CARLYLE - Kelsey Drumm, Kaylan Rekken and their three children, Kayden Drumm, Kendyn Rekken and Kinley Rekken, moved to Carlyle in 2018.
Drumm has always instilled in her children the importance to be individuals, to be daring, be different and find things that they love and can be passionate about.
Kinley’s siblings were involved in motocross and Drumm wanted something for her young daughter that was only for her.
Drumm saw an advertisement for tryouts for cheerleading at Airborne Cheer Athletics a few years ago and thought that it might be something that Kinley could enjoy, since she loved dance and gymnastics.
“I thought, what the heck, let’s give it a shot,” said Drumm, and she enrolled Kinley into the Airborne Cheer Athletics in Weyburn.
At the time, Kinley had just turned five years old and she is now in her third season of cheerleading.
Cheer, as they refer to it, is an athletic activity that combines several elements, such as gymnastic tumbles, dance, acrobatics and traditional cheerleading.
Performance Cheer is a dance program under the umbrella of cheerleading. It has several types of cheers, including pom, jazz and hip hop, which are the most popular, and can have five to 32 members.
Cheer is recognized as an Olympic sport, and the future of the sport is unfolding on a global level.
Kinley is in Grade 2 and and is the only student registered from Carlyle who attends the program in Weyburn.
Drumm said cheer is a phenomenal sport that teaches discipline, teamwork, mental strength, physical endurance, perseverance and dedication, all the while building confidence and self-esteem.
Kinley and her mom travel to Weyburn every Monday and Wednesday for classes. There is also a tumble class on Wednesday evenings that Kinley attends. Her team is the under-eight prep level 1, called the Orioles.
Recently they went to their first competition, the Best of the West, in Moose Jaw, along with the U12 group. It was a two-day competition.
There are many layers of cheer that they need to perform, such as all-star team cheer, indies, duos and pom dance.
They did very well with no deductions or errors. They performed their stunts without issues. There were no flyer falls or jump fails.
This earned Kinley’s six-person team an excellent performance banner for the gym and placed fourth out of nine teams.
Competitors from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba came out to participate in the event.
The next competition that they plan to participate in is Warman on March 7-9.
“I love cheer because it is so much fun,” said Kinley. “I get to be flexible and use my muscles to get stronger.”
“My favourite part about competitions is the very beginning when we first start on the mat, and my team starts with our count of five, six, seven, then we yell our team’s name and the music starts,” she said.
“It makes me happy to see my mom, dad and brothers at the front cheering me on,” said Kinley. “I am proud of myself for doing all the things on the mat, because it is hard work.”
