WINNIPEG – Their colourful cries catch your attention. Shouts Oak Park High School cheerleaders hope will woo the world.
“I think it’s going to show us that we can indeed do better than we think,” said the cheer team’s Bailey Peterson.
The students will flip down to Florida for this weekends’ International Cheer Union World School Championship. It’s the top international cheerleading competition for high schools. Oak Park will test its tumbles against teams from 31 other countries.
“Everything is eat, sleep, cheer,” said coach Charwin Dahl. “It’s the best of the best. They’re all out there showing their skills and cheering each other on.” During routines that are as athletic as artistic.
“Most people wouldn’t last half a practice let alone four days a week,” Peterson said.
The school has been preparing for months, ever since winning back-to-back provincial championships.
“We found out last year that we had the chance to go,” the cheer team’s Selina Leung said. “This season, since September, we’ve been working hard because we knew this was our goal.”
Luckily Oak Park has experience on its side. This is the second time the team makes the trip to the world championship in three years. The cheerleaders captured bronze back in 2014.
“It brought the team together because we had lots of practices and did really well,” said Oak Park’s Breanne Zaleski. “We were really happy and it bonded us.”
Through competition and culture.
“Being able to experience a sport with people from all over the world, whether or not they speak English, is an incredible thing,” said Dahl.