This year’s championship begins on Feb. 11 and will be televised on ESPN
Burlington Township cheerleaders will head to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando this month to compete in the National High School Cheerleading Championship against hundreds of squads from across the country. The championship will be televised on ESPN.
The Burlington Township high school cheerleaders are three-time national champions and hold 17 state titles. Both the high school and the middle school squads took first place at the regional championships in November, automatically qualifying them to compete at nationals, which includes both the high school and the middle school teams.
The cheerleaders will be judged on a number of factors including tumbling, stunts, cheers, spirit and dancing. Each squad has just two and a half minutes to perform and wow the judges. Cheerleading Coach Kim Gaskin says the short time period is one of the things that makes cheerleading more difficult than many other sports.
“You don’t get a chance to stop and refocus and redo the play,” Gaskin said. “It is a lot more pressure, but the kids handle it well.”
Gaskin was a Burlington Township cheerleader and graduated in 1980. She competed at the collegiate level at Michigan State University and has been coaching at Burlington Township for more than 25 years. Many of the other Burlington Township cheerleading coaches were also Burlington Township cheerleaders.
“We’ve worn the uniform, we take a lot of pride in that, and we know what it means to represent Burlington Township,” Gaskin said. “It represents something bigger than we are.”
Gaskin says the success of the squad has been built on tradition, focus, hard work and dedication. She says this applies not only to cheerleading, but to all Burlington Township sports.
“We know what it takes and we know the commitment, and that’s what we try to teach these kids,” Gaskin said. “It doesn’t come easy, it’s not given, it’s something that they have to fight for and believe in.”
Gaskin says another reason the squad has been so successful is because of the team-focused mentality. To Burlington Township cheerleaders, TEAM stands for “Together Everyone Achieves More,” which is the squad’s motto.
Seventh-grade Burlington Township cheerleader Anaya Young agrees with Gaskin.
“You can work with different people, see your friends and you get to compete in different things,” Anaya said on why she loves to cheer.
In addition to the high school and middle school teams, Burlington Township also has a Sparkle team — a diverse, inclusive cheerleading squad. The Sparkle team was created by cheerleaders and is made up partially of special need students. When the Sparkle team attended nationals last year, Burlington Township became the first ever high school to have a special needs team compete at the National High School Cheerleading Championship.
“Anybody can be a cheerleader if they have that spirit inside of them, and we believe that,” Gaskin said. “Anybody who cheers on our team is certainly a champion.”
The cheerleaders practice three days a week and compete in local competitions regularly. They also support other Burlington Township sports teams such as football and basketball. While Gaskin acknowledged cheerleading is often considered a lesser sport, it’s not usually an issue in Burlington Township. The girls have earned their respect.
“Just because you’re on the sideline doesn’t mean you can’t be a leader,” Gaskin said.
The National High School Cheerleading Championship is “the most prestigious cheerleading championship in the country,” according to the Universal Cheerleaders Association. The Burlington Township cheerleaders won the championship in 2011, 2012 and 2014. Last year, they came in second place.
“I feel that our whole team is just really excited and that we’re going to win,” Anaya said.
“We’re going to work together and we’re going to get this.”
The Burlington Township cheerleaders are still accepting donations to fund their trip to Orlando. To donate, contact Gaskin at kimberlygaskin@aol.com.
