WAIMEA – Five cheer squads from the Kaua‘i Pop Warner Association earned the rights to compete in the national cheer competition coming up Dec. 5-11 in Florida. Working against the clock, Kaua‘i Pop Warner Association officials contended with a late
WAIMEA – Five cheer squads from the Kaua‘i Pop Warner Association earned the rights to compete in the national cheer competition coming up Dec. 5-11 in Florida.
Working against the clock, Kaua‘i Pop Warner Association officials contended with a late start due to the off-island judges missing a flight to Kaua‘i, but utilizing the exhibition performances to its maximum, the program at the 11th Annual Kaua‘i Pop Warner Football League National Qualifying Cheer Competition was cut back to only an hour’s delay for the second phase which consisted of the Midget competition Sunday at the Clem Gomes Gym in Waimea.
The Kekaha Pop Warner Association emerged the big winner of the day with two squads earning top honors and trip eligibility to Florida. The Kekaha Panthers nosed out the Kapa‘a Eagles and the Hanapepe Colts for the JPW (Jr. PeeWee) title with the Kekaha Chargers nosing out the Lihu‘e Patriots for the Midgets-Intermediate title, the Panthers garnering a 73.66-point rating from the judges, and the Chargers finishing with 78.16 points in the JPW Novice segment.
The Koloa Rams took the PeeWee-Novice division outright with the Kapa‘a Eagles exploding in glee as they took the PeeWee-Intermediate division on a 83.66-point total over the Lihu‘e Patriots.
Sherri Efhan, coach of the Hanapepe Colts cheer program, was a picture of happiness as her Colt cheerleaders jumped past the Koloa Raiders, 71.16-63.33 for the title in the Midget-Novice division.
Yvonne Hosaka, the island coordinator for the event, said that although the five groups are now eligible for the national cheer competition, the groups have a lot of time to think about whether or not they will attend the event in Florida.
Costs for sending the groups will be placed on the shoulders of the winning squads and their respective associations, and according to Holly Acoba, a past coach for Kekaha, the amount can be quite high. She remembers that during her coaching tenure, it cost approximately $1,200 per girl to get to the competition.
Hosaka also explained that Kaua‘i now has its own competition mats. During previous years’ competitions, the mats were brought in from off-island, but because of the increase in the number of qualifying positions to the national competition, Hosaka said the association secured a donation, and budgeted in an amount to cover the costs of Kaua‘i’s own mats which were inaugurated during the Sunday event.
Although some of the girls competing felt the mats were “too soft,” the squads were allowed to do a preliminary pre-competition run to get a feel for the cushioned surface designed to minimize injury in the event of a fall.
Another change from previous years was having two shows instead of the singular competition. This was due to the high demand for seats. To increase the number of seats available to families, the high school cheerleaders were also eliminated from their exhibition showings.
The event also allows the spiritsters an opportunity to “dress up,” as special hair arrangements and a uniform white turtle neck shirt spruced up the squads’ normal game appearance. “It’s just as if they are going to the prom,” one waiting parent noted as the spiffied-up girls strutted nervously while awaiting their cue outside the gym, careful not to mess up their fancy ‘do.
Hosaka also brought in a line of spirit wear that included dolls, pins, pens, keychains, tee-shirts, shorts, and even jackets that the girls could pick up between their numbers. The addition of a cold drink concession manned by the Koloa Pop Warner Association, and the Cold Stone Creamery mobile cart added the final touches to the ambiance of the competition, the drinks and ice cream going far to help cope with the westside heat.
Don Taylor of Cold Stone said that he was out early, and a portion of the day’s proceeds would be turned over to benefit the Kaua‘i Pop Warner Association.
As Hosaka welcomed the cheer squads and their families in the Clem Gomes Gym, she explained that people may not be aware that 40 percent of the Pop Warner participation involves cheer.
Additionally, each of the girls, and football players, need to meet national academic criteria to be eligible to participate. “This means each of you are not just athletes – you are scholars, as well.”
“Each one of you should never forget that you are all champions long before this competition, and long after as well,” Hosaka said. “Everyone here today deserves the recognition of a job well done. In my eyes, you are all winners!”
