Cheerleading Wins Yet Another National Championship

12 | THE BI-WORD Cheerleading Wins Yet Another National Championship

By Thad Worth

This year, the Bishop Ireton cheerleading team had the highest score at the Cristian Cheer Nationals (CCN) and won first place in the four routines that they did. The B.I. cheer team has won first place at Nationals and the Grand Championship every year since 2016 (except for 2021, as the competitions were not held due to COVID-19). They also had the chance to show their skills to the greater Washington area when Fox 5 visited B.I. to feature the team doing several of their routines and interviewed Coach Angel Hope-Eskew along with the team’s seniors Regan Houser and Isabella Leathers. Going into the season many team members didn’t have much previous experience, with only two members of the team having cheered competitively before. Creating an even tighter squeeze was the injury of three of the cheerleaders teammates making them unable to compete at the national championship. Despite this, the team managed to come in first place in their four routines beating the odds and overcoming the challenges they faced. “I had full confidence in my team” Regan Houser told the Fairfax Times “winning was super exciting, we were sitting on the mat holding hands.” Reagan Houser, a senior, is very proud of the team explaining that this is the first time that the team has done four routines, and they came in first place in all four. The team has also won the Spirit of Competition award in 2020, which measures a team’s enthusiasm and encouragement of others. Another senior, Isabella Leathers has been on the team for 3 years and talked about how some of the cheerleaders on the team have gone on to cheer at the collegiate level. One has become the captain at Elon University. With strong commitment and an enthusiastic team, the Bishop Ireton cheerleaders are likely to continue to win national titles and championships for years to come, bringing home trophies and victories that will ensure that they are never forgotten.

St. Patrick Day Festivities

By Jack Grzebien

Photo Credit: Getty Images

St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, and of Irish people across the world. In America, St. Patrick’s Day is normally celebrated with parades and appreciation of Irish culture the weekend before or after March 17th. Though the creation of St. Patrick’s Day in the United States is argued over, to many it is known as being started by The Charitable Irish Society in 1737. In the United States, the largest St. Patrick’s day celebration is in Boston, Massachusetts. At most celebrations people will wear the green colors of Ireland and eat corned beef and cabbage to start their day. For the first time in the past two years Americans across the country will be able to celebrate with parades and other festivities that in prior years have been postponed and canceled due to Covid. St. Patrick’s Day in the United States is a widely celebrated holiday and for good reason. Over 31.5 millions Americans claim Irish ancestry (US Census Data) and millions more choose to celebrate the holiday. In the Ireton community many students would usually celebrate with the Annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade put on by the Ballyshaners in Old Town. This year, for the third year in a row, the Ballyshaners will not put on the parade due to permitting and funding issues. The Ballyshaners is a volunteer organization located in Alexandria that states that their goal is to “promote and preserve Irish Heritage”. While students may not be able to attend the Old Town parade or the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Washington, DC, which was also postponed, students can still participate in celebrations at home and by supporting local Irish restaurants by immersing themselves in the food of the Irish.

In a catholic school it is not a shock that there is a healthy population of Irish Catholics. Kieran Kelleher, an Irish Bishop Ireton Student, said that “to me St. Patrick’s Day is a day to come together with friends and family to celebrate Irish culture and tradition. Personally, this allows me to get to know my family history better and connect more with my cultural background. For years my family has hosted a party to do this, where people have the opportunity to enjoy some traditional Irish food and other Irish traditions. A handful of students planned on celebrating St. Patrick’s Day by attending Shamrock Fest. Shamrock Fest is an Irish music festival which this year was planned to feature Dropkick Murphys, a prominent Irish band. Due to the snow on Saturday, March 9, the festival was canceled. This event was postponed until Saturday, March 26, where many will be able to attend in a safer, less snowy, environment. This year there seems to be a return to some normalcy in celebrations for St. Patricks, even though some local events are still facing repercussions from Covid.