Flying high

WASILLA — The Denali All-Stars are cheerleaders in name only.

Watch a performance by the Wasilla-based level-five gymnastics cheer team and it’s quickly apparent that any similarity between the All-Stars and the stereotypical pom-pom wavers many associate with the sport is unfounded.

Using routines heavy on aerial stunting, flashy tumbling passes and plenty of dazzling high-octane tricks, the All-Stars have become Alaska’s premier cheer team, recently earning a bid to the Cheer World Championships next month in Florida by placing first in their division and second overall at regional competitions in Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, B.C.

“The bid process is designed so that for every 100 teams, one enters,” Denali All-Stars coach Leon Reynolds said Sunday during a practice at the gym. “It’s designed to be very exclusive.”

Along with their berth to the world championships, the All-Stars also received $10,000 to help with travel for the team’s 32 members, which range in age from 12 to 18. The All-Stars are no strangers to international success, having placed 26th in the senior coed limited division last year.

Although the sport is called cheerleading, Reynolds said at the level the All-Stars compete, what they do is really a team gymnastics show.

“We don’t actually cheer for anybody. This is the true competitive side of the sport. Cheerleading as far as the dictionary definition, we don’t do that,” he said. “In fact, we don’t even have a cheer in our routine. It’s a true show of skills.”’

Just making the All-Stars requires years of practice and dedication. The invitation-only team is made up of some of the best gymnasts in Southcentral Alaska, with about a third of the squad driving from Anchorage or Eagle River out to the Valley for practice three times a week, and the rest hailing from the Mat-Su.

Since the All-Stars were formed in 2002, they’ve been the top cheer squad in Alaska, going undefeated in Alaska competition in that time.

“Really, our only source of true competition is outside the state, and primarily the southern states. Even in the Northwest we’re considered a

powerhouse,” he said.

Team members practice year-round, with try-outs beginning shortly after the world championships.

“These guys do not have an offseason,” Reynolds said.

Team member Brian Leonard, 16, of Wasilla has been with the team for three years, although he began his gymnastics career at age 2. Now a veteran of the team, Leonard said he often has to explain to people that although he competes as part of a cheer squad, what the All-Stars do is really a competitive sport.

“Usually the way I explain it is it’s competitive tumbling and stunting,” Leonard said. “That’s a little more accurate I think.”

During an All-Stars performance, team members are asked to perform a variety of intricate maneuvers that test both the body and mind. It’s a physical, often dangerous, sport that requires athletes to be in peak shape and know exactly what’s going on around them.

“Doing one of those two-and-a-half minute routines, by the end you’re very tired,” Leonard said.

Leonard’s primary role on the team is to make tumbling passes that include back flips, handsprings and round-offs done in quick succession. The main reason he enjoys the sport, he said, is because of the sport’s unique aerial moves.

“I like getting high,” he joked.

Because the moves require a large degree of teamwork (“fliers” are often thrown high in the air and must be caught before crashing to the ground), safety is a primary concern of both athletes and coaches.

“You pull one out, it changes everything. It changes all the formations, all the stunts. That makes our sport very unique. There is no second string,” he said.

The cooperation and dedication needed, he said, makes the sport even more team-oriented than many traditional athletic competitions.

“They have to rely on each other every practice, every day, all year round,” he said.

Another difference between cheer sport and other team athletics is that the team members themselves double as the athletic equipment.

Instead of tossing balls around, “we throw people,” team member Katy Cook said.

Taking a break from training, Cook and teammates Jessie Miller and Kayla Roberts all said they often bristle at the suggestion that because they’re cheerleaders, they aren’t as deserving as “traditional” team athletes.

“We train just as hard as any other sport,” Miller said.

In fact, none of the girls said there’s any other sport they’d rather participate in.

“It’s not like any other sport,” Roberts said. “It’s definitely worth it.”

As for how they’ll fare at nationals, the girls said they’ve improved after last year’s competition, and the All-Stars believe they’ve got a chance to shine on the international stage.

“Oh yeah. We have a stronger routine,” Miller said. “It’s way faster.”

Reynolds said the team is still finalizing its plans to travel to Florida for the competition, though he noted that the All-Stars are still seeking corporate and private donations to help fund the trip, which he estimated will likely cost upward of $35,000.

“Right now we’re trying like crazy to get fund-raisers in,” he said.

But with a team of dedicated, experienced athletes ready to take their skills south, he believes the team is ready to fly.

“Hopefully we’ll do better,” he said. “That’s always the goal.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@

frontiersman.com

Denali hosts state

competition

Denali Gymnastics hosted the Alaska State girls’ gymnastics competition over the weekend in Wasilla. Teams from Anchorage, Fairbanks, Wasilla, Palmer and Ketchikan participated in the state meet, which included competitions for Level 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 gymnasts. Wasilla’s Denali Gymnastics won the Level 4 and 6 events, while Palmer’s Excel Gymnastics placed third in the Level 4 competition.

Alaska girls gymnastics

championships

Saturday, Denali Gymnastics

L4 Team Results

1st- Denali Gymnastics & Fitness; 2nd- Arctic Gymnastics Center; 3rd- Excel Gymnastics.

L5 Team Results

1st-Arctic Gymnastics Center; 2nd- Anchorage Gymnastics Association; 3rd- Denali Gymnastics & Fitness.

L6 Team Results

1st- Denali Gymnastics & Fitness; 2nd- Arctic Gymnastics Center

L7 Team Results

1st- Arctic Gymnastics Center; 2nd- Gymnastics Inc.

L8 Team Results

1st- Anchorage Gymnastics Association