Deer Isle—The best kind of practice for cheerleading competitions can be to compete against other teams in front of a crowd. The Deer Isle-Stonington cheerleaders hit the mat on January 19 in Lincoln at the Penobscot Valley Conference championships to get younger members used to the competition atmosphere.
“Honestly, we went to get them in front of a crowd,” Coach Amber Jones said. “We took out some things to just go super simple and focus on the performance aspect.”
The Mariners came in fourth in Class D, competing against winner Penobscot Valley High School, Bangor Christian, and Machias, with a narrow four-point margin separating them from a third-place finish.
“We went super basic to just try to get in front of judges and a crowd to get some feedback, which we did,” Jones said. “It was a successful weekend.”
The team is using this week before the Class D North Championships on Saturday to work on upgrading its stunts, a big part of scoring at competitions.
With the top six or eight teams, (depending on the number of teams entered) moving on to the state championship February 9 in Augusta, “we hope to go to the regionals stronger,” Jones said.
The regional championship will be held at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, with Class D teams scheduled to begin at 11:15 a.m.