Cheerleaders Take Top Honors In Candlewood Valley Competition

By Christian Villodas

Victory was Newtown’s as never before, when the first place in the 10th annual Candlewood Valley Cheerleading Competition was awarded to both the Pee Wee and Junior Pee Wee Cheerleaders. But honors did not stop with the morning awards. Later that afternoon the Junior Midgets would win third place taking all three of the Newtown Pop Warner Cheerleading Teams on to compete at the state level in Waterbury and the regional level in Providence, R.I.

Nearby Ridgefield High School was the setting for Newtown’s dramatic performance on Sunday, October 15. The Candlewood Valley League is comprised of Newtown, Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, Monroe, Ridgefield, New Milford, Aspetuck, New Fairfield, and Pomperaug.

Wilby High School in Waterbury will be the scene for the November 12 Connecticut State Championships, with regional championships to take place on November 26 in Providence, R.I. Newtown will compete against teams from other Connecticut towns, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Their placement in this competition will determine whether or not these girls will be spending December in Florida competing on the national level.

“Training begins in August with an intensive two hour a night, four day a week schedule maintained until the start of school, when the schedule is reduced to three instead of four nights a week,” said Laurel Butler, Director of Cheerleading for Newtown’s Pop Warner Division. Their victory was clearly a reflection of the time and effort that volunteer coaches and support staff contributed.

“I and my assistant coaches want to give our special thanks to Audra Shepard, Becky McCullough, and Kaitlin Sullivan, who volunteered endless hours of their time to help us attain this level of achievement,” Head Junior Pee Wee Coach Terri Bell said. In addition Ms Bell wanted to thank Whitney Cross, Dawnielle Conger, and Emily Cieniawa for their help.

Laurel Butler also gave high praise to Stephanie Davies and Ashley Klabonski for the countless hours they spent choreographing the Junior Midgets’ entire competition routine. All of these young volunteers share in this Pop Warner victory, for without them competing in Providence may not have been possible.

 

(Christian Villodas, a Newtown High School student, writes for the NHS school newspaper, The Hawkeye.)