Cheer Squad - General Discussion

[Whimsy]

Discuss Cheer Squad here!

 

 

FreeForm's Cheer Squad focuses on CheerSport Shark's Great White Shark all-star team out of Ontario, Canada. 

From ABC Spark:

Quote

They are young, smart, beautiful and driven. They are a sisterhood, helping each other through relationships, school, new jobs, and everything in between. But they are also elite athletes, idolized... by thousands, and members of the best cheerleading team in the world. Cheer Squad follows the two-time World Cheerleading Champions on a quest to keep their crown. Can they balance the challenges of life off the mat with their all-consuming battle to stay on top?

Episodes are currently airing in Canada and are available for streaming on Hulu and on FreeForm.com.  Since I don't know how much interest there will be, here is an all episode thread.  If it gets busy, we'll set up individual threads.

[luckyroll3]

I'm upset that L.A. was featured so prominently in the first episode, but then left the team.  I liked her.  She seemed super cute and nice, and a great complement to the big/loud personalities on the team.  (And also the only person of color.)  And I couldn't believe she was 24!! 

I'm also liking the other 24 year old - the one who changed careers to be a cheer coach.  I never actually realized that all-start teams even had such old participants.  I would think it would be tough to be train and compete at that level with a full-time job.  Do they earn any cash/prize money for winning??

[Whimsy]

Yes, this is what they call International so it's all ages from 14 up to.... Death. Lol. That's why you see such a wide range of ages.  

[meatball77]

Talk about helicopter mom.  Drop your kid at college and then be upset when she doesn't text you several times a day.. . . .

[Misslindsey]

I seem to be more interested in the rookies and the younger girls on the team. I am already bored of the twins and Knoxy. I am over all the nicknames already as well. Oh and the hair bows. I know that is a cheer thing, but I hate them. It is hard to take a 24 year old seriously with a ridiculous bow in her hair. In the grand scheme of things those are my relatively small complaints.

[SunnyBeBe]

I'm really enjoying this show.  Can someone tell me where some of these ladies have been on tv before?  I can't seem to place them, but Ali, the coach looks SO FAMILIAR!  I just can't figure out why!  Also, familiar are the twin Flyers Jena and Ashley. They certainly have been on another show.  Anyone know?

[Court]

I'm going to miss this show. It's very enjoyable. I do wish that they would show more of the cheering and explain some of the terms for me!

[Whimsy]

You can just ask here, if you want to know what any of the terms mean.  If you want to see more of the cheering, you can google but I know that's not the point.  I wish they showed more of the cheer routines too.

[SunnyBeBe]

I'm not pointing to any particular team member, but it would seem to me that all of the team members would be very fit, however, not all are. I don't even know how some of them are able to do tumbles. How is it possible for them to be one of the top teams in North America, but some are not in shape?  Just curious.  And, I'm not just referring to be too pudgy. Some appear to be very thin, but not taut.. Like the strength is not there.  

[TattleTeeny]

Ugh, those new white skirts are terrible, especially with the black underneath! At least if the black part (I forget what we used to call those underwear-esque things) were white too it wouldn't look so, so bad when the skirts scooch up! Why they don't wear just booty shorts (that aren't pretending to be skirts), I don't know.

Edited September 4, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[Court]

I found the black shorts distracting as well.

During the competitions, Ali is usually with cheerleaders also in shark uniforms. I assume that's a different division? 

How many divisions are there? 

[Whimsy]

Yes, those are a different division. Idk how many divisions there are for Cheersport. There are 4 locations so there's probably a lot.

The levels in all-star cheerleading are 1, 2, 3, 4, 4.2, 5 and 6 (I've only seen a small handful of level 6 and they're not even listed on varsity.com, oddly enough but neither is 4.2 which is the level my daughter cheers at). The international level teams compete at level 5. 

I hate white bottoms-skirts and shorts- but especially the shorts. To me it looks like they're wearing diapers and they're easy to stain. Those uniforms are around $400-$500 a piece, so I don't want anything to stain easy!  Also, each athlete typically has to buy each uniform, but my guess is that these new ones were donated or sponsored. 

[millk]

This just hit Netflix Canada yesterday. It was interesting to me especially being Canadian. I had no idea there was something this big here. My grandmother lived in Guelph so it was fun to see the area again (though an old lady didn't spend time in the young, hip, Uni kids parts of town.)

A few thoughts 

-How do they pay for this? Is it like high performance dance or hockey? I know there is probably a ton of sponsorship since they are world champions but day to day stuff. "Knoxy"'s mom did say they were paying her rent as a parent would for their college student (even an idiot one who dropped out and didn't tell them) 

-that was no prom. Totally a winter formal or Valentine's dance. And on the topic of "Nubs", I was uncomfortable seeing her hang out with the older girls. I know it was all scripted but still. 

- Superficially.... the hair, wow. "Knoxy"'s mole distracts. The twins annoyed the crap out of me. Ali was adorable. 

[Whimsy]

On 5/6/2018 at 8:43 AM, millk said:

This just hit Netflix Canada yesterday. It was interesting to me especially being Canadian. I had no idea there was something this big here. My grandmother lived in Guelph so it was fun to see the area again (though an old lady didn't spend time in the young, hip, Uni kids parts of town.)

A few thoughts 

-How do they pay for this? Is it like high performance dance or hockey? I know there is probably a ton of sponsorship since they are world champions but day to day stuff. "Knoxy"'s mom did say they were paying her rent as a parent would for their college student (even an idiot one who dropped out and didn't tell them) 

-that was no prom. Totally a winter formal or Valentine's dance. And on the topic of "Nubs", I was uncomfortable seeing her hang out with the older girls. I know it was all scripted but still. 

- Superficially.... the hair, wow. "Knoxy"'s mole distracts. The twins annoyed the crap out of me. Ali was adorable. 

As far as how they pay for it, I have first-hand knowledge.  A lot of the kids just pay out-of-pocket.  There are lots of fundraisers throughout the season where cheerleaders sell things for money, ask for donations, etc.  I worked a couple part-time jobs, in addition to my full-time job, to pay for my daughter's all-star cheer.  She also worked and helped pay a portion.  The costs for her to do a year (all-in, counting travel) was around $5,000-$6,000 per year.  That was if we didn't need to pay for a new uniform.   

[Ciarrai]

On 5/6/2018 at 5:43 AM, millk said:

Superficially.... the hair, wow. "Knoxy"'s mole distracts. The twins annoyed the crap out of me. Ali was adorable. 

Yeah I would have gotten that removed a long time ago personally... And I say that as someone with a mole on my upper lip that is nowhere near as prominent.