The Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) Elecs cheer team took the top spot at the Best of the West Cheer and Dance Competition at the University of Regina on the weekend.
ECS was entered in the scholastic cheer’s intermediate division, which is for school-based teams from Grades 9-12. Not only did they finish first among the five teams entered with a score of 91.47 per cent, but ECS also had the highest score for all teams in scholastic cheer.
Coach Bonnie Chepil-Kvamme said the judges were impressed with the team’s signage, and their sharp and clean dances.
“Those are the things that we worry about the most, is the stunting,” said Chepil-Kvamme. “That’s a big thing. Girls are flying in the air; they need to be caught. Everything needs to be controlled. So I thought they did incredibly well with all of the stunts that we incorporated into our routine.”
She was impressed with the pyramids and dancing from the students.
Chepil-Kvamme also praised the contributions of the team’s community coach, Danica Friess, who is a former member of the cheer team.
“She’s one of the most wonderful gifts that our team can have,” said Chepil-Kvamme.
The strong showing is expected to give the cheer team confidence as they get ready for provincials on March 23-24 in Regina.
“All of the scholastic cheer Grade 9-12 intermediate schools will be running all together, so we’re expecting a lot more competition at that one. That’s not to say this one didn’t have a lot of competition, but that one will be even more.”
The students were already back in the gym on Sunday to work on their routines.
This week’s edition of the Mercury will have more on this story.
