Cheer Club Debuts at Midtown Showdown
Photo Credit: Teagan Nichol
Hamber’s cheer team put on their first ever performance at the 12th annual Midtown Showdown. Armed with chic uniforms and enthusiasm, they performed cheers paired with cartwheels and lifts through all of Midtown’s halftime games.
Before their performance, they faced some challenges starting their team. “We had some trouble getting it going,” said co-captain Lucy Price (12). The cheer team’s original club sponsor went on maternity leave, and they had difficulty finding a new sponsor. “Everything started a month later than we wanted it to start.”
The cheer team’s other co-captain, Lucy Soper (12), said they faced difficulty finding dedicated people. “We had some people showing up then not showing up […] definitely commitment is a big issue.”
Despite these challenges, the team made it up with extra practices and hard work. The cheer team was originally going to have one or two practices a week, but ended up practicing much more than they expected. Justine Antifaev (10) commented, “With Midtown, we were practising pretty much every single day for the last two weeks.” The team learned five different cheers and rehearsed them every practice.
Photo Credit: Teagan Nichol
When asked about why she wanted to captain Hamber’s cheer team, Price answered, “I feel like cheer had a negative persona”. She talked about how she and Soper wanted to make it a positive experience for everyone. She also commented on how less cheering and excitement had been going on at the latest Hamber events compared to prior years, and how she and Soper wanted to turn it into more of an experience for everyone to get together and cheer. “Looking back at the photos and seeing everyone be so happy […] seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces, it was nice to see everyone having fun,” said Soper.
“I love how enthusiastic we are. It puts people in the school spirit and excites them to come to games,” said Dala’A Kanan (10). She hopes that the cheer team will be permanent and that they’ll be able to learn flips and other tricks.
“Everyone was so happy and upbeat.” commented Payten Durham (10). “When we first started screaming, we thought we were going to be quiet, and we were pretty loud.”