By Mitch Bach

Stingerz cheerleaders heading to nationals

Mar 22, 2017 | 4:22 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — A local cheerleading team is making its way to the national stage.

The Medicine Hat Stingerz have qualified for the national championships in Toronto in May after strong performances throughout Western Canada over the past few months. The trip will be the first time the club has qualified for a national competition in its eight-year history.

Head coach Dawn Wilson said she was inspired to start the team while watching her son play high school football.

“We noticed that there were a lot of girls that were roaming around the football field, that they weren’t really involved with anything, that they were supporting their brothers, and we thought, ‘Why isn’t there a cheerleading team?’” she said.

HERE'S WHAT TO KNOW

Summer pool hours extended and discounts applied as Big Marble Go Centre upgrades start

Apr 18, 2024

Medicine Hat company drawing in clients with witty signage

Apr 16, 2024

Medicine Hat College holding event for missing and murdered Indigenous women awareness day

Apr 16, 2024

The team has grown from nine kids to nearly 150 athletes competing across the Prairie provinces.

The Stingerz have combined the top three age groups into a team of 24 for the Nationals.

Kyra Rutledge, 16, has been a cheerleader with the Stingerz for five years, and made the cut for the national team. She says her love of the team and her teammates has kept her going for her entire time.

“I’ve seen my skills grow a lot,” she said. “I feel like I can do a lot more since I’ve joined this team.”

Dakota Darbyson, another team member who made the cut, has eight years of experience cheerleading and says the bond between the Stingerz is strong.

“We usually group up together before we go onto the mats, and I give the team a little pep-talk and tell them that no matter what happens on the mat, we remain as a team,” she said.

The Stingerz know it’s going to take a lot of hard work to compete on a national level, but the team is ready, learning new skills.

“I said that by the end of my cheer career, I wanted to go to nationals or experience worlds…now this year, going to nationals, I’ve set that goal,” said Darbyson. “I’m excited.”

“Every time they are in this gym, they are training hard and preparing,” said Wilson.

The team gets their first taste of national quality competition in Kamloops next month, with nationals scheduled for the third week in May.