One of Saskatchewan’s largest cheer and dance competitions is once again returning to the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
And this year it’s going to be even bigger and better.
The Best of the West Cheer and Dance Championship will see hundreds of competitors across dozens of teams taking over the local arena on Friday, Feb, 9 and Saturday, Feb, 10, marking the first time the competition has taken place over two days.
That’s a sign of the popularity of the event, said event organizer Melissa Marzolf with Cheer Infinity Athletics, as more competitors and teams look to get involved every year.
“It’s wonderful for the community to see the sport, (Cheer Infinity) will have 13 performances going into it and it’s a great opportunity to see what the sport of cheerleading is and that it’s continuing to grow,” Marzolf said. “We also have some teams coming from out of province, too, so that’s always exciting and we’re really looking forward to it.”
Four sessions will take place throughout the two days, with Session 1 running from 7:30 p.m. to 9:10 p.m. on Feb. 9, followed by Session 2 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Session 3 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Session 4 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Feb. 10.
The competition will also act as a qualifier for the Cheerleading World Championship in Florida in April, with elite teams performing twice -- during Session 1 and Session 3 -- and the top scores earning a berth at Worlds.
As for the rest of Best of the West, 30 performances will take place Friday and a further 120 on Saturday. That makes for a busy day, but one that has run as smoothly as can be in the two previous stops in Moose Jaw -- with the schedules often running on time down to the minute.
Marzolf points to the work of Sask Cheer executive director Alissa Stewart and a crew of dedicated volunteers as a major factor in pulling that off.
“Everyone is organized and has all the schedules, then everything runs at very specific times, we have timers backstage so everyone is where they’re supposed to be, warming up when they’re supposed to and then performing on time,” Marzolf explained. “There are always hiccups here and there, but it runs pretty well with that many athletes and performances.”
Cheer Infinity will be busy with their own performance slate, including two crews looking to build on already successful seasons, having finished second and third at the recent Cold Snap meet in Edmonton.
Tickets are available at www.bestofthewestcheer.com and be sure to keep an eye on the Cheer Infinity Facebook page at www.facebook.com/moosejawcheer for up-to-date information as the date gets closer.
