Hey guys,
CFHTT had the pleasure talking Rachel from Chester Vixen to find why university cheerleading is like at Chester university
Tell us about Chester Vixens cheer history.
This one took quite a bit of investigation and contacting previous captains. The Chester Vixens were formed in 2005, and first competed only in Pom at BCA Nationals, 2006. We first started competing in Cheer in 2011. I think we may have dabbled in Level 2 a couple of times, however we’re such a small uni that Level 1 is most appropriate (at least right now). We mostly recruit complete newbies to cheer, but have had a number of experienced cheerleaders who have competed at worlds with the likes of Unity Allstars, Coventry Dynamite, Rising Stars and Team England Para Pom. More recently we have been Future Cheer University National Champions consecutively since 2014, however we have picked up countless national and regional wins before that.
At Chester university is your cheerleading team consider a sport or a society?
Since 2014 we have been recognised as a sport!
Do you get any support from your university?
It’s the Student’s Union that run all the sports at Chester, without them, we wouldn’t exist. Whilst we don’t get as much attention as we’d like to because Cheerleading isn’t in BUCS (who cares that we’re 4x national champs…), I would say we are in a better position than a lot of other University Cheer Teams. We pay a (relatively cheap) one off membership fee which covers our entry into two national competitions, transport to these, choreography and transport to basketball games. We’re very lucky that an ex-Vixen is a choreographer who travels all the way up to Chester each year, this is covered by the SU as well. She’s such a queen, so talented!
And of course we pay for our uniforms, training kits, bows and poms. So from that side of things, we’re pretty lucky.
We are currently in a battle with the university to allow us storage for two new roll mats. We currently have two, and have the money for two more after our girls worked FC Bournemouth 2016 and put their earnings towards this. Having an extra two mats would mean we can at least all stunt at the same time. We definitely will get them though, we won’t give up on that one!
You have been Future Cheer All-Girl Level 1 University National Champions from 2014-present CONGRATULATION :) what does that mean to your team and what do you do that keeps you on top form?
Every win does feel like the first. One thing we’re definitely not is complacent. We understand that our division gets tougher each year. Gone are the days of thigh-stands; level 1 has become so creative! We know we’re never going to score in the top bracket in tumbles, so the main thing we work on is being clean. Whilst we do have a good track record of winning, I’d like to think we’re still a humble team. The relationships and bonds between athletes are so important and I think that gets highly overlooked. We really are a cheer family who support each other throughout the season.
How many teams do you have and what does each team do?”
Chester’s quite a small university, yet we do get a high turnout each year! We have three teams, Level 1 Cheer (who just get known as ‘Cheer’), Pom, and Prep Squad. Prep Squad are our development/performance team who cheer and perform weekly at basketball games. Unlike other universities who have access to high-level coaches, we coach everything ourselves. In the past Prep-Squad have created routines that are similar to Pom.
They said it was difficult because unlike Cheer and Pom where we have rules and scoresheets, they didn’t know where their boundaries were. This season I created almost a ‘rulebook’ so they could execute things safely and have targets. It’s basically a mix of Pom and Level 0 cheer. Whilst some people join Prep Squad as a fun way of being involved in cheerleading without the pressures of competing, others are completely new to cheer and hope to get onto our Level 1 team in the future. We’re hoping with the introduction of basic stunts and tumbling, we will see more progress from our athletes in Prep Squad.
We also have a Level 2 Group Stunt which will see its third season this year. Whilst the majority of the team are newbies to cheer, the athletes that get chosen for our Group Stunt have often cheered previously in higher level teams
How many hours a week do you train?
Each team trains two hours a week. In the run up to competitions, Cheer and Pom get another hour and half per week that we share depending on where each other are at with the routines.
What was your biggest achievement last season?
There are so many achievements we could pick. Both Group Stunt and Pom knocked our socks off, to improve their results placing second at nationals. But it would have to be the fourth consecutive win for Cheer despite losing 6 points worth of infractions (which we’re all trying to forget).
How do you decide what competition you are going to attend?
Historically, we’ve always competed BCA and Future Cheer. Our routines tend to be more suited to Future Cheer. We love the atmosphere and always do well at FC, that’s why we always compete there. In recent years we’ve not placed so well at BCA, so this past season we thought we’d try our luck at ICC Nationals, which proved a fantastic move for Pom! Myself and my Vice Captain have always been big fans of ICC, their scoresheets, the atmosphere and their reputation, so we’ve decided to go back this season.
What was your favourite cheerleading competition of the past season?
