Oh Canada

[thetank]

Not going either but it pains me a little to think that we have our end of the year showcase then I'm leaving this gym and moving to London but hey, new friends, new experiences.

 

[McKenna.M]

Everyone going to OCF Nationals should go get there hair done at the Poof Booth! I have my hair done from them at every Cheer Evolution competition and it's my good luck charm. The staff are great and so friendly too!!!!

 

[haylsv3]

Not going either but it pains me a little to think that we have our end of the year showcase then I'm leaving this gym and moving to London but hey, new friends, new experiences.

Are you starting school there? There's a lot of options to continue cheer at least (even if you don't do a school team) they have Vipers, London Heat and Crazy Fish off the top of my head. Although I think crazy fish is just a open 4.2 team

 

[thetank]

Are you starting school there? There's a lot of options to continue cheer at least (even if you don't do a school team) they have Vipers, London Heat and Crazy Fish off the top of my head. Although I think crazy fish is just a open 4.2 team

I wont be going to college/university until fall 2016 so im really just going to live with my parents and work/cheer maybe take a trip or two. I plan on trying out at cheersport sharks and driving myself out to Cambridge for practices. But since I've never seen the gym I dont know what the environment is like so just in case I don't like the vibe (which i doubt i wont), crazy fish is definitely my plan b

 

[marissa.d]

I wont be going to college/university until fall 2016 so im really just going to live with my parents and work/cheer maybe take a trip or two. I plan on trying out at cheersport sharks and driving myself out to Cambridge for practices. But since I've never seen the gym I dont know what the environment is like so just in case I don't like the vibe (which i doubt i wont), crazy fish is definitely my plan b

Not sure how busy you plan to be but I'm just finishing my fourth year at Western and for the previous 2 years I cheered at Sharks and it is a tough time, totally worth it but very hard. At best, it's a 1.5 hour ride and it's terrible throughout the winters, I tended to leave 2-2.5 hours in advance to account for the snow on the 401. I'm not sure what team you'd be trying out for, but I was on Grey Reefs and their weekday practices are 8:30-10:30, meaning I wouldn't get back to London until after 12 and unfortunately I have 8:30am class everyday. The weekends are Saturday practices 3;30-5:30 (if it hasn't changed) and because of the drive, it's almost a whole day you can't plan to do anything else (leave around 1:30, back around 7). It's definitely worth it I just hope you are really considering the time balance necessary! This year I really didn't want to handle the balance (lots of exam conflict for me last year) so I've been coaching at London Heat, which has been much easier if I don't think about how much I miss cheering haha
I know you said you won't be going to school for another year, this was mostly just to give you some info about how much time it takes up!
let me know if you have any questions about this though!

 

[thetank]

Not sure how busy you plan to be but I'm just finishing my fourth year at Western and for the previous 2 years I cheered at Sharks and it is a tough time, totally worth it but very hard. At best, it's a 1.5 hour ride and it's terrible throughout the winters, I tended to leave 2-2.5 hours in advance to account for the snow on the 401. I'm not sure what team you'd be trying out for, but I was on Grey Reefs and their weekday practices are 8:30-10:30, meaning I wouldn't get back to London until after 12 and unfortunately I have 8:30am class everyday. The weekends are Saturday practices 3;30-5:30 (if it hasn't changed) and because of the drive, it's almost a whole day you can't plan to do anything else (leave around 1:30, back around 7). It's definitely worth it I just hope you are really considering the time balance necessary! This year I really didn't want to handle the balance (lots of exam conflict for me last year) so I've been coaching at London Heat, which has been much easier if I don't think about how much I miss cheering haha
I know you said you won't be going to school for another year, this was mostly just to give you some info about how much time it takes up!
let me know if you have any questions about this though!

Wow thats really good to know! I do plan on coaching in the near future so I guess that would be my plan c. I think i should be ok this coming year since i have no school, and when next year rolls around ill know what to expect and how to manage my time around school and for cheer. & i am trying out for grey reefs. My tumbling is crap but im hoping that my stunts/jumps/dance will get me there. If not, i JUST turned 18 so I could easily super senior on another team so I won't get my hopes too high good to know someone is or was in the same boat as me!

 

[AliciaM]

I didn't realize you were moving to London. Thought you were moving to Cambridge. I've cheer before somewhere that was an hour and a half drive and it was rough. I was a senior though so my practices ended a bit earlier but I'd still get home pretty late. If I were you, since you're still of age to be a senior, I'd stay in London to cheer but that's just me. I dunno a lot about London heat but I know the owner of Vipers, Trace, very well. You probably could also possibly CIT to get coaching experience too either at London heat or vipers if you also cheered there. You could CIT for sharks too but if you didn't cit on nights you cheered it would be a LOT in gas/ driving and you don't get paid so prob not worth it as much to CIT at a gym that far.

