Allure have reached The Summit.
The Langley Cheer & Athletics’ small senior 4 squad won its bid to compete in the prestigious cheerleading event being held May 5 to 7 at Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
In the realm of competitive cheerleading, The Summit is viewed as the Super Bowl of the sport, which is a combination of gymnastics, dance, stunting, and jumps.
Only seven per cent of competitive cheerleading teams get an opportunity to compete at this all-levels international event.
A bid is an invitation to compete, and must be earned through competing and earning a high score at an event that offers them.
Made up of girls between the ages of 11 and 17, Allure earned their bid at the Sea To Sky competition at the Vancouver Convention Centre April 7 to 9.
Four bids were awarded at the competition, one of which was snared by Allure.
The other Lower Mainland (and B.C.) team going to Orlando is the Richmond-based Panther Cheer Athletics’ small junior 3 team.
“For us to get it (the bid) was a blessing,” Langley Cheer co-owner Leanna Fisher said. “It was a shock, but our girls worked really hard.”
Allure competed the same two-and-a-half minute routine on two occasions at Sea To Sky. The five minutes combined is a culmination of months of hard work and dedication for a team that practises, on average, 12 to 15 hours each week.
“We form our teams, we train year round, and then they get their routines in September,” Fisher said. “Throughout the year we tweak and change things but they compete (using) that same routine at each competition.”
Now that the team has won a bid to The Summit, “the hard work begins,” Fisher said.
“At the same we want them to enjoy the experience,” she noted. “That’s what I wanted to stress: they worked hard, and the coaches, too. Once they get there, we want them to know they have to work hard, but we also want them to enjoy themselves and be proud of themselves for being there.”
Fisher said there are some “fun things planned” for the group. “We rented a house for the athletes, and a separate parents house.”
With the short notice, the girls are doing their best to help fund this trip to Florida. The team, which leaves for Florida on May 3, is looking to raise between $20,000 and $24,000 to offset costs.
This Saturday April 22, the team is hosting a bottle drive at the club, #307 19292 60 Ave. Allure athletes will be at the gym ready to take bottles.
Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. visitors can deliver their ‘empties’ and all proceeds will go towards their trip.
On Friday April 28 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., visitors can come stunt and tumble with Allure for $10 per athlete. Anyone and everyone are welcome to spend two hours working some skills with the team while helping them reach their goal.
The athletes are also looking to secure some sponsors. Anyone willing to help can contact the team at langleycheerleading@gmail.com.
Allure is made up of athletes Cassandra Fisher, Jordan Fisher, Paige Paterson, Kassidy Glutyk, Breanna Vuong, Calista Cruz, Summer Jangula, Makayla Allen, Avery Caron, Emma Gregory, Savannah Pruden, and Cadence Twiss, and coaches Nikole Davie and Kelsey Eriksen.
Program blossoms
Langley Cheer & Athletics was born from a connection between head coach and co-owner Nikole Davie and Fisher.
“Nikole taught two of my daughters cheer out of a different place,” Fisher recalled. “And she and I just really clicked. It literally went from concept to conception in three months. I fell in love with the sport, what it did for my children, and (Davie) and I really get along well together.”
All four of Fisher’s children – 16-year-old Cassandra, 15-year-old Cameron, and 12-year-old twins Jordan and Teagan – are still involved in the club’s programs.
The club started with seven in 2014, and has grown to more than 500 participants taking part in cheerleading and Parkour, an activity or sport of moving rapidly through an area, typically in an urban environment, negotiating obstacles by running, jumping, and climbing.
Davie attributes this growth to old-fashioned word of mouth. “We have great families that spread the word that their kids are having a great time.”
Langley Cheer & Athletics is one of two Langley organizations that offer competitive cheerleading, Extreme Cheer and Dance being the other.
Fisher said the sport’s popularity has grown at an exponential rate – and with that, so has the skill level.
“It’s very competitive, and it’s getting more and more competitive as time goes on,” Fisher said. “But at the same time I find that there is really good sportsmanship among the athletes from different clubs.”
Medal haul
It was a great weekend all around for Langley Cheer at Sea To Sky.
Langley Cheer athletes came away with four first-place finishes, a pair of second-places and the aforementioned invitation to the prestigious Summit competition.
The Mini Miners (mini level 1) and Jade (junior level 3) both won gold in their respective divisions while Jordan Fisher (junior level 5) and Ryleigh Ann McNeill (tiny level 1) won individual titles.
The Precious Jewels (youth level 1) and Platinum (open level 4) both took second.