Bursting with cheer

Sixth grader Raelyn Belden holds up a sign for the Port St. Joe competitive cheerleading squad. [ David Adlerstein | The Star ]

Sixth grader LilyAnne Kirchner stands high atop the Port St. Joe pyramid. [ David Adlerstein | The Star ]

This West Nassau Warrior cheerleader brought her enthusiasm to the competition. [ David Adlerstein | The Star ]

The Middleburg Falcons were among the teams that took part. [ Mary Akin | The Star ]

The judges all did their scoring while seated on the stage [ Mary Akin | The Star ]

Teammates cheered loudly from the sidelines. [ David Adlerstein | The Star ]

The boys, whose participation meant the team competed in the co-ed division, gave an added boost to the lifts, such as with the West Nassau squad. [ David Adlerstein | The Star ]

When you have 75 high schools from as far east as Jacksonville and south to Ocala and west to Pensacola, and their competitive cheerleading teams are filling up every inch of Port St. Joe High School’s available warm-up space, and then bursting into the gymnasium to perform on giant purple mats, you can bet there’s some excitement.

That’s what the high school was like last Friday, as they hosted the Region 1 event of the Florida High School Athletic Association’s competitive cheerleading, every bit a demonstration of athletic mastery and stunning gymnastics.

School was closed for the event, as the FHSAA required it be held on a Friday. Because of the many hundred students, parents and fans that bounced their way into Gulf County for the event, the Tourist Development Council contributed funds to ensure it would be a success. 

Superintendent Jim Norton said the FHSAA collects the gate, but the local vendors can keep the concession money, and that when all is said and done, it’s pretty much a break-even happening that attracts enthusiastic attention to the county.

The event ran smoothly all day long, as the many divisions, ranging from small, medium and large squads, those that include tumbling and those that do not, and co-ed squads competed against one another.

The scoring gets complicated, with all sorts of points awarded, and sometimes deducted.

Port St. Joe competed in the medium-sized division, against larger school opponents that included First Coast, Mandarin and Providence, all from Jacksonville; Lynn Haven Mosley; Baker County’s Glen St. Mary; Beachside and Creekside, from St. Johns; and Tallahassee Lincoln.

To give an idea of the many areas assessed by the judges, Port St. Joe scores were as follows:

Stunt Execution/ Technique 6.5 Stunt Difficulty 3.5; Stunt Trans Variety 3.5; Pyramid Execution/ Technique 6.5; Pyramid Difficulty 3; and Pyramid Variety of Transitions 2.5, for a total of 25.5.

Crowd Effective Material 7.4; Proper Use of Skills to Lead 3.9; Use of Signs, Poms, Megaphones 3.7; Execution/ Technique of Incorps 7.2 and Overall Cheer Impression 3.3, for a total of 25.5.

Execution of Tumbling 3, Difficulty of Tumbling 2.5 Dance 2; Jump(s) 2 and Overall Impression 2, for a total of 11.5.

As aggregate scores, the team tallied Building 25.5; Cheer 25.5; and Overall 11.5 for a subtotal of 62.50, enough to advance to state; with penalty deductions of 6.75; for a final net score of 55.75.

“We are so proud of the girls,” said Stephanie Petersen, who coaches together with assistant Amanda Chizmar. “We are heading to State for the fourth year in a row. We have continued to build our program from the legacies of the program before us. 

“We are so excited for the Tiger Shark Cheerleaders to take the stage in Lakeland on January 31,” she said.