IESA Headlines

2011 IESA Cheerleading Championships Set For Saturday

BLOOMINGTON - The field in the tenth year of the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) State Cheerleading Championships is the second largest number of competing squads ever. There will be 86 performances on Saturday (January 22) in the Exhibit Hall of the Peoria Civic Center.

Last year there were 93 performances and in 2008 there were 81. In 2007 there were 72 and in 2006 there were 82.

The 2011 Championships get under way at 9:00 a.m. in the Exhibit Hall. Tickets to the Championships will be on sale at the Peoria Civic Center. Admission is $8.00 for adults, $4.00 for senior citizens and students K-8. Preschoolers are admitted free. Admission gates open at 8:00 a.m.

This year's schedule of events will be:

Note: The awards ceremony in Cheer and Routine will follow the final performance in the respective category. Times listed for the award ceremonies are approximate.

In Cheer, there are 16 Small Team squads scheduled to compete, along with 11 Large Team squads. In Routine, there are 28 Small Team squads scheduled to compete along with 18 Medium Team squads and 13 Large Team squads.

Defending Small Team Cheer champion Buffalo Grove St. Mary's is scheduled to tentatively perform at 10:12 a.m. Last year's Small Team Cheer runner-up Catlin will be performing approximately at 9:08 a.m.

Orland Hill Bernardin, last year's Medium Team Routine champion will be tentatively competing at 2:41 p.m. this year. Winner of the Small Team Routine last year was Lockport Oak Prairie, they will be taking to the mats at approximately 1:33 p.m. The defending Large Team Routine champion Freeport is scheduled to tentatively perform at 4:17 p.m.

All times are tentative and subject to change. Please refer to the on-line schedule for most up-to-date times.

There are two event categories of competition in IESA cheerleading. One is Routine (with three divisions based on squad size) and the other is Cheer (with two divisions based on squad size). In the Routine category, Small Team is for school squads with 5-12 cheerleaders, Medium Team is for school squads with 13-16 members, and Large Team is for squads with 17-25 members. In the Cheer category, Small Team is for school squads with 1-12 members and Large Team is for school squads with 13-25 cheerleaders.

Following is a breakdown of what is involved in each event:

Cheer - The squad performs a routine without music for a time period from 1:30-3 minutes in length. The cheer may include stunts, tumbling and jumps. A school may enter either the small team or large team.

Routine - The squad performs a routine with music for a time period from 1-3 minutes in length. The normal full routine starts with music, then a cheerleading/sideline portion, followed by music to finish the routine. A school may enter either the small team, medium team or large team in the event.

The order of competition in each event and judging criteria is on the Cheerleading Page of the IESA Web site. Go to www.iesa.org for complete information regarding the 2011 IESA Cheerleading Championships. Click on the underlined "Cheer" in the box at the top of the page. Once on the Cheerleading home page, you can click on the underlined "Order of Competition" to view the performance schedule for all squads by event. Results of the competition will be posted Saturday evening.