LIHU‘E — The Waimea High School cheer squad will be defending its six-time Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation cheer title Friday night starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Kaua‘i High School gym. The competition for will feature reigning champ Waimea, Kaua‘i and
LIHU‘E — The Waimea High School cheer squad will be defending its six-time Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation cheer title Friday night starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Kaua‘i High School gym.
The competition for will feature reigning champ Waimea, Kaua‘i and Kapa‘a high school squads.
Avery Kano, cheer advisor for the Kaua‘i High School squad, said the KIF cheer competition will produce Kaua‘i’s sole representative to the 2011 Zippy’s Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association cheerleading championships Dec. 4 at Stan Sheriff Center at the University of Hawai‘i-Manoa.
In the 10-year history of the state cheerleading championship, the Kaua‘i Red Raider squad earned a third place in 2004-05 and the Waimea Menehune finished third in 2010.
During the KIF competition Friday, each team will perform a routine not to exceed two minutes and 30 seconds with the majority of the team, 50 percent plus 1 , demonstrating the proper technique and execution of the different cheerleading fundamental skills in accordance to the target range system of judging outlined by the Hawai‘i State Cheerleading Judges Association, Kano said.
Teams will be judged by a panel of three performance judges and two safety judges who will assess safety issues. A head range judge will assist with the accuracy and consistency of scores throughout the judging panel.
Each team can earn up to 125 points from each performance judge, who will look at eight categories of cheerleading fundamentals including motions, jumps, stunts, pyramids, standing tumbling, running tumbling, basket tosses and dance; four categories in routine choreography including timing and synchronization, spacing and formations, transitions and flow of routine and creativity; three categories in routine execution including voice and projection, expression and showmanship, and crowd leadership. There will also be an overall performance score.
Exhibition peformances from some of the Kaua‘i Pop Warner Football League cheer squads who earned qualifying berths to the National Pop Warner Cheer and Dance competition will also be on the floor.
General admission to the KIF cheer is $6 with students in grades kindergarten through Grade 8 at $4. Tickets are available from any of the high school cheerleaders or at the door, Friday.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
