Valley cheerleaders earn trip to championships

WASILLA — For the third straight year, the Denali cheerleading team has earned a bid to the Cheerleading World Championships in Orlando, Fla.

Earning one of these bids requires winning one of the National Championships offered by different organizations around the country. But not all of these competitions are of equal difficulty, some only offer at large bids with no prize money. The Pac West National Championship is one of the most competitive, offering $25,000 in prize money used to defray the costs of travel and lodging for the trip to Worlds. Last weekend in an extremely close competition, the senior team from Denali won the Pac West competition held in Portland, Ore., by a whisper-thin margin of fourth-tenths of a point.

This year the Denali team is composed of cheerleaders from both Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley. After growing for the last 20 years into a succession of larger gyms in Wasilla, Denali recently opened its first facility in Anchorage last September. The aspiring cheerleaders for both locations now form a single team with enough talent and training to take Alaska into the “big time” of the World Championships.

Denali Gymnastics & Fitness began as a small family-owned gym more than 20 years ago, when Lynn Reynolds brought his growing family up from Texas to take advantage of the opportunities of working on the oil fields of the North Slope. A passion for physical fitness and the childrens’ interest in gymnastics led him to buy a small gym in Wasilla. Over the years Denali Gymnastics and Fitness has grown to incorporate adult fitness, full day care and a K-4 school along with the core gymnastics business.

Five years ago, Leon Reynolds, Lynn’s son expanded the business into the world of cheerleading. Together with his mom Sandy Reynolds, Leon has taken a small initial squad of just 30 Cheerleaders and built it into five teams of 119 cheerleaders representing different age groups, all of whom traveled to Portland to take part in the Pac West National Championship.

Developing physical fitness and strong competitive sports programs for the state of Alaska is an important part of the Denali mission. Denali takes its mission in the community seriously and participates in activities such as the Baby Show at the Mat-Su Regional Hospital, where parents can meet some of the youngest gymnasts and learn about the benefits of youth physical fitness.

Next weekend, the boys’ gymnastics program will participate in the state championship, and the girls’ gynmastics team will compete in the state championships the following week. Gyms from Anchorage and all around the state will be participating in these competitions as well, and some of the best gymnasts competing will then be traveling to regional and national competitions which follow. It’s a fabulous opportunity and experience for the talented young athletes of Alaska to take part in.

The Denali cheer team will be traveling to Orlando April 18 to compete against the very best teams in the World, from powerhouse states like Texas and Florida, and they hope this year to move up in the rankings to be among the top contenders.

— Courtesy of John Litter, Denali Gymnastics