Mount Blue trio sets sights on Hawaii
FARMINGTON – Hawaii or bust! That’s what Mount Blue High School cheerleaders are routing for.
Three members of the squad were chosen to represent Maine in the summer at an elite cheerleading camp at the University of Hawaii.
Chantal Redlevske, 16, of Industry, and New Vineyard students Heidi Fletcher, 17, and Christina West, 16, will be the first Mainers ever to head to the annual Cheer Hawaii USA Camp.
That is, if the trio who can raise a crowd’s enthusiasm for the Cougars can spirit up $2,695 each for the camp and travel expenses in six months.
At the camp, the three, now high school juniors, will learn about leadership, college opportunities for cheerleaders and the hottest new moves. The trip, slated for early July, isn’t school-sponsored.
Mount Blue High School veteran cheerleading coach Holly Gould says the camp is a once and a lifetime opportunity for the girls. It also will benefit the school’s entire cheering program, she said.
Last year, the team clinched a strong fifth-place finish in the Eastern Class A championship.
In a sport that often is brushed off as just being a hobby, the trio is finding that successful fund-raising for camp hinges on the community realizing that cheerleading is both a serious sport that requires peak athleticism and a passion with promise.
“With cheering, people think there is no future for us,” said Fletcher, “but at this camp, we are learning how to make it our future.”
West said that if people realize the trio is willing to spend every spare second they have to make their Hawaii dream come true, maybe they’ll realize they’re serious.
“Cheering is so fun and you can do so much with it,” she explained. “With basketball, you’re always on the court with a ball, but with cheering, you can do anything. We have to be as much, if not more, in shape than other athletes.”
Redlevske said the girls – and one guy – on the team train year-round for a three-minute competition. “You get addicted to this sport. You dream about it. It’s your life.”
The girls say there are few cheerleading opportunities in the state. That’s why they are looking further afield.
Each hopes to cheer in college, but colleges with strong cheering squads are out of state.
Each year Redlevske watches the national collegiate cheerleading competition on television. “There is no ESPN for UMO,” she joked.
Perhaps their trip to Hawaii will teach other cheerleaders in the state to take the sport more seriously, and eventually put Maine on the cheerleading map. “We plan to support and represent our state with such pride,” Redlevske says.
Gould views the camp as so important to the team’s improvement that the entire squad is helping with fund-raising.
Letters have been sent to area businesses asking for support and the team is selling tickets for a 50-50 raffle. Already, the cheerleaders have raised $700.
In mid February, they plan to put on a youth cheerleading clinic for area youngsters as another fund-raiser.
To make a donation or to learn more, contact Gould at 645-0998 or 778-0035. Donations may be sent to Gould, care of Mount Blue Cheering, at P.O. Box 372, Wilton, Maine, 04294.
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