2023-05-12 23:30:00
Qualifying for an international competition is good, but delivering your best performance in the mecca of cheerleading is even better. This is what a Quebec team managed to achieve, ranking fifth in the world.
• Read also: [VIDÉO] Cheerleading: two Quebec teams crowned world champions
The Mad Jockers of the ProCheer All Stars club in Saint-Hyacinthe were not intimidated when they showed up at Cheerleading Worlds in Orlando, Florida, where more than 11,500 athletes from 18 countries gathered at the end of April.
“We have nothing to envy to the Americans, assures the general manager and trainer of ProCheer, Jessika Gardner. They are really good, but Canada is very strong. We have more and more confidence.”
“Before, we arrived a bit with a complex, thinking that the Americans were really strong, adds the one who was in her fifth experience at the Worlds. There, we proved that we were in the game. We beat several American teams.
Best in Canada
Mad Jockers members aged 16 and under were ‘outstanding’ on ESPN’s impressive Wide World of Sports complex, according to Mme Gardner. His proteges dominated the 14 Canadian teams present at the Worlds and placed fifth in the final in the international mixed category 6 without element of tumbling out of a total of 37 groups (level 7 is the highest).
The Americans monopolized the podium, followed by an English team and by the Mad Jokers who had obtained their pass thanks to a triumph at Cheerfest in Montreal in February.
Photo provided by ProCheer All Stars of Saint-Hyacinthe, The Cheerleading Worlds
The Mad Jockers in action at the World Cheerleading Championships in Orlando.
“In Orlando, we also helped Canada win bronze for the Nations Cup, behind the United States and England. It’s like the ranking of countries at the Olympic Games,” said Mr.me Gardner.
“They gave their best performances of the season. In fact, it is by far the school’s best result in 16 years.
Photo provided by ProCheer All Stars of Saint-Hyacinthe, The Cheerleading Worlds
The Mad Jockers in action at the World Cheerleading Championships in Orlando.
An Olympic sport
Mme Gardner was 19 when she founded her nonprofit in 2016 with 80 athletes. Today, there are nearly 230 followers who are registered there.
“At the time, I think women’s sport needed something affordable and that was the case a few years ago. There is also the enthusiasm for the Olympic Games, ”says the kinesiologist by profession.
Cheerleading was recognized as an Olympic sport in July 2021, an important step towards the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Photo provided by ProCheer All Stars of Saint-Hyacinthe
The Mad Jockers, from the ProCheer All Stars club in Saint-Hyacinthe, helped Canada finish third in the Nations Cup.
The image of this discipline has changed a lot. We are far from the cheerleaders in football. We are talking here regarding a mixture of acrobatics, floor gymnastics, jumps, dance and human pyramids.
“We do competitive cheer with a routine and we are judged on the elements we do, explains Mme Gardner. […] It’s inclusive, regardless of talent, flexibility, coordination, body, there’s a place for everyone to shine.”
A new complex
The pandemic hasn’t seemed to slow cheerleading’s popularity. A fortiori, M.me Gardner took the opportunity to sift through available grants and raise money to purchase land and build a training complex, which is expected to open this fall.
“There will be two training floors, one outdoors, a fitness room, a coffee area, lists Mme Gardner, still as passionate as 16 years ago. It will really be sharp. We want to be the benchmark for cheerleading on the South Shore.”
▶ The ProCheer club also participated in the Summit international competition in Orlando. The Quad Aces, made up of young girls aged 10 to 16, came within a whisker of qualifying for the final, but had to settle for 13e rank (level 1). Then, the Perfect Odds (U19 level 3) finished second in the open class.
Photo provided by ProCheer All Stars of Saint-Hyacinthe, ACTION MOMENTS PHOTOGRAPHY
The Mad Jockers finished fifth at Worlds.
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