Cheer Teams Converge On Maple Grove For Crimson Cheer Challenge
MAPLE GROVE, Minn. (WCCO) -- It's not the most talked about sport in Minnesota, but it's certainly one of the most challenging.
There are thousands of cheerleaders in the state of Minnesota. Around 70 teams gathered on Sunday to see who is the best, competing at Maple Grove High School in the Crimson Cheer Challenge.
The teams have just a few minutes to exhibit stunting, tumbling and of course, cheering.
Kendall Swanson cheers for Plainview-Elgin Millville.
"When we tumble it's like huge. We do a lot of dangerous things but it's fun," Swanson said.
Fear doesn't have a place in this room. The risks are apparent, hence the crutches in the room. But nerves are inevitable.
Presley Newcomb also cheers with Plainview-Elgin-Millville.
"It gets really nervous when you perform, especially if you're at a really big school," Newcomb said.
And almost every school is bigger than theirs. About two hours southeast of the Cities, PEM is slight in size.
"411 students compared to some of the other cities like Edina and Farmington and that they're 1,000, 1200, they have considerably larger pool to pick from than what we do," coach Bill Tice said.
Yet, they're one of the largest teams here.
Adriana Ramos used to cheer for the team, now her two daughters do.
"It's very big for me. I love coming to cheer competitions. I feel it in my heart and I just love watching them cheer because I have that passion for cheerleading too," Ramos said.
Josie Violegas is a grandmother to teammates. She also cheered the team on from the stands.
"It is a big thing and everybody participates," Violegas said.
It's a family thing for the Coach Tice too. His granddaughter cheers.
"You got sports families that have everything about football or everything about basketball. It just happens in our family, everything's about cheer," Tice said.
Coach Tice and his wife have helped build a program, even when the numbers didn't add up.
"There's no way a family could flip the bill to afford something like this so we do a lot of fundraising and that takes the pressure off of the families," Tice said.
David amongst Goliaths, the team manages to compete at the state's highest level.
"I would say we are small but very mighty, yes," Tice said.
The results are in, and PEM's JV team ended up placing second in Sunday's competition, right behind Farmington. The elementary team placed third.