Above: The Morinville Community High School Wolves took second place in both the All Girls Advanced Division and the Game Day Division competitions during the ASAA Cheer Provincials held in Morinville on Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15. – Stephen Dafoe Photo
by Stephen Dafoe
The Morinville Community High School (MCHS) Cheer team hosted ACA/ASAA Cheer Provincials on Apr. 14 and 15, the first time the school has hosted a provincial competition since 1997. The two-day event featured elementary, junior high and high school competitors demonstrating their skills in the Landrex Arena at the Morinville Leisure Centre.
MCHS put a bid in to host provincials back in 2019, but due to the pandemic, it would not be until this year that the event would happen in town. The event drew roughly 16 teams of five to 30 athletes, all vying to be deemed the best in the province. It also drew record attendance.
“This has been quite the undertaking,” said MCHS Cheer Coach Amanda Bulger ahead of the weekend competition. “It’s incredibly exciting and super stressful all at the same time. It’s also very bittersweet. I’m excited for the event to just happen already, so I just stop stressing about everything that needs to happen. But that also means that our season is coming to an end, and I’m not ready to stop working with this amazing group of young ladies.”
Bulger said that the team has had a wonderful season and finished in either first or second place at the various competitions they entered.
“The girls have worked incredibly hard to increase the difficulty of our stunt and pyramid sections in the last month,” Bulger said. “I could not be more proud of them and everything they have accomplished this season.”
The competition commenced Friday night with Day 1 of the ASAA (Alberta Schools Athletic Association) Highschool Provincial Cheerleading Championships. Saturday morning began with the ACA (Alberta Cheerleading Association) Elementary and Junior High Provincial Championships. St. Kateri and G.H. Primeau had teams in that competition. Saturday afternoon saw more high school cheer competitions. High school scores were tabulated based on teams’ two-run totals.
MCHS competed in two divisions this year: the All Girls Advanced Division and the Game Day Division. The All Girls Advance Division was a two-and-a-half-minute routine consisting of a cheer, stunts, tumbling, jumps and dance. The Game Day routine is three minutes and consists of four shorter routines you would see performed on the sidelines of a sporting event.
The MCHS Wolves took second place in both of their competition categories.
The Georges H. Primeau Coyotes took third place in the Median Division, and the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Academy Bisons took fourth place in the Elementary Novice Division.
The St. Kateri Tekakwitha Academy Bisons took fourth place in the Elementary Novice Division during the ACA Cheer Provincials held in Morinville on Saturday, April 15. – Stephen Dafoe Photo
The Georges H. Primeau Coyotes took third place in the Median Division during the ACA Cheer Provincials held in Morinville on Saturday, April 15. – Stephen Dafoe Photo
The Morinville Community High School Wolves took second place in both the All Girls Advanced Division and the Game Day Division competitions during the ASAA Cheer Provincials held in Morinville on Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15. – Stephen Dafoe Photo
Photo Gallery
Below are some photos from Saturday’s two competitions.