Again, that’s a difficult one. As much as we all enjoyed Future Cheer, as we always do, ICC was fantastic. The session before we competed saw the senior All Star teams and those competing for Worlds Bids. As a large majority of our athletes never cheered before uni, it was great for them to see All Star teams and be wowed by Level 5 (which you don’t see in university divisions). Whilst we didn’t get the result we were hoping for in Cheer, our Pom team absolutely slayed.
Does your team do other things apart from compete?
Absolutely! Like I’ve already mentioned, Prep Squad don’t compete and perform at basketball games. Aside from actual cheerleading we go out on weekly, fancy dress themed, Wednesday night Socials. This year we’re hoping to do some more sober daytime socials and team-bonding activities. We also do an awful lot of charity fundraising. This year we raised £2000 for a wide range of charities! We hosted evenings at our SU, participated in a Mud Run, operation Christmas child and did a Sponsored Sleepout for Chester’s Aid to the Homeless – to name a few!
What are your goals for this season
We haven’t got any goals set in stone for this season just yet. We are going to wait until the end of October to set them, to see what talent we have. But with Cheer we are looking to gain that fifth-peat at FC Nationals, and place top 3 at ICC Nationals. In Pom, we are hoping to place top 3 at both FC and ICC Nationals. We are also hoping to win an award from the SU at the annual Sports Presentation Evening.
It’s that time of year where you guys will be recruiting what you are looking for from students?
More than anything, we are looking for hardworking individuals. Experience and tumbling skills would be grand, but enthusiasm and hard work come above everything.
Why should people join your team?
Aside from the fact we win things, we’re such a welcoming team. We cater for all abilities! Whether you just want to try something new, or you’ve competed at worlds. You’d honestly be surprised how creative and difficult Level 1 can be! Aside from cheering, we’re such a supportive community socially, most of our best friends at uni are cheerleaders. We volunteer and fundraise too, which all looks great on your CV!
What useful skills has cheerleading taught you?”
It sounds obvious, but cheerleading really does teach teamwork; better than any university group project I’ve ever done. If you don’t work as a team, stunts won’t hit, timings will be off and cheer just wouldn’t be cheer. Not only do cheerleaders show great teamwork during training, but we cheer each other during competitions, often our “rival” teams too. We’re also there for each other for unrelated things, like uni work, family and relationship problems; often being each other’s participants for dissertation projects, or even when you fancy a late-night pizza because you’re bored.
“Are there any transferable skills that you have learnt from cheer that you can use later on in life?”
Teamwork is definitely transferable in the workplace. Whether you’re working on a group project, having to deal with an annoying co-worker or even just working towards targets. I’d also say dedication and determination. These again can be transferred to work and relationships. Unfortunately, in life, there are always going to obstacles put in your way, in whatever you do. Keeping that initial fire, staying committed and determined is key for success.
What would your lives be without cheer?
Our lives would be super boring without cheer. Without tagging each other in bomb dance sections or cheer fails, without getting all prepped for comps or even that questionable Wednesday night dance-off on third floor Rosies (a Chester nightclub), our lives would be super empty. For a lot of us at university, cheerleading not only serves as a sport we love, but as a distraction and release from university work and stress. More than any other sport I’ve participated in, there’s such a huge rush of excitement when you hit a routine you’ve been working your backside off for all season surrounded by your teammates.
Do you guys use social media platforms?
We do indeed! Facebook: Chester Vixens
Instagram, twitter & snapchat: uoccheerleading
Is there any other information you would like to share with CFHTT?
One thing I would like to share with CFHTT readers is to not overlook your uni team if you’re an All Star cheerleader. We may not be able to max out tumbling and stunting difficulties, or have the best training facilities. But at uni you realise that your cheer team are worth way more than just your teammates. A lot of big names in the cheer world started as a uni cheerleaders. When you think about how short our season is, and the constant conveyor belt of athletes, you’ll realise just how impressive both our athletes and the sport in general actually is.
Lastly what is your favourite UK Cheer team (apart from your team) and your favourite International cheer team and why?
This season my favourite UK Cheer Team was Ignite, Coventry Dynamite. I love their choreography and stunting creativity. Super sad to see them go, but as excited to what they have planned for the new season, especially with Ammunition. My favourite international team has to be Cali, Reckless. Level 6 gives me life, it’s like watching the circus with the insane stunts. Also, the programme has such a good ethos, the athletes are so hardworking and humble.
Check out Chester Vixen winning their 4 consecutive National title
Until next time guys
love CFHTT
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