BONNYVILLE – Team Xplosion, with Bonnyville’s Premier Academy, has burst onto the cheerleading scene this season, earning themselves an international super bid during the first competition of the year.
Competing in the Cold Snap Classic held in Edmonton on Jan. 20, Xplosion won a super bid that allows the team to travel to one of four competitions held in either Australia, Mexico, the United Kingdom or the U.S.
A super bid is determined by the top scores in a competition for those who have entered their team for the bid.
Xplosion came in second place at the Cold Snap competition in their division after their scores were marred by two infractions for illegal stunts in the routine, explained Xplosion team members Domonik Kahanyshyn and Emmersyn Stybel.
“We didn't know until after we performed that we were even entered in the bid,” said Kahanyshyn. “It's very rare to get a bid, let alone a super bid. Especially after we just got one last year.”
The team is already set to travel to Orlando, Florida, from May 4-7, 2023, after winning a bid to attend Allstar Worlds for their performance at the Take Flight Cheer competition held in Cold Lake in 2022.
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“Coming back, it was really nerve racking. So, I just want to do good at that [competition]. I wasn't even thinking about anything else,” said Stybel. “We felt like really good about our comp, but a super bid, that’s just crazy, like a once in a lifetime thing.”
Finding out that Xplosion’s performance and routine had earned them an international super bid, Stybel said, “I had no words. I literally could not speak… My mom got all scared because I was in such shock. She thought something bad happened, but I was just so excited.”
The U16 Division 2 team, made up of 24 youth between the ages of 11 and 17, will have to decide which competition they will enter by the end of May.
The factors that will decide which competition they choose “Will be the event itself, how many teams are participating in each event, what the levels look like because we don't want to go down there and not have the competition,” explained Xplosion coach Matt Wiggins. “We want to go to a very high-level program. That's more what we're looking at and then it goes into cost and families.”
Whichever competition Xplosion chooses, Kahanyshyn and Stybel said they are excited to be able to compete with their team. Both have cheered for Premier Academy for five seasons.
“The work we are doing in the gym is obviously paying off, it's hard coming here twice a week, and a lot of people are here every day of the week, but it honestly pays off because we're winning and we get something out of it,” said Stybel, who travels from St. Paul to train with Xplosion.
“We definitely would not be here if it wasn't for our coaches,” added Kahanyshyn. “Our coaches are constantly reminding us, ‘Do you guys know how good you guys are?’”
In their first competition of 2023, Xplosion earned the highest score they have received to date, showing that the group is just scratching the surface of what they can accomplish.
