team.”
