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When someone mentions an intense practice, most people conjure an image of sweating bodies colliding into each other, or a long hard run for endurance. No one thinks of endless flips and routine after routine after routine.
Cheer
The cheerleaders have been hard-working as ever, cheering year long. After an intense summer at a cheerleading camp, the girls are back to jumping and flipping during games and practices. They showed off their freshly honed skills to students who attended Cheer clinics on Sept. 3, 5, 8 and 10.
During JV Cheer try-outs last Friday, participants showed their dance, jump and tumbling skills. “The girls did a good job,” junior co-captain Amy Chau said. “I see commitment in people and it shows.”
This summer, the varsity team attended a cheerleading camp at UC-Davis where they learned new routines and participated in competitions against other Northern California high schools. Cheer left camp with fourth place in the dance routine competition, also receiving a trophy and ribbons for their superior routine and team spirit. Cheer also received the “spirit stick”, which is given for honor and leadership within the team.
During camp, the varsity team had an opportunity to bond closer than ever. “Camp was four days of fun,” junior Lyrics Rabino said. “It definitely brought the team together.”
Many of the varsity team members are new, with returning members having at most one year of experience. But Chau and junior co-captain Tina Kwan see a lot of potential. “There may be less experience but more dedication,” Chau said.
Song
They may perform as a team, but the Song girls are on their own when planning out the moves for their routines. Song has not had a coach to help them with their routines for the last three years. “It’s really hard,” sophomore Song member Jenna Lew said. “Everything a coach does we have to do by ourselves.”
Song wants to step up its game with a new choreography in their routine. But because lack of funding deters Song from hiring a choreographer to teach them new stunts and routines, junior co-captains Emily Lewin and Cherry Manoonsilpa lead dance mixes and routines on their own. “We just don’t have that kind of money,” Lew said. The team hopes this year’s fundraising will bring in enough money to hire a choreographer.
Despite their financial situation, Song continued to push themselves by keeping up with practices and going to camp at UC-Davis this summer. At camp, Song had the opportunity to learn new choreography. “We learned six routines within three to four days,” Lewin said. Song plans to incorporate the jazz, hip-hop and cheerleading styles they learned from camp into their routines.
Senior Letter
This year’s Senior Letter consists of six members, chosen from the group of 17 who tried out last year.
Co-captains of Senior Letter ’08 passed down the Cardinal Stomp to the new team to perform at freshmen orientation. The Cardinal Stomp is a routine passed down every year to the new team, but with a twist. “We do sprinkle on our own flavor and formations to spice it up for everyone, especially the freshmen,” co-captain senior Christal Tossany said.
Senior Letter met twice a week over the summer to prepare for their first performance and to freshen up for the upcoming Homecoming rally and games. “I was very nervous (on stage),” co-captain senior Arman Liwanag said. “But right before we performed, we had a senior pep talk and I told them to go up there and have fun. Those nerves turned into excitement which helped us in our performance.”
Members are proud to be part of a Lowell tradition. “It feels amazing to be on Senior Letter!” Tossany said. “Ever since my freshmen orientation, I knew I wanted to be on Senior Letter. So it's really one of those freshman dreams that I got to fulfill as a senior.”
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