The Estevan Comprehensive School Elecs cheer team remains the Best of the West.
The cheer team took top spot in the intermediate Grade 9-12 scholastic division, and they also earned the overall highest mark in the scholastic division for the Best of the West cheer and dance competition Saturday at the Evraz International Trade Centre in Regina.
It’s the fourth straight year ECS has won their division at Best of the West.
The Elecs finished with a score of 90.20 points, 2.5 more than Regina’s Thom Collegiate Trojans. The Elecs received a score of 28.1 for building, 22.9 for jumps tumbling and 39.2 for choreography. They didn’t suffer any deductions.
“They danced very well,” coach Bonnie Chepil-Kvamme told the Mercury. “The motions were sharp. All of their stunts stuck, so they were very good. They were just really tight and everything. Absolutely no deductions for safety. No falls on the stunts. All legalities were met, and our tumbling was done solidly.”
Even more impressive is that the Elecs took a young team with them to Best of the West. A lot of students graduated from last year’s team, so more than 90 per cent of this year’s team is new.
“They really pulled it together in that competition and I was very proud of them,” said Chepil-Kvamme.
The level of competition was very high this year, she said, especially from Thom Collegiate.
Chepil-Kvamme also credited community coaches Amy Chapman, Ashley Tedford and Danica Friess for their contributions to the team’s success.
The cheer team was selected in the fall after lengthy tryouts. Since then, they have been practising their stunts and their choreography.
“With cheerleading, because so much of my team was new, you have to keep the basics before you can actually get your team full out. So in October we had a stunting clinic.”
They ramped up their practices in December.
She hopes this will give the athletes confidence as they get ready for provincials next month, but she will also modify the routine, because she doesn’t want them to get complacent.
Provincials will see them face more teams and a stronger level of competition, so they will have to up their game as far as their stunting, pyramids, and formations.
“We’re not done yet,” Chepil-Kvamme vowed. “Some choreography still has to happen, and I’ve got to take some of those stunts up a notch, just to ensure that we can be in the top three at provincials. It’s nothing that I don’t think the girls can’t do; I think they can totally accomplish this, now that I’ve seen them truly perform in a competition situation.”
