Factual Story Telling - Assessment Three

-The Pain of Cheerleading-

BY Antonia Teale

Laura Harris before local competition.

Having been left with damaged ankles, broken fingers and toes, a body of bruisers and a voice similar to that of Darren Lockyer – Laura Harris has felt the punch with the competitiveness of cheerleading.

Cheerleading is not just a hobby for the pompom enthusiastic Laura Harris. It is the love and passion within her cheer school of Adrenalin Cheer and Dance that has developed major recognition across Australia, and even worldwide. Having participated in over 24 cheerleading competitions, over the past five years, has definitely left its mark on this teen’s body and her understanding of team spirit! The damage and danger in cheerleading has turned this original form of leading cheers at football games to a highly competitive and potentially bone-breaking elite sport.

Laura was first introduced to cheerleading after spending over 8 years participating in competitive gymnastics. Her love for flips, cartwheels, somersaults and leg splits left a constant strain on the body - a strain that she was forced to push through. “Gymnastics was no walk in the park! If I wasn’t at school, I was at gymnastics” said Laura in a recent interview.

It was when Miss Harris entered high school education that she was subjected to the idea of cheerleading, telling us “It was mum who really got me into cheerleading. She found an advertisement in the local newspaper and had signed me up before I even had a chance to consider it … I love her for it”.

With cheerleading taking up a majority of her evenings and weekends, she stopped gymnastics in order to pursue this dance sport.

Laura and Zoe showing their winning medals and trophies.

Only one year into cheerleading and Laura had already received scholarships and the title of the best gymnast and best flier of her cheer school. However, none of this came without pain. Countless knee injuries and swollen fingers came with her success as a cheerleader, with the ice-pack and crutches becoming her greatest enemy. Laura told us that, “As I was the flier of my cheer team, the ‘Vipers’, I was some times dropped when we were learning new lifts. I definitely felt that the morning after!” 
Being thrown into the air was hardly the safest activity for a young teenager, however the constant pain in gymnastics effectively prepared her body for the falls of cheerleading. The pain in cheerleading followed through Miss Harris’s voice box, “…it was almost after every cheer competition that I was left with a croaky and very manly voice,” Laura told us.

Members of Laura's cheer squad.

It was the four years Laura spent as a ‘Viper’ that she learnt of the value of friendship in a cheer squad, “we were the epitome of friendship. We were all so close and all had the same dream of winning that when we trained and did something wrong, people didn’t take it to heart when we pointed it out”.

The commitment each team member had to the squad never went unrewarded with the ‘Vipers’ taking out the Australian National Cheerleading title in 2009, which took them to Hawaii, U.S, in 2010. It was in Hawaii that Laura was faced with her first major cheerleading injury.   
                                                                                                                  

“We were doing our stunt routine so good when my ankle just completely gave way. It honestly felt like it was no longer part of my body,” says Miss Harris, “I had to control everything in my body to not breakdown and start screaming”. 
Coach of the ‘Vipers’, Kelly Tandy, says “I didn’t even notice Laura’s injury at the time. She was cheering her heart out and I couldn’t see any pain in her eyes or moves”. 
Laura finished this routine, “I couldn’t let down my team, and I didn’t want that on my shoulders”. Laura told us that soldiering on was possibly one of the hardest things she ever had to do as a cheerleader. She knew how hard her team had worked to perfect this routine and she knew they had the power to win. They did win. The ‘Vipers’ were deemed the winners of both the stunt and pompom routine in Hawaii, with Laura leaving the event in crutches and with a very swollen ankle. “It was so worth it. I couldn’t imagine just giving up. My ankle wasn’t going to beat me”.

Laura was in crutches for many weeks following the Worldwide Cheerleading Championships, however she was also able to proudly gloat of their stunt routine win. “Cheerleading is so unrecognized in Australia. It is a real hard competition when we go over to compete against American teams where it is valued so much more … we didn’t win the Worldwide Cheerleading title, but we sure did show the very talented American teams what Australia has got!”

Adrenalin's Australian Cheerleading teams in Hawaii.

There didn’t seem to be much more for Laura to damage in herself with cheerleading leaving a definite mark of the effect of power and determination in a cheer squad.

Adrenalin Cheer and Dance took out the title for a consecutive forth year of National Champions in 2011 and received a bid to travel to Florida for the 2013 Worldwide Cheerleading National titles. “I have never been so proud of my cheer squad! They work so hard for these titles ... Only bit of advice I can give is, do not break any bones!” says the very proud, cheerleading enthusiast, Laura Harris.

Adrenalin are expected in Brisbane on the 23^rd and 24^th of September to compete for their National Championship title for a fifth year. GO ADRENALIN!

Laura's Cheer team showing what they received at the Australian National Championships in 2011.