Rec’ing on…Cheering the Terps

University of Maryland
Competitive CheerDust off more space in the hall of fame…Maryland garnered its fourth National Championship for the 2005-06 academic year. Saturday, April 8, saw Maryland’s Competitive Cheer team come out on top of a field of 28 in the 2006 National Cheerleading Association Division I National Championship. Woo-hoo! GO TERPS!

(Small aside…who cheers the cheerleaders at their competitions? The football team?)

Oh, and for those of you who sneer at cheerleading as a sport…think of it more as team gymnastics. You need not only strength, stamina, and great kinesthetic awareness, but you also have to do it in sync with the rest of your team. Still sound like a joke to you? I didn’t think so. And let me tell ya, these athletes are tough. Popped knees. Dislocations. Lost teeth. Definitely not a sport for the frivolous of mind, body, or spirit.

I’ll proudly rise and sing, "Hail, Alma Mater," in support of our victorious Competitive Cheer squad. It’s a heck of a way for outgoing coach (and fellow alumna) Lura Fleece to cap her 14-year career at the helm. She will most definitely be missed.

Raise high the black and gold! Fear the Turtle!