Two Bobcats cheerleaders earn awards

Hot Springs County High School (HSCHS) Bobcat cheerleaders Adriana Deere and Margo Keller attended the All American Cheer camp in Kemmerer on July 31 through August 3. The event is hosted by the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA). Several other teams were to attend but didn't, resulting in just HSCHS and Kemmerer competing. 

Deere, a senior, won a gold Ribbon for Superior Shining Star and for Superior Senior, as well as a blue ribbon for Superior Back Spot. Deere also received a medal for UCA All American Cheerleader. Keller, a sophomore, received two gold Superior ribbons. One was "bomb base" and the other was "dance diva". Keller also won a medal for UCA All American Cheerleader.

Deere said, "They were really nice. It was really fun. The hosts were two girls and a guy." 

During the camp, they did structures every day and they would do cheers for a couple of hours and move on to stunts. Deere said, "It was very curricular based, so they would focus on what our strengths were, what our weaknesses were, and they would kind of work around that. Each stunt group was kind of individualized. So if one stunt group was having trouble with bases, they would focus on that. If one stunt group was having trouble with the flier hitting everything and they would focus on that."

A "flier" is a cheerleader who performs a stunt by flying into the air to do kicks or other actions. Margo Keller and Laine Boren are HSCHS cheer fliers. Keller said, "It was really fun. I think that the camp helped us a lot with some stuff that we've been struggling with." Keller added that she and Boren were struggling in a "full down" while spinning in the air because they got scared and were spinning. The hosts gave instructions on how to do better at it by spinning faster.

There were multiple challenges throughout the days where "little things'' were noted, such as who had the most enthusiasm. On the last day of the All American Tryout, Deere, a senior, and Keller, a sophomore, competed with four other girls from the other team, some of whom are seniors. They did a cheer, a dance, and a jump of their choice. The hosts judged them on each one of those actions.