When she walked into her first cheerleading training session at the beginning of this year, former Cootamundra resident Sara Collingridge could never could have imagined eight months later she would be preparing to represent Australia at the World University Cheerleading Championships.
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Sarah dances with Deakin Topaz, the elite dance team attached to Deakin University, Melbourne, where she studies.
Three nights a week for two to three hours, the Cheerleading Club trains in Jazz, Contemporary and Pom styles.
Pom is quite similar to jazz but done using poms with a strong focus on complex arm motions.
At the first competition of year they took out Grand Champions with their Jazz routine for the highest scoring university in the competition.
Then, at the Victorian State Competition level they won Jazz once again, placed top three in the other routines but missed out on Grand Champion by a fraction.
Sara reports that in October, they travelled to Sydney to compete at Scholastic Nationals having significantly stepped up their training with an aim to take out the top title.
In the biggest win of the year they won their Pom routine and took out Grand Champion.
This gained them entry into ‘Pinnacle’, a prestigious competition for only the best teams in Australia and Asia as well as a nomination to compete at the World University Cheerleading Championships against the best universities in the world.
The World Championships will take place in Orlando, Florida in January 2016.
While intensely training for the last two Australian competitions of the year as well as fast approaching Worlds, the team is busy fundraising.
Sara is holding a dance workshop including Contemporary and Pom for junior, intermediate and senior age groups on Thursday, December 3 in Cootamundra.
“Pom isn’t a style that is offered in Cootamundra and its lots of fun,” Sara said.
“Deakin Cheer Club has lent me a set of our club pom poms so definitely come along and have your own little cheerleader moment!”
The classes are open to all young dancers, not only Christine Wishart’s Dance Studio students.
To register contact Christine Wishart on 0427 782 954 or Sara on 0428 878 194.
If you would like to donate to the team search Deakin Topaz on GoFundMe.com.
Miss Sara in Cootamundra
Classes next Thursday will be:
- 4pm – 4.40pm: Junior Pom
- 4.40pm – 5.20: Junior Contemporary
- 5.20pm 6pm: Intermediate Pom
- 6pm – 6.40pm: Intermediate Contemporary
- 7pm – 7.40pm: Senior Pom
- 7.40pm – 8.20pm: Senior Contemporary
- ($15 for one class or $25 for both in the appropriate section)
- Poms will be provided, however if a child has some they would like to use, please take them.
