Panther Cheer Athletics thrived in a big way at the 2nd annual Snowflake Cheer Championships held at Simon Fraser University.
The Richmond-based club took seven teams to the event and brought home four first place finishes and four Grand Championship banners — given for the highest scores in their respective levels across all age divisions.
This was Panthers’ first competition after the Christmas holidays and the start of a busy stretch. The club was slated to compete in Abbotsford this past weekend and will be sending four of its elite teams down to Tacoma, WA for the Best of the Northwest National Championships.
Co-Owner and coach Stephanie Kennedy is incredibly proud of the grit and determination demonstrated by all the athletes in the weeks leading up to the competition.
“January is always a tough time in the season where the flu hits hard and see each of our teams come together and battle to hit new stunt combinations, perform new tumbling sequences and wow the crowd with their outstanding performances is so incredibly satisfying for the athletes and their coaches,” she said.
While Panther Cheer clearly shows excellence on the mat, they are also creating the leaders of tomorrow off of it.
“We are so incredibly proud of the philanthropic endeavours our athletes participate in every year. It is our program wide mission to develop our young athletes into the empathetic, caring and thoughtful leaders of the future,” continued Kennedy.
The Mini team (ages 6-9) has begun rounding-up children books for the not for profit organization www.booksformevancouver.com and have a goal of collecting 500 from the community.
The Tiny team (ages 3-5) will be enlisting the help of their friends and classmates in making and decorating Valentine’s Day cards for the elderly in the community. They will be delivering these cards on Family Day next Monday to care homes in Richmond in an effort to "show love, share love" to those in need.
Panther Cheer Athletics provides character and fitness training to about 300 athletes through cheerleading, tumbling, trampoline and ninja classes.
