YORKTON - The cheers from the full bleachers at the Yorkton Regional High School gymnasium Saturday were for the cheerleaders.
The Gridders Cheerleading Club held a performance “just for the community,” explained coach Jennifer Ingham.
With the bleachers full Ingham said they were happy with the support shown.
“We had a great turn out. We were certainly pleased,” she said.
Through the year the club performs at various competitions, all of them outside of Yorkton, so the event Saturday was a chance for local friends and families to see the athletes perform the routines learned throughout the season.
The club began back in 2012.
“We ran it out of the school the first couple of years,” said Ingham.
In 2014 the club moved to the Springer Gymnastics building, staying there until they found their own building in 2019.
“We’ve been operating independently since then,” said Ingham.
The club’s 120 participants encompasses a range of athletes, with recreational and competitive programs.
Of course the COVID pandemic limited competitions the last couple of years, including 2021 athletes being limited to virtual events focused on small groups doing individual moves.
This year the novice/prep group has attended three competitions, with the older athletes going to four, including one in Calgary.
“The youngest athlete was four-years-old,” said Ingham. The oldest participant is “19 right now in her first year of university.”
While based in the city, athletes are from across the east central region, with participants travelling in from Invermay, Langenburg and Melville.