Cheer teams work for dual purposes: to boost morale and raise $$$ for the community

In school we have numerous outlets for our athletic and/or creative talents. Many of us go on to explore those talents after high school – in college athletic programs, through intramural sports, and as part of community performance groups. For one such set of individuals, however, there are not many opportunities.

Cheerleaders, for the most part, put down their bull horns and hang up their pom poms once high school is over. The days of shouting rhyming couplets, clapping hands loudly and tossing the littlest troupe members into the air usually end after age 18.

Not so fast!

In a few large cities around the country cheer squads are not only up and running, but are among the most active and most visible teams in their gay sports community. And they aren’t just in their infancy; one troupe is celebrating its 30th year of cheering in 2010. These squads are proving that the perpetually peppy don’t have to stop cheering just because school is out.

Cheer New York practices their cheerleading for three hours a week, with events, rallies and fundraisers scheduled nearly every weekend. They do it not only for the love of the hobby, but as a means to help their community. The all-volunteer non-profit cheerleading squad is made up of adults from the New York-New Jersey area who are 21 years old and older. Their many performances – which combine cheerleading, dance, tumbling and extreme stunts – most often serve to raise money and awareness for adults and children with illnesses like AIDS, Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis and other life-challenging conditions.

Felipe Hernandez, one of the co-founders of Cheer NY, told me “From Day 1 we train our volunteers to be in the community and give back to the community.” Hernandez, a former cheerleader at Columbia and Yale, says they look for individuals with personality and a lot to give back, not just someone who can tumble and twirl.

“The skills we look for are rhythm and timing, being able to pick up choreography, and personality! … You can teach someone cheerleading skills; you can’t teach personality.”
According to Hernandez, only about half of the squad’s 45 members have cheer or gymnastics backgrounds.

Hernandez met Andrew Jonas, a gymnastics coach, when they both auditioned for the New York Spirit Project in 1999. When that group disbanded, the two created Cheer NY, and have since grown it into the in-demand group it is today. (Jonas passed away in 2007.)

One of those who did come to Cheer NY with a cheer background is Diego Tucker, a medical student at Cornell University. Tucker stumbled into cheer during his undergraduate days at Rice, and it became such a huge part of his life he wanted to continue the hobby once he moved from Houston to New York.
“To me, cheerleading caters to creating close friendships,” said Tucker, who added that the trust factor involved requires you to open up to people in ways you normally wouldn’t.
While juggling his cheer responsibilities with the rigors of medical school, he says the sacrifices are definitely worth it. A member since August 2008, Tucker appreciates the passion and commitment that is shared by the other members.

The team goes year-round with performances, appearances and other volunteer tasks. (In December they were busy gift-wrapping presents for charity.) Unlike most sports teams, which take breaks of a few months at a time, Cheer NY is busy 52 weeks out of the year. They cheer for the New York Sharks (a women’s professional football team), the NYC Frontrunners, the NYC Marathon, the Pride Run, and any other GLBT sports leagues that request their services. Members are required to cheer at two events per month.

Luckily for Hernandez and Jonas, they didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. They took their cue from Cheer San Francisco, which had already been hollering and herkie-ing for two decades. Now in their 30th year, they have become the model for other gay-identified cheer groups that have sprouted up across the country.

At 70 members strong, Cheer SF runs like a well-oiled machine. They have to, what with the hundreds of requests they get each year for their cheer services. The types of performances they do, says member Nguyen Pham, run the gamut.
“After Thanksgiving, we were hired to perform at the San Rafael Parade of Lights,” said Pham. “(A week later) we were hired by a casting company that was filming a GE Super Bowl-themed commercial.”

The San Rafael gig took up a couple hours of their time, whereas the commercial shoot required the cheerleaders to be there for the 14-hour duration. When they do the San Francisco Pride Parade, it’s a 5-6 hour duty.

Their enormous commitment, though, is not without reward. Over the years Cheer SF has raised over $150,000 for local charities, with most of that being raised over the last decade, Pham points out. Cheer SF’s main beneficiary for the 2009/2010 fiscal year is the Positive Resource Center, which provides legal, housing and employment services to the Bay Area’s HIV-positive population.

Like the majority of Cheer SF members, Pham did not have a background in cheerleading. At 17, he took a shining to the squad at his first San Francisco Pride Festival in 2002. As soon as he was old enough to join – you have to be 18 – Pham tried out. It wasn’t long after that when he was asked to take on additional responsibilities, which eventually led him to the position of Director of Communications.

“By practicing and performing I have been able to master the skills necessary,” Pham says of his cheerleading prowess. It helps, he says, that Cheer SF has coaches who are accredited by the United States All-Star Federation.
While general fitness is important, Pham says Cheer SF can see promise in a beginner with a lot to give “over someone with an elite skill-level and a poor attitude.”
“All we ask is that you have a positive attitude, good time management skills and a willingness to help out those in need.”

With the gay sports landscape growing in large and mid-sized cities across the country, it’s a wonder there aren’t more cheer squads around to support them and support their communities. Perhaps a few years from now the number of such squads will be double … or triple. Everyone needs someone cheering for them on the sidelines. Everyone needs a little moral boost.
Says Hernandez: “We do that better than any other group.”


For more information:
Cheer San Francisco
www.cheersf.org
www.cheersf.org/facebook
www.cheersf.org/twitter
www.iGive.com/CHEERFORLIFE
415-995-2195

Cheer New York
www.cheerny.org
www.facebook.com/CheerNewYork
1-888-671-7312

Cheer Los Angeles
www.cheerla.org
www.facebook.com/pages/Cheer-Los-Angeles
310-393-0207

Chicago Spirit Brigade
www.chicagospirtbrigade.org
www.facebook/pages/Chicago-Spirit-Brigade

San Diego Cheer Elite
www.sandiegocheerelite.com
www.facebook/pages/San-Diego-Cheer-Elite
619-934-3260