Four years of game day cheer competition

Ada Chesney Business Manager

This is the fourth year that Marietta has had a Game Day Cheer team. The first year was the 2019-2020 season. This means that the seniors were on the inaugural team and the first group to be on the team for all four years.

“I feel super honored and proud of how far we have come from the beginning to now,” Tori Barnes (12) said.

Game Day Cheer is a competition that takes teams sideline cheerleading and tra- ditions and puts them in the spotlight. Teams compete in categories that represent what they do on the sidelines in order to engage the crowd and display their school’s traditions.

There are four categories for teams to showcase their talent. The first is band chant, when teams generally perform an instrumental version of a well known song. They incorporate flags, poms, signs, yelling, and sometimes even mascots. The second is situational sideline, when the announcer gives the team an offensive or defensive situation that then blends into the third category, crowd leading. Much like the band chant, teams incorporate signs, poms, and flags. The chants are easy to follow, and the signs help the crowd with the words. If stunts are used, they are used in order to advance the message, not just to entertain. The fourth one is a fight song, teams use their own schools fight song and the performance has sharp movements.

Teams are judged on execution, crowd effectiveness, energy, and overall performance.The total performance time cannot exceed three minutes. Between categories, transitions need to be smooth, cheerleaders must have energy and spirit at all times, and the props must be placed properly. Each category is worth 20 points. Five points for appeal, material or situation, five points for crows effectiveness, five points for motion technique, and five for execution of skills. 20 points are also given for the overall impression. In total, the highest score a team can earn is 100 points. The Marietta Game Day Cheer team still has their state competition left in this season, on Feb. 24.