Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Something To Cheer About!
Yankton Set To Host Second Annual State Cheer And Dance
BY JAMES D. CIMBUREK
james.cimburek@yankton.net
When the South Dakota High School Activities Association added competitive cheer and competitive dance as varsity sports, the move was coupled with the assurance that the sports would quickly grow into great participation options for high school girls.
With the second state tournaments on tap today (Saturday) at the Summit Activities Center, those claims have held true.
Twenty-six schools will field competitive cheer squads and 17 will field competitive dance squads in today’s state tournament, up from 16 and seven a year ago.
“The numbers have increased dramatically,” said Jo Auch, assistant executive director for the SDHSAA. “Our day has gotten substantially longer.”
The scheduled start time has been moved up to 11 a.m. from its original noon start, and awards are scheduled to be presented at 5:30 p.m., an hour later than last year.
“We fully anticipated it to grow,” said Yankton cheer co-coach Angie Luken. “There were so many ‘AA’ schools that sat back and watched last year to see how it would go.”
Luken has also seen the “sit back and watch” approach in terms of athletes.
“We have higher numbers in our sophomore class,” she said. “The freshmen are just a little timid to jump in right away, but we had a big influx of sophomores.”
Accommodating the increased number of teams and athletes has been a challenge, according to Yankton Activities Director Bob Winter.
“In addition to the locker rooms, we’ll be using the gymnastics room and all of the music rooms,” he said. “Because of the growth of this event, facilities alone may dictate where this event will be held in the future.”
Besides dealing with increased participation numbers, the state has also dealt with increased crowds by changing the performance layout. Cheer and dance squads will face in different directions, giving each sport’s fans a good view without crowding to one side of the gym. Because of the extra dance performances, though, the entire first session will consist of dance teams performing in both directions.
That growth may force a change, either to a bigger site — away from Yankton and 2009 host Brandon — or the addition of a second day.
“We think this will only get bigger, but the question is, ‘How fast?’” Auch said. “The goal is to keep this tournament within striking distance of Vermillion so the girls can get to the Dome.”
The Class AA champions in cheer and dance will perform at halftime of the Class 11AA football championship game tonight at the DakotaDome.
Most of the growth this year has come in the large-school class, where 13 schools field cheer squads and 12 boast dance squads. Mitchell, Spearfish, Rapid City Stevens and Rapid City Central are the four Class AA schools with neither program, while Pierre has only fielded a cheer squad this year.
That growth has lifted the level of competition for those teams that participated last year, according to Yankton’s Jennifer Johnke, head coach of the defending state champion Gazelles dance team.
“Last year we were fortunate enough to skate through with nobody coming close,” she said. “This year we’ve had to work to stay ahead of Sioux Falls Washington. It has really raised the bar for all of the teams.”
While the larger programs work to beat each other, many small schools are working to make the sports succeed in their schools. In Corsica, which has one of the smallest average daily memberships in the state, the Comets cheer squad not only shares 15 of its 19 athletes with the volleyball team, but also the coach.
“It has made it interesting,” said Corsica head coach Brittany Eide, who is the president of the South Dakota Cheer Coaches Association. “They are some extremely busy individuals, but they like it. They enjoy it.”
As some of the athletes making those sacrifices, they say that it is as much about the camaraderie as the competition.
“Our team is so close. We’re kind of a different breed,” said Mandi Ewald, a senior on the Yankton dance squad. “It’s hard getting up in the morning (the team practices at 6:30 a.m. during the week), but it’s all worth it.”
Opening ceremonies begin at 10:30 a.m. today, with competition set to begin at 11 a.m. Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for students K-12 with identification.
With the second state tournaments on tap today (Saturday) at the Summit Activities Center, those claims have held true.
Twenty-six schools will field competitive cheer squads and 17 will field competitive dance squads in today’s state tournament, up from 16 and seven a year ago.
“The numbers have increased dramatically,” said Jo Auch, assistant executive director for the SDHSAA. “Our day has gotten substantially longer.”
The scheduled start time has been moved up to 11 a.m. from its original noon start, and awards are scheduled to be presented at 5:30 p.m., an hour later than last year.
“We fully anticipated it to grow,” said Yankton cheer co-coach Angie Luken. “There were so many ‘AA’ schools that sat back and watched last year to see how it would go.”
Luken has also seen the “sit back and watch” approach in terms of athletes.
“We have higher numbers in our sophomore class,” she said. “The freshmen are just a little timid to jump in right away, but we had a big influx of sophomores.”
Accommodating the increased number of teams and athletes has been a challenge, according to Yankton Activities Director Bob Winter.
“In addition to the locker rooms, we’ll be using the gymnastics room and all of the music rooms,” he said. “Because of the growth of this event, facilities alone may dictate where this event will be held in the future.”
Besides dealing with increased participation numbers, the state has also dealt with increased crowds by changing the performance layout. Cheer and dance squads will face in different directions, giving each sport’s fans a good view without crowding to one side of the gym. Because of the extra dance performances, though, the entire first session will consist of dance teams performing in both directions.
That growth may force a change, either to a bigger site — away from Yankton and 2009 host Brandon — or the addition of a second day.
“We think this will only get bigger, but the question is, ‘How fast?’” Auch said. “The goal is to keep this tournament within striking distance of Vermillion so the girls can get to the Dome.”
The Class AA champions in cheer and dance will perform at halftime of the Class 11AA football championship game tonight at the DakotaDome.
Most of the growth this year has come in the large-school class, where 13 schools field cheer squads and 12 boast dance squads. Mitchell, Spearfish, Rapid City Stevens and Rapid City Central are the four Class AA schools with neither program, while Pierre has only fielded a cheer squad this year.
That growth has lifted the level of competition for those teams that participated last year, according to Yankton’s Jennifer Johnke, head coach of the defending state champion Gazelles dance team.
“Last year we were fortunate enough to skate through with nobody coming close,” she said. “This year we’ve had to work to stay ahead of Sioux Falls Washington. It has really raised the bar for all of the teams.”
While the larger programs work to beat each other, many small schools are working to make the sports succeed in their schools. In Corsica, which has one of the smallest average daily memberships in the state, the Comets cheer squad not only shares 15 of its 19 athletes with the volleyball team, but also the coach.
“It has made it interesting,” said Corsica head coach Brittany Eide, who is the president of the South Dakota Cheer Coaches Association. “They are some extremely busy individuals, but they like it. They enjoy it.”
As some of the athletes making those sacrifices, they say that it is as much about the camaraderie as the competition.
“Our team is so close. We’re kind of a different breed,” said Mandi Ewald, a senior on the Yankton dance squad. “It’s hard getting up in the morning (the team practices at 6:30 a.m. during the week), but it’s all worth it.”
Opening ceremonies begin at 10:30 a.m. today, with competition set to begin at 11 a.m. Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for students K-12 with identification.
 |
 |
|
| Daily Record (11/14/08) | Ready Meals Delivering Nutrition To Area |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
Submit a Comment
We encourage your feedback and dialog, all comments will be reviewed by our Web staff before appearing on the Web site.
Not registered yet?
