A local club is bringing the first-ever cheerleading gym to Cold Lake this summer.
The Cheer Force Jets announced during their showcase on Sunday, March 24 that the grand opening of their new space will be July 2.
Head coach Viola McNeil noted the group has seen major growth since it started in February 2017.
“We’ve been renting from the Lakeland Gymnastics Club for the last little bit. We’ve grown from 15 athletes this time last year, and now we’re at 115. The gymnastics club isn’t really able to accommodate us anymore.”
The Jets went out on their own when they outgrew the gymnastics club, and started the search for a new place to call home.
While everything is ready to go for the building, McNeil said they’re not announcing the address until the current tenant has time to inform his clients of the change. Due to the requirements of the sport, finding a suitable location was difficult.
“It’s hard to find the right space for cheerleading because you need such a large open floor space. They compete on a 54 by 42-foot floor, and they’re throwing people in the air. We need ceiling clearance, which is one of the challenges of finding a spot for cheerleading.”
McNeil hopes to offer more programs and to reach more people once they have their own gym.
“Right now, we have a wait list for the program and I’m hoping to be able to offer different levels for every age group,” she expressed.
This year, they had teams for three to five-year-olds, five to eight-year-olds, and nine to fourteen-year-olds.
“With the new gym, we’re going to be opening things like adult and mommy and me classes. We’re also hoping to do a special needs team, which will be really awesome,” she expressed. “At the gymnastics club, we only had nine hours per week, so the new gym will really open up opportunities for us to do all kinds of different things.”
McNeil isn’t surprised at all in the growth the club has seen.
“I grew up cheerleading in Nova Scotia, and I’ve been kind of hooked on it since the very first team I joined back in 2004. It’s always something that I’ve been passionate about, so when I moved to Cold Lake and saw there was no program, I figured it would take off as soon as we started it.”
The fundamentals of cheerleading are teaching participants lessons they may not be aware of.
“When they’re on their teams, they work with the exact same team and group for 11 months over the year. They get really close, and kind of develop a sister-like bond and they really love it. The parents like it, as well. They’re learning things like leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving and they don’t even realize it.”
