Madison Youth Cheerleading Needs Help In Advance Of National Finals

By Eli Sherer

There has always been a long tradition of sports in Madison, and as of this year, Madison sports moved into a new arena, Competitive Cheerleading.

Beginning in September, Coach Licia Ciotti organized three groups of girls, Division 10, 12 and 13, (separated by age according to American Youth Cheer guidelines), and started practicing for what would be Madison's first foray into competitive cheerleading. 

In addition to their school schedules and existing after school and weekend activities (including regular football cheer assignments), these girls spent whatever free time they had and coalesced into three dedicated groups of athletes. The goal was to have fun, to compete, and to finish somewhere above the bottom of the list in the Statewide competition. If anyone had even thought of the unthinkable, they never would have thought it quite this way.

With hearts pounding, winners announced

On November 12th, Division 10 and Division 12 girls competed in the morning session at the statewide competition at Waterbury High School. All the coaches and parents thought they had done a great job, but they were, of course, somewhat prejudiced.  As the trophy announcements began, hearts pounded as Division 10 winners were announced.

Third place passed, then second place, and in the seconds waiting for the first place announcement, thoughts turned to, "Well, at least they had fun." But then, the unthinkable: "Your new Division 10 State Champions, The Madison Tigers!"

The reaction? Unbelievable! Somehow, this group of girls had pulled off a coup d'état and beat out other more experienced teams from across Connecticut. Now it was time to see about Division 12. Announcements started again, could lightening strike twice? Yes! The Division 12 team won 2nd place in the State. 

In afternoon session, tension builds

In the afternoon session, things were more tense. Madison had already won twice in the morning, it would certainly be great for all three teams to take home trophies, but really, twice was a lot to ask, but three times? Unimaginable.

But the Division 13 team won 1st place as well! All three Madison teams were awarded championship trophies and all three were headed for the regional competition.

Everyone returned to their practice schedules (and school schedules). They had two weeks to fix any imperfections, and put their best feet (and cleanest shoes) forward.

"Do your best, but have fun"

The regional competition gathered teams from across New England, and was held the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA, with Division 10 and 12 competing in the morning, Division 13 competing in the afternoon. The morning session teams were loaded onto a bus at the Commuter Lot at 5:30 a.m. 

As the girls watched the sun come up, they had high hopes, but were reminded again and again by Coach Ciotti, "we're going to do our best, but we're really going to have fun!"

Morning sessions went great. Both teams performed brilliantly, but when the announcements came, neither team was in the top 3.

More than they ever thought possible the first year

The Division 10 team placed 4th out of 17 teams, the Division 12 team placed 5th out of 17. Parents believed Coach Ciotti's words, "They had fun. They came farther than we ever thought possible being the first year.”

But in the afternoon session, the Division 13 came through in 2nd place out of 10 teams. Another trophy was indeed coming home to Madison! 

All three teams were champions. The 2nd place Division 13 team, and the Division 10 team, as the Wild Card, have qualified to go to Nationals.

National competition coming up Dec. 10th in Orlando

The National Competition is in Orlando, FL on December 10th. All of the girls will need to be there on the 8th, which means flying and staying in hotels for at least 3 nights. As excited as the teams are, this is a huge financial burden.

To help defray the costs for the girls' trips to National Competition, donations are being requested. To find out how to help, contact Coach Licia Ciotti at m.ciotti@sbcglobal.net.

Company and Corporate sponsors and donations are more than welcome as well. This is a chance of a lifetime for many of these girls, some of whom will be over the age limit to compete next year.

This article was submitted by a Patch reader. If you have something you'd like us to run, please contact Pem McNerney at pem.mcnerney@patch.com.