Fan Feedback

Meet judged fairly

I am writing in response to a letter that was published in the Fan Feedback section (BDN, Jan. 29).

I am a cheerleader from Old Town, the winning squad at the PVC cheerleading championships that took place Jan. 19. I feel that the letter published was unfair to myself, my team, the judges and other squads that were at PVCs.

Obviously the author of the letter does not understand cheering or the judging of the competitions. It is true that we had an “uncharacteristic fall” in the first round, but stunts do not make up the entire routine. Our routines are composed of dance, jumps, tumbling, motions, creativity, and stunts. Stunts are worth the same points as other aspects of the routine.

The reason that our squad won was not merely reputation, it was because we were solid and clean the second time out. A small controlled fall like the one we experienced in the first round does not make a huge impact on the score; if it had not been controlled, the proper five-point deduction would have been taken from our score.

My teammates and I work very hard to look the way we do when we perform. We put in the effort and we did indeed deserve to be called back and to win.

As for the judges, they are probably the best judges in the state. The judges are trained, they know what to look for in a routine, and they know what they are doing. A person that obviously is not within the cheering community should not tell the judges how to judge. If they think they can do better, then they should go through the training themselves.

I would also like to defend Caribou, the other team that was mentioned in the letter. They were a very clean and solid team when they performed at PVCs. It was not their fault that they had a setback close to competition time causing one of their teammates to be absent.

They performed very well under that kind of stress and very much deserved the score they received.

In conclusion, if someone wants to write an article about cheering, they should research the topic first like any other person writing an article to the paper would. It was very clear to myself and others around me that the author of this letter was not totally educated on the subject at hand. The judging at the competition was very fair. I admit there was a lot of tough competition, but the winners were chosen appropriately according to performance and scores.

Meghann Foster

Old Town

Old Town earned praise

Let me set straight the letter writer (BDN, Jan. 29) on the PVC cheerleading competition. First of all, your saying “Old Town’s cheerleaders were judged poorly?” I sense a little jealousy on your part. I wonder how many cheering tournaments you have been to?

What if Judge Judy was ruling on Old Town? Would you still complain? Bet not!

You should complain about the government’s big spending on Enron’s troubles! Don’t pick on poor Old Town’s cheerleaders!

You say “why did Old Town get to come back in the finals?” Be honest. To the public that saw the PVCs in Hermon, don’t you think Old Town deserved to win?

At the Bangor Auditorium on Jan. 26, guess what? Old Town won the Eastern Maine Class B championship. Was it bad judging? Bet not.

Great job, Old Town. I’m proud of you and your talent. I hope your competition in Augusta takes you to the top, because you girls are a class act. All the squads were very professional.

Dan Cunningham

Bangor

Cheerers deserved better

Three cheers for Michelle Brown of Bangor and Ruth A. York of Orrington. Your letters to Fan Feedback on January 29 were my thoughts exactly. I’m looking forward to your comments on the January 26 competition. To sum up my thoughts on January 26, the announcement that changed Houlton from number one to Old Town was unforgivable. It was a tie, so the squads knew they equaled in talent. Houlton was announced the winner so that should have been the final word. If there was a mistake, then let the judges or principals’ association live with it. I’m certain the Houlton squad didn’t hear the lame apology of “I’m sorry” and certainly would not be consoled by it. The panel should have shown compassion and not blown it off like “no big deal.” Don’t they have children and couldn’t they put them in Houlton’s position? Shame on them.

My heart broke for the Houlton squad. One does not toy with young hearts that have worked so hard to get to the top. All squads put all of their energy and spirit into their routines. For some, their efforts were insulted by scores read aloud of 30 or 40 points. There they sat surrounded by supporting squads, fans, friends, family, and devastation. It was a day for many wonderful teens to be in the spotlight presenting their school colors with pride. That day ended with grief and ill feelings. That fiasco can not be repeated another year. Is it necessary to have more that one competition? Maybe there should be more attention and organization put into one event, hopefully eliminating numerous mistakes and heartaches in the future.

I attended Hermon and Bangor events as a proud grandmother of an Ellsworth High School cheerleader. Ellsworth fans profess Ellsworth cheerleaders Number 1!

Carol Norwood

Ellsworth