It was another great weekend for Infinity Athletics during the Best of the West Cheer and Dance Championships.
And not just because the whole thing once again went off without a hitch.
Infinity came away with five top-three finishes from the massive event at the Moose Jaw Event Centre, including a pair of first-place showings and a handful of outstanding performance awards.
Not a bad run of success from an event with more than 1,500 athletes competing across all age divisions and skill levels.
“We’re really happy with how all our teams did,” said Infinity Athletics coach Melissa Marzolf. “It was so awesome to perform right here in Moose Jaw, too, with so many friends and family that can’t always come out having a chance to see what cheerleading is and what we do.”
The Infinity Athletics Invaders U12 Level 2 team took first place in their division, mirroring their success in Edmonton leading up to Best of the West. The Infinity Athletics U8 Hip Hip Crew also took top spot in their division, while the local group also had two third places and a second place to show for their weekend.
Of course, Infinity’s showing was just a small part of a huge weekend of cheerleading that included teams vying for spots in the IASF World Championships in Florida in two months’ time.
Four ultra-elite teams earned bids for Worlds, with a partial-paid bid going to former world champions Regina Cheerleading Athletics Smoke in the Open Level 5 AG division, while at large bids were won by Winnipeg-based Vision Cheer Company Clarity in Open Level 7 Coed, Vision Cheer Company Serenity in Open Level 7 NT and Regina Cheerleading Athletics Revolution in U18 Level 6 NT.
“There were quite a few teams performing that wanted a bid for World and only four teams got them, so it was pretty intense,” Marzolf said. “There were some amazing performances out there and it was awesome seeing those high-level teams.”
One of the hallmarks of the competition is how smoothly it runs. Performances are to-the-minute on the schedule and things ran on time throughout the two days. With so many athletes and variables, that could seem almost impossible, but Best of the West once again pulled it off.
“(Sask Cheer president) Alissa Stewart is the competition director and she has us and the rest of the staff there working the competition, and it’s all scheduled to a tee,” Marzolf said when asked how it all comes together. “We’ve had the same people now the last couple years, so we know where we are and what we do and how to make it run smooth.
“And another big reason it’s so successful is the Events Centre staff. Last year they were great and this year, Chuck and Shelby were just phenomenal. Communicating with us and if we needed anything it was done before we even needed it… that really does create a huge bonus for us and helps us make the event one of a kind.”
There’s still plenty of action in store for Infinity Athletics in the coming weeks. They’re at the Warman Cheer Classic during the Mar. 8-10 weekend, the Sask Cheerleading Association provincials Mar. 16 in Saskatoon and will be hosting their own Infinity Athletics Extravaganza to close out the season on Mar. 23.
For more on Infinity Athletics including how to join, check out their website at www.infinityathletics.ca.
