Return of Malvern Collegiate’s cheer team to be celebrated at Red and Black Day on Oct. 10
Malvern Collegiate Institute’s annual Red and Black Day celebration is slated for Thursday, Oct. 10.
Events at Red and Black Day will be focused on Birchmount Stadium with games being played by a number of the school’s sports teams including girls field hockey, girls ultimate, boys rugby 7’s and boys football.
This year’s Red and Black Day is also special as the Malvern cheer team returns after nearly five years.
When students realized the absence of a cheerleading team at Malvern, they were motivated to initiate one that peers and fellow students could enjoy.
The inspiration to start a cheer team came from amazing experiences which the team leaders had in the sport and aspired to pass on to those around.
Malvern team leader Ria Swaminath said, “I have not participated in any school sports at Malvern, as I wanted to play a sport, I knew I would be good at.”
“I always found it super unfair that other sports are represented in school but not cheer,” added team leader Talia Street.
After immense dedication and the invaluable support of many, the students’ vision for the cheerleading team has transformed into a reality.
Malvern principal Aaron Gotfryd spoke about his excitement of having a cheerleading team at the school. “I was surprised we didn’t have a cheerleading team given the amount of school spirit at Malvern. I was eager to find a way to make it happen.”
I (writer of this article Aunalya Turner) am one of the cheer team leaders, and our first step was to publicize and assemble a team of exceptional students who were ready to become cheerleaders.
When I was eight years old, I discovered and developed a passion for cheerleading. The sense of family, the bonds of friendship, and the valuable life lessons I gained over the course of 10 years in which I was a part of the sport were truly unique. Cheerleading shapes individuals by instilling qualities like commitment, responsibility, determination, and the ability to cultivate and cherish relationships.
Allowing students a chance to be a part of a team sport as remarkable as cheer not only is a fun way to participate in school but a great way for students to learn qualities to take with them through life.
The leaders of the cheer team conducted tryouts which welcomed 130 students from Grades 9 to 12, with 60 going on to make the team.
“It was amazing to see so many students share the same dream that I do. I was shocked at how many students showed up at our first meeting and I continue to be shocked with how engaged everyone is,” said Street.
With a multitude of objectives to achieve throughout the season, the cheerleading team is looking forward to making its debut at Red and Black Day on Oct. 10.
Red and Black Day will host multiple games running from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., starting with girls field hockey and ending with football.
This school-wide spirit day will be raising money for the athletics programs at Malvern C.I.
