Peak Elite Cheerleading hits the podium at first event of the season

By Lethbridge Herald on December 12, 2022.

SMUG MUG PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO The Peak Elite Cheerleading’s Yetis team perform their Hit Zero routine during the Cheer for the Cure event in Toronto earlier this month.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

Peak Elite Cheerleading started off their season with podium finishes at the Cheer for the Cure event in Toronto on Dec. 3-4.

It was the first time in three years the team had competed in a December competition and it was worth the trip out east, as the U12  Level 1 Elite Division was dominated by the Peak Elite Cheerleading’s  Yetis team.

 The team stood on  top of the podium in first place out of 12 teams.

The Yetis also took home the coveted Judges Choice award for Level 1 for the  best routine across all age divisions for their level out of 86 teams.

“I’m so shocked that the girls did not have nerves,” said Samantha Paradee, Peak Elite head coach.

“They were ready to go. They were in tune (and) they knew what they needed to do. So the youngest, they are between the ages of eight and 12. So that’s a lot of pressure on an eight year old.”

The Saturday saw the Yetis compete and it started with the 30-minute practice mat session where the teams warm-up together.

“It can be quite nerve-wracking, but we felt confident watching everybody back there which was nice,” said Paradee.

“The girls came with sass… that morning. I don’t know what they ate but they were ready. We ran what we call a Hit Zero routine. So that means there was no deductions at all in our routine. So it was just clean raw score and that’s what you want.”

Rules had to be followed perfectly and cheerleaders had to do their routine without falling down in the Hit Zero routine.

Meanwhile, the Yetis were not alone on the podium locally=, as the U16 Level 2  Elite Division’s K2 team took home the silver medal on the Sunday.

“They were ready,” said Paradee.

“The practice mat was amazing. (They) hit every single stunt that went up (with the)attitude (and) the positivity. We call it the hype ;we get our music going and the blare . We just pump them up. It’s like putting the kids on Pixie Sticks before they hit the floor.”

The team had a slight bobble when the pyramid was performed, but was fortunate to only  take a two-point deduction.

The K2s did outscore the winning team in eight of 16 categories.

“So really, we were just out pyramided that day, so that’s a good loss,” said Paradee.

“But we out tumbled, out jumped, out tossed and out choreographed. So it was really good.”

Peak Elite Cheerleading was the only Alberta gym at the events.

“We started pretty high here,” she said.

“We need to peak a little bit later in our season. But it’s nice to be peaking now, that’s for sure, and the kids are just  even more hungry to keep going for the rest of the season.”