Competitive cheerleaders at Laurier head to world championships in Florida
Competitive cheerleaders at Laurier head to world championships in Florida
The competitive cheerleading team from Wilfrid Laurier University is gearing up for the University World Cup Cheerleading Championships in Orlando, Florida.
This comes after the all-girl squad took home the top spot at the PCA National Cheerleading Championships for the tenth time over the weekend.
While the team is no stranger to winning, this will be their first time going to worlds which are slated for January 2023.
“Basket tosses, tumbling, jumps, stunting [and] pyramids,” co-head coach Marley Martin said, listing just some of the moves they did for their national’s routine.
But they’re preparing a brand new routine as the rules are different for the international competition compared to nationals.
“We have to take out jumps and dance, and we have to add in a cheer,” said Martin. “So, we have some serious practicing to be doing.”
Martin said her girls are working hard by practicing three times a week and hitting the gym at least twice a week.
“She said it takes a lot of discipline and most importantly, trust, to be a good competitive cheerleader.
“They have to know the exact count that they need to be letting go of something so that they can catch you as you’re coming off from two-and-a-half people high,” Martin said.
The team captain Simone Shanks said that trust is built over time.
“A lot of it is just spending time with each other and team bonding and making sure that you’re developing your friendships,” she said.
Shanks has been on the team for four years, but this is her last year. Shanks said over the years she’s noticed some stereotypes when it comes to cheerleading and is hoping to flip the narrative. The team said the work they do puts a physical and mental toll on your body.
“They think it’s just saying different cheers and ‘go team’ all the time. But it’s a lot more than that,” Shanks said.
For the World Cup Cheerleading Championships, the purple and gold said their goal is perfection.
“The biggest goal is just perfecting it and building as much trust as we can to do a perfect routine and hopefully make that the winning routine,” Shanks said.
The Department of National Defence says Canada is working with the United States to protect sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats after a high-altitude surveillance balloon was detected.
Canada's egg industry appears to be quietly sidestepping widespread shortages and wildly spiking prices affecting other countries, and some say supply management is to thank.
Hundreds of customers who scan QR codes for restaurant menus across Canada are being surprised by secret menus instead, revealing the hidden costs behind the food they eat.
The post-apocalyptic TV adaptation of the video game The Last of Us has some wondering about the real-life possibility of a global pandemic caused by fungus, and one expert says it’s not a concept to dismiss.
British Columbia Premier David Eby says he's going into next week's health-care meeting between the premiers and prime minister with an open mind — and without a red line dollar ask for the federal government.
Big tech companies that offer online streaming services could soon be required to contribute to Canadian content as a controversial Liberal bill gets one step closer to becoming law.
China said Friday that a balloon spotted over American airspace was used for weather research and was blown off course, despite U.S. suspicion it was spying. The discovery further strained already tense relations between Beijing and Washington.
A former high school teacher who skipped out on his sentencing hearing for sex-related crimes and was re-captured almost a week later will be back in a London courtroom next week.
Black Friday commemorates the loss of people’s livelihoods with guided tours and viewing of the one Avro Arrow replica. It’s also a starting point for the public introduction of the Canadian Air & Space Museum.
Huronia West Ontario Provincial Police say a local person posted a car for sale on a popular online platform and received an inquiry of interest from an unknown suspect.
The city’s annual Winterfest brings back the historical village that was Barrie and presents the new downtown, complete with snow tube and helicopter rides.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. is holding a big reveal Friday morning: the winner of a $48 million Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball draw. CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca will be streaming live from the news conference that is scheduled to begin Friday at 11 a.m. in Sault Ste. Marie, where the winner will be presented with their cheque.
Highway 11 in northern Ontario reopened Thursday afternoon after a collision involving several vehicles prompted police to close the road from Highway 66 near Kenogami Lake to Matheson for several hours.
A Quebec woman’s eyes welled with tears as she picked up her stolen Audi from an Ontario auto shop, not far from where her car smashed through the glass doors of a mall in an 'audacious' theft.
Hundreds of customers who scan QR codes for restaurant menus across Canada are being surprised by secret menus instead, revealing the hidden costs behind the food they eat.
The Montreal fire department is advising people to avoid Sherbrooke Street East at Carignan Avenue in the Longue Pointe neighbourhood as a five-alarm fire is burning.
Hydro-Québec is asking its customers to take a few steps to reduce electricity consumption in Quebec as a period of intense cold weather began Thursday night in most regions. The utility predicts that on Friday and Saturday, electricity demand could exceed the historical peak consumption, which was about 40,500 megawatts (MW) in January 2022.
A beloved man who was a fixture on the streets of Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grace neighbourhood died last year from a combination of street drugs in his system, including fentanyl, a coroner has ruled.
On the day that Shubenacadie Sam predicted six more weeks of winter, there are extreme cold warnings cautioning that the coldest air of the season is about to arrive in the Maritimes.
A former Edmonton Police Service officer believes bringing Alberta Sheriffs into downtown Edmonton is a risky plan that has the potential to backfire if not done properly.
A new survey conducted by Research Co. reveals that more people in Western Canada now support a change in the federal government compared to a similar poll from June.
Mayor Ken Sim's A Better City Vancouver party spent nearly twice as much as any other party on last year's municipal elections, according to data released by Elections BC Thursday.
CTV News has learned that four of five RCMP officers facing charges in the death of an Indigenous man during an arrest in Prince George are still on active duty.
China said Friday that a balloon spotted over American airspace was used for weather research and was blown off course, despite U.S. suspicion it was spying. The discovery further strained already tense relations between Beijing and Washington.
