Local cheerleaders need only look at the calendar to get motivated.
Teams at Landing Trail Intermediate School and Edwin Parr Composite are ramping up their preparations for EPC Cheerfest, which will be held at the Athabasca Regional Multiplex on Saturday, Feb. 2. The annual event always brings out the best in the local cheer teams, as well as their competitors who travel from around the region and province to take part.
Each local team practices multiple times a week, and they are currently in the final stages of readying their programs for the event.
Local cheer coach Barb Lachance is leading the LTIS Grade 5/6 team and likes what she sees from them.
ìTheyíre doing great,î she said. ìThe program has come a long way from the beginning of the year.î
The LTIS team will debut their new program at Cheerfest, after which they will make slight modifications to it in order to keep the judges and competitors on their toes.
Thatís a formula followed by all the teams, including the LTIS Grade 4 squad, which Lachance keeps her eye on from afar.
ìTheyíre very cute to watch,î she said.
EPCís own cheer teams are also getting ready for the event. The junior team is coached by Catherine Greentree.
ìTheyíre doing really good this year,î said the coach of the team, which is comprised of students in Grades 7, 8 and 9.
ìTheyíre going to be ready (for Cheerfest).î
Lachance is pulling double duty as she is also coaching the EPC senior high team. Comprised of newcomers and some veterans, the team has plenty of experience, which should help them at Cheerfest and other competitions.
ìWeíre having a lot of fun.î
As itís her first year coaching the senior team, Lachance has had to get used to the athletes, and they to her, a process she says has gone very smoothly.
For the first time the senior team will compete in a co-ed division, which will mean a big step up in the calibre of their competition.
ìItís the highest level you can go in senior high,î she said.
All the local teams are hoping to replicate the success they had at last yearís Cheerfest. In 2012, the LTIS Grade 4 team was named the most enthusiastic team at the event. EPCís Junior High Division Three team won first place, as did the Senior High co-ed team. EPCís Junior Division One team also claimed the top spot in their division. In Elementary Division Two, LTIS Grade 4 was second to their Grade 5/6 counterparts.
In Elementary Division One, the WHPS team was first.
Entry is $6 and the doors open at noon with the competition beginning at 12:30 p.m.
