Regent Royals’ Cheerleaders attend their first competition

Regent’s first cheer squad is attending competition this weekend!

If you have attended any events around campus like soccer games or the Chili Bowl, or even if you’ve walked across campus when the weather has been warmer, you’ve probably seen the cheerleaders performing in their uniforms or practicing hard out on the lawn. All their hard work, performances, and practices have been leading up to this weekend. Saturday, Mar. 3, the Regent Royals cheer squad will be travelling to North Carolina to compete in their first competition at Christian Cheerleaders of America (CCA) Cheer Nationals!

Though it has been a bit of a tough run to get this first-year team off the ground, both Elana Burt, a junior English major as well as Co-Captain and Chaplain for the squad, and Kayla Babitz, a Government major obtaining her master’s degree, are proud of the dedication and passion for the sport their team has shown.

Growing pains: the struggles of a new team

The team has been practicing since this past summer, and Burt said, “[Practices] are definitely going really well. We have had some bumpy places in the road, but since we started to work them out, we’ve grown a lot closer as a team.” She mentions the resilience she felt the team showed as it began and had to rebuild when several members quit.

Babitz said of the team’s difficult, yet fruitful, beginnings, “The biggest difficulty was when most of the team quit, so that’s been interesting to see how our dynamic has changed… We have had to endure all the growing pains of a new team, but we pulled through.” Starting with a team of 25, the squad is now down to 13 members of whom Kayla states are “thirteen committed people who really want to be there.” Babitz credits God for their team’s success. “It’s been a miracle and by the grace of God that we’ve been able to do as much as we’ve done,” she says.

Continual development and learning

Both girls are excited to start recruiting new squad members for next year to improve their skill level and compete at multiple competitions. They are excited to cheer at more soccer and volleyball games, as well as basketball when that team is added in the future. Elana says of future team development, “I hope we get more skills. I’d like to get a more advanced skill [set], so we can enter more advanced competitions. That is a long-term thing, but I’d love to see Regent’s cheer team do that and I know it can.”

When asked how this year cheering for Regent Royals has influenced her, Kayla responded, “This year as a Royal has taught me definitely don’t quit… Cheer is a sport that sometimes gets lost in the fray… it’s really taught me about service in the background. When you’re not in the forefront, [you’ve got to] stay just as consistent and faithful even when you’re not seen… God rewards faithfulness.”

The goal

Of course, what is both Babitz’ and Burt’s goal for this weekend’s competition?

“WIN!”

Want to become a Regent Royal Cheerleader?

Tryouts will be held on these dates in the Regent Ordinary (Student Center):

• April 13 @ 6-10 p.m.
• April 14 @ 8-11 a.m.

Emily Nevala is a contributor to The Daily Runner.