 

[thetank]

I didn't realize you were moving to London. Thought you were moving to Cambridge. I've cheer before somewhere that was an hour and a half drive and it was rough. I was a senior though so my practices ended a bit earlier but I'd still get home pretty late. If I were you, since you're still of age to be a senior, I'd stay in London to cheer but that's just me. I dunno a lot about London heat but I know the owner of Vipers, Trace, very well. You probably could also possibly CIT to get coaching experience too either at London heat or vipers if you also cheered there. You could CIT for sharks too but if you didn't cit on nights you cheered it would be a LOT in gas/ driving and you don't get paid so prob not worth it as much to CIT at a gym that far.

Yup moving there this fall I currently live in St Catharines, which is even more driving for summer practices. But i did consider that but id feel kinda bad just joining a gym just to cheer there for a year, then having to retire from all star when realistically i don't think i'll be ready to. I joined cheer at 13 which is kinda older in comparison to others in the industry and I don't think I've reached my full all-star cheer potential yet, and wont for a few more years. (Or maybe I'm just crazy and love the sport too much)

 

[haylsv3]

Yup moving there this fall I currently live in St Catharines, which is even more driving for summer practices. But i did consider that but id feel kinda bad just joining a gym just to cheer there for a year, then having to retire from all star when realistically i don't think i'll be ready to. I joined cheer at 13 which is kinda older in comparison to others in the industry and I don't think I've reached my full all-star cheer potential yet, and wont for a few more years. (Or maybe I'm just crazy and love the sport too much)

I say go as long as your body and pockets can take it. I retired at 19 and coached for a bit. Then I came out of retirement at 25 for 2 years and realized how old I was. I'm back to just coaching and happy to still be around the sport so much

 

[queenie]

I wont be going to college/university until fall 2016 so im really just going to live with my parents and work/cheer maybe take a trip or two. I plan on trying out at cheersport sharks and driving myself out to Cambridge for practices. But since I've never seen the gym I dont know what the environment is like so just in case I don't like the vibe (which i doubt i wont), crazy fish is definitely my plan b

That's where we cheer - at the Sharks Gym in Cambridge. My daughter is a mini (crosses over to youth) but I really love the gym. They have so many fun events, and it's a really great community. Speaking from a parent of a mini/youth aged child, we love it there.

 

[queenie]

I didn't realize you were moving to London. Thought you were moving to Cambridge. I've cheer before somewhere that was an hour and a half drive and it was rough. I was a senior though so my practices ended a bit earlier but I'd still get home pretty late. If I were you, since you're still of age to be a senior, I'd stay in London to cheer but that's just me. I dunno a lot about London heat but I know the owner of Vipers, Trace, very well. You probably could also possibly CIT to get coaching experience too either at London heat or vipers if you also cheered there. You could CIT for sharks too but if you didn't cit on nights you cheered it would be a LOT in gas/ driving and you don't get paid so prob not worth it as much to CIT at a gym that far.

I'd probably stay in London too, even though I love our gym. I can't imagine driving 1.5 hours each way, several times a week, especially in the winter. A friend of mine cheers for London Heat and she is happy there.

 

[Phenomenon]

I wont be going to college/university until fall 2016 so im really just going to live with my parents and work/cheer maybe take a trip or two. I plan on trying out at cheersport sharks and driving myself out to Cambridge for practices. But since I've never seen the gym I dont know what the environment is like so just in case I don't like the vibe (which i doubt i wont), crazy fish is definitely my plan b

I considered making the drive as well. I'm transferring to Western this Fall. However the thought of driving the 401 at night in the winter is daunting.

 

[thetank]

I'd probably stay in London too, even though I love our gym. I can't imagine driving 1.5 hours each way, several times a week, especially in the winter. A friend of mine cheers for London Heat and she is happy there.

Ive heard both london heat and vipers are very good gyms, i just really dont want to have to cheer there for only one year as I'd age out and neither gym offers an open team. Crazy fish is 4.2 and you cant really grow much being 4.2. If I were younger I would cheer in london for sure.

 

[thetank]

I considered making the drive as well. I'm transferring to Western this Fall. However the thought of driving the 401 at night in the winter is daunting.

Thats something important to consider. But if the weather is REALLY bad, most gyms close. Also worst case scenario, i have family that lives in cambridge so if I didn't feel safe driving home, I'd go stay with them for the night if need be.

 

[Cheerleading Is My Life]

I wont be going to college/university until fall 2016 so im really just going to live with my parents and work/cheer maybe take a trip or two. I plan on trying out at cheersport sharks and driving myself out to Cambridge for practices. But since I've never seen the gym I dont know what the environment is like so just in case I don't like the vibe (which i doubt i wont), crazy fish is definitely my plan b

I'm at Sharks and I absolutely love it. A girl on my team travels from London and it only takes her about an hour. The registration package just came out on the website, so you should definitely check it out! It has all the info you would be looking for!