The SAU Buzz

Issue date: 3/4/10 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Submitted The competition squad is working hard to make a good impression in their first competitive season.

The debate has been going on for years as to whether cheerleading should be considered a real sport or not. No matter who is right or wrong in this controversy, the St. Ambrose University cheerleading squad is taking the steps they feel they need to be considered a real sport. For the first time ever, the SAU cheerleaders have started competing.
Co-captain of the squad Mallory Sanders said she is excited for the squad to be competing and that they can now call SAU cheerleading a sport.
"For us to become a sport we needed to have the competitive aspect," Sanders said.
Head coach Felicia Miles said she feels the Ambrose cheerleaders are ready to take on competitions.
"We're ready for this and it's the next progression in cheerleading at Ambrose," Miles said.
The squad faced their first competition with three teams in January with a bang as they finished in first place.
"It was a good, small competition," Sanders said. "It was enough to get our feet in the water and get our name down."
Their only other competition this year was on Feb. 28, in which Sanders said they were working on stronger stunts. The team held two-hour practices focusing specifically on stunts, getting them down to perfection. Stunt practices include many drops, falls and sometimes bruises, but the cheerleaders didn't stop until their stunts were perfected.
Sanders said she feels the squad grew closer this year due to the competitions and practices.
"Competing this year has definitely affected our squad in a good way," Sanders said. "It has made us a lot stronger and closer as a team. People work harder knowing they have something like a competition to work towards rather than putting on a show for the games."
Sanders said she hopes to see competitions continue for the cheerleaders. Miles had no reason to believe the cheerleaders would stop competing any time soon.
"Competing is not only going to continue," Miles said, "but it's going to thrive. Spectators are going to see a big difference in how Ambrose [cheerleading] is today."
Since there are many high school squads watching the competitions, the cheerleaders work to represent SAU well in hopes to attract new freshman for the squad next year.
"We have a couple of guys on the squad this year," Miles said, "which is certainly helpful and we hope to attract more guys to our squad by putting on a good, clean routine at competition."
With a co-ed squad, Miles said she believes they will only get better.
"We are going to continue to build with a co-ed squad and eventually in the next couple of years, fans are going to see us at a national competition in Florida," Miles said.
If the SAU cheerleaders have a say in it, the question no longer remains whether or not they are a sport.

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