Spring Break
From the sidelines to competition
UW-Eau Claire stuntmen pump up the crowd at games, perform in cheer tournaments
Erick Horrmann
Issue date: 3/2/06 Section: Sports
On Feb. 23, the cheer and stunt team headed off to the United Performing Association AmeriCup Cheer & Dance Championship, which was held in Minneapolis. The team did quite well at the tournament but ran into one snag that held them down, King said.
The team committed a safety violation, which occurred in one of its stunts when a girl did a front flip without the proper number of people on the floor to catch her.
"Cheerleading competitions work differently than most sports," King said. "Each competition is put on by a different company, and with each company comes a new and different set of rules. There are stunts that are perfectly legal at one competition (that) can be illegal at another."
There are a lot of stereotypes regarding men as cheerleaders, but Andrews said the people who say that just don't understand.
"This sport takes a lot of time and effort because of how complex it is, regardless of the sex of the person," he said. "A lot of people told me that they would never do it, but they said that they wouldn't do it because it seemed too difficult and strenuous."
As the cheerleaders complete their stunts, the stuntmen below them catch them
with total accuracy, and the crowd erupts
into cheer. The job of the stuntmen
is complete - until the next game break.
The team committed a safety violation, which occurred in one of its stunts when a girl did a front flip without the proper number of people on the floor to catch her.
"Cheerleading competitions work differently than most sports," King said. "Each competition is put on by a different company, and with each company comes a new and different set of rules. There are stunts that are perfectly legal at one competition (that) can be illegal at another."
There are a lot of stereotypes regarding men as cheerleaders, but Andrews said the people who say that just don't understand.
"This sport takes a lot of time and effort because of how complex it is, regardless of the sex of the person," he said. "A lot of people told me that they would never do it, but they said that they wouldn't do it because it seemed too difficult and strenuous."
As the cheerleaders complete their stunts, the stuntmen below them catch them
with total accuracy, and the crowd erupts
into cheer. The job of the stuntmen
is complete - until the next game break.