Fourteen girls step out onto the mat, Poway High’s competition cheer team. Facing the bright lights, and thousands of people including friends and family in the stands cheering for them, they get ready for the hardest 2 minutes and 30 seconds of their life. 

Cheer is officially recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee. Competition cheer in high school diligently practices their choreographed routines for competitions. Competitive cheer is not exclusive to just varsity cheerleaders, but junior varsity cheerleaders also. Anyone studnet from poway high is allowed to try out is is not exclusive to just sideline cheerleaders.

The team’s cheer coaches, Serena Giorgio and Ronald Forrest, have built a group of fewer girls for this year in order to rebuild the competition cheer program. Coaches are anticipating growth and expansion in the coming years.

Their season started in  September, and they have been working hard on perfecting their routine to compete in JAMZ Nationals, as well as CIF Championships, which will be held at Carlsbad High School date?. 

 In 2019 as well as 2020 Poway Cheer secured the CIF championship. “We are dedicated to achieving another victory, focusing our efforts on success at CIF and Jamz Nationals,” Forrest said.

Competing in additional competitions, displaying more advanced and creative skills, and enhancing audience engagement, are just a few of the improvements the competition team has focused on this year. 

Another facet of the sport, sideline cheer, focuses on energizing crowds and supporting the Poway sports teams. Sideline cheer is considered a club activity. Some Cheerleaders on the competitive cheer team are a part of sideline cheer as well, but not all sideline cheerleaders make it onto the competitive team. 

The competition team has separate skills and tryouts.Sophmore Avery peck has been cheering on the competition team for two years and sideline cheer for two years, now a varsity cheerleader she shares her insight. “comp team and side line are different because on comp we travel to compete as a cheer team against other cheer teams and for side line we cheer on other teams to compete like football and basketball, skills wise the stunts and tumbling are usually more difficult for the competition team.” Said Peck.

The competitive cheer team frequently travels for different competitions and spends long, and many hours together. “We all work so hard and have to work together really well to perform good,” junior Kathyrn Inzunza said, she’s been cheering with PHS for three years. Though this year is Forrest’s first year coaching at Poway High, he has ten years of experience coaching cheer, and coach Girorgio has been coaching here since. Competition cheer has an upcoming competition at the Anaheim Convention Center on December 14.