When you think of cheerleading, you think of stunts that typically involve athletes hoisting or even throwing each other in the air.
Since COVID-19 shut down competitive sports in March, that particular skill has been grounded as it involves physical contact.
However, the Prince George All-Stars Cheer squad, B.C. provincial-podium finishers in its first two years as a club, is not counting out the possibility of bringing it back at some point for 2020 competition, says Head Coach Jess MacDonald.
“So at this time, we’re not allowed to do any of that, but we do have stages coming and you can expect that we will stunt this year,” she told PrinceGeorgeMatters prior to hosting a preseason training session on Saturday (Aug. 22).
“We will also attend competitions, if we’re allowed. The advice that we’re having so far before the actual release from the BC Cheerleading Association is that we will go to competition as long as we don’t have a case of COVID-19.”
B.C. also announced earlier today (Aug. 24) that viaSport is moving into Phase Three of its return-to-play plan, meaning some sports may be able to host additional training sessions, modified games and competitions within certain cohorts.
It’s unknown, as of this publication, if that includes cheerleading, but that undoubtedly is a good sign for the All-Stars, who are seeking a third-straight banner year if provincials take place.
In 2019, the squad’s first official season, the senior team brought home the B.C. title and followed suit with a third-place finish last year.
For now, Coach MacDonald says the primary focus, like other sports, is four-fold: skill development, affordability, team bonding and goal setting.
“We’re getting a lot of guidance from the BC Cheerleading Association and Cheer Canada, who are directly taking guidance from viaSport,” adds Coach MacDonald, noting a season typically starts in September, but decided the extra two months would allow members to navigate B.C.’s return-to-school strategy.
Prince George's school district (SD57) has until Wednesday (Aug. 26) to roll out its plan for the fall.
“We will be as competitive as all the other cheer teams in B.C. My goal is that we can continue to be rivals with those other teams. We can work on individual skill development, which is key to have a good cohesive team moving forward. So if you have your own skills which are excellent and when you bring it as a team together, that team is going to be amazing.”
PG All-Stars are set to move on the second step of its reopening strategy with those elements in mind as competitive team placements won’t be expected until November, when seriously-interested athletes will try-out for a respective troope.
Throughout August, the team has hosted COVID-safe recreational practices at the Kinsmen Centre for athletes to stay in shape and keep up with their skills before preseason programs get underway next month.
This has included:
- Coaches wearing masks
- Hand sanitizing station at front desk
- Asking athlete questions about their symptoms
- Soaking shoes in bleach water and wiping them on a mat
- Staying in a designated space distanced from other members
- Placing belongings into a bin with hand wipes and sanitizer
- Using them after each time the items are touched
- Following arrows entering and exiting the facility
- No parents or spectators
“We are trying to offer as much as we can in comparison to last season,” says MacDonald, while also understanding that numbers may be lower due to COVID-19 health and safety concerns.
“I think that’s an idea I’ve had to accept as we move into this year of COVID-19 and things being a little bit different. Parents are going to have to make decisions to keep their kids safe [...] we will continue to be as cautious as we can be with our health and safety based on all of the regulations that we have. Cleaning between classes, hand-sanitizing before, during and after, and cleaning our spaces before we leave.”
Should they go through with a season and a sudden outbreak has been declared wherever the 2020-21 season may take them, PG All-Stars’ registration package says it’ll continue to host practices virtually.
Coach MacDonald, however, has a message to all athletes, as well as local residents, that it’ll be a team effort to ensure a safe season, whenever it should start.
“I just hope that people are going to stay safe as a whole; we need no cases in order to compete otherwise it’ll take a long time to recover from that, so we need to be as clean and safe as possible.”
In the spirit of its third campaign, MacDonald has also taken on three more certified coaches in Emily Anderson, Rachel Bitter and April Hackle.
A full COVID-19 strategy and plan for PG All-Stars can be found on its website, along with schedules of upcoming programs for interested students aged five to 19.
