Dec
2021

Cheer for the Cure

I had my first, real live Cheer comp. I loved it!!!

He said

We have waited for two years for this weekend to come. And for a large portion of time, we were doubtful it was even going to happen. In the spring of 2020 COVID hit and the world shutdown. Her Gymnastics competition was two weeks before that and she was already in the mindset that it was the time to retire.  So when her season came to an abrupt halt, she decided that was the time to move on to something new. That something new was Competitive Cheer—something she was bugging to do for a few seasons at least. With Gymnastics over, we became a Cheer family. The good news was that some of her friends from Gymnastics had already made the jump.

She landed at Cheer Strike Royals in July 2020, and was on the Allegiance U17 team all of that year however with COVID they pretty practiced for he entire year with only a few virtual competitions where they filmed their performances and submitted them. The whole experience in her first year was a bit of a let down albeit through no fault of the organization and the governing body—they did the best they could given the circumstances. This year however with vaccinations in high gear, Emelia was delighted to hear they were actually going to be able to do an in-person competition.

The one place that Emelia really loved about Gymnastics was the performance and competition side of it. Sure there were nerves and anxiety, but she always seemed to bring out her best performances when it counted. It was certainly a lot tougher to absorb in Gymnastics because it was just her on the floor. Cheer is a team sport and she loved the idea of being part of something much bigger. Last year was still a hard pill to swallow because they didn’t get to practice or compete in the way that she was looking forward to.

This weekend – yesterday to be precise – all of that changed. The team loaded up their close to year and a half of just being together, on their own and headed down Highway 401 three hours to Oshawa for the Cheer for the Cure competition. It was our first foray into the competition side of this sport, but a lot of it did feel like Gymnastics—just run a whole heck of a lot better. We could tell that Emelia was a mixture of nervous and excited and I was just so happy that she was getting some semblance of normal again.

As soon as we go to the facility the girls, masked of course, were all running up to each other so excited to be together. You could tell the parents were all excited for their kids in the same way we were for Emelia. And I was reminded all too quickly once it got closer to their performance time, how my heart rate increases and nerves heighten. But, from the moment they started, the team put on their best version of their routine we have seen! The last few weeks the coaches have shared progress videos and lets just say there was some honing needed. They put it all together at just the right time!

But the real test of the value of this sport was how Emelia was after. Gymnastics competitions used to be devastating to Emelia and their were some competitions that would end in so much upset. She is so hard on herself and when the marks didn’t show for the work she did, she would internalize and think she was a failure. So, suffice it to say while we waited for the team to come up and be reunited with families it was with baited breath. When she rounded the corner of the stairs and all we could see was smiles and laughter we were overjoyed. The were proud of their performance, and even better she was of herself. We couldn’t be happier or prouder of her!

She said

What an absolutely amazing weekend. This weekend was the one that Emelia had been counting down to for weeks. After 21 months of waiting she was finally back to in-person competition. For the last 18 months she has been training but it was a mix of modified in-person and virtual. Even this season started later because of COVID restrictions. Finally in the last 5 months or so they have been able to get back to full training. They were even able to start stunting again! As parents we have only been able to see the training through some videos posted to the parent FB page but other than that we had really not see really how things were going. And as much as we loved seeing her train seeing the routine and live was the best way to see it.

I am totally blown away how much progress they had made in just a few short weeks. They were amazing. As biased as this seems they were honestly the stand out team for their division. Even Emelia said it was their best run through ever! They really came together as a team and seeing Emelia with her teammates before full of smiles, laughs and words of encouragement. Emelia and Olivia were both nervous but their one teammate Emma took them under her wing and made sure the girls were ready.

Once the kids hit the floor it was not only amazing to watch them perform but seeing the coaches and owners cheer so loud words of encouragement through the whole routine. The whole environment is electric, a complete opposite event vs gymnastics which is stressful for sure on the parents but even more so on the athletes, at least it was for Emelia. Emelia admitted she was nervous but no where near as bad as she has been in the past. This time she met us after the competition full of smiles and happiness and even more excited for the next one in a month.

Tomorrow we get to see the results from the event to see how the kids placed, unlike past years with COVID restrictions they cannot have a massive awards ceremony like they have always had. Apparently they are quite the event but with restrictions they have moved the event online. So tomorrow we will go to the Sherwoods so that the girls can watch the results together.

What a great weekend!

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