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U of R cheerleader Cade Eastwood

Cheerleading isn’t always about pom poms and shouting “give me an A!” Given the physicality behind the stunts these athletes do, it isn’t surprising men have made their way into the sport.

Cheerleading coach Shanda Leftley of the University of Saskatchewan team said she’s seen a higher interest, but it does fluctuate.

               

“We run open gyms and I also coach at a local club and this is the first year the club has actually run a completely co-ed team. It's just male bases and female tops,” she said.

               

Thomas Rath, the coach at the University of Regina, agrees about fluctuation.

               

“I wouldn't want to say it's generational, but I definitely think it comes in spurts where there's more males involved, then there suddenly seems to be less, then there suddenly seems to be more. It's kind of a roller coaster.”

               

Currently, the University of Saskatchewan has four male cheerleaders. Last year, they had 12 and the year before three. Regina had four last year and this year only has two. Both teams have between 26 and 34 members.

               

In the past, the popularity of cheerleading for males was different. Rath remembers being one of the few males when he started in high school. Graham Kolojay, a six year veteran who used to be on the Saskatchewan Roughriders cheer team, said people didn’t, and still don’t, understand why men cheer.

               

“They don't understand the competition aspect to it and how difficult it really is, or in the case of the Riders, how entertaining we can be, because with our added strength we can do a little bit more unique and dangerous things,” Kolojay said.

               

Having males on cheer teams adds a different dynamic to the team. Cade Eastwood, a second year business student at the University of Regina, said he and Eric Cannon have an “extra edge.”

               

“Guys in cheerleading seem to have that extra fearless mentality sometimes. That gives us a little bit of an edge because we'll just try to do things without worrying about what's going to happen.”

               

Having men on the team also changes the stunts a team can perform. Most girls, said Leftley, like to cheer with men because they can perform more difficult stunts than on an all-girl team. Kolojay agreed.

               

“A few people have said that they won't be on any team other than a co-ed team, mainly because guys keep the cattiness down a little bit that can sometimes arise when a bunch of women get together, unfortunately.”

               

Any co-ed team, whether a small one with one to four boys, or large with five or more, requires different training for men.

               

“With their strength comes a different skill set that they bring. You need to understand how to coach some of those elements and how to approach them,” said Rath.

               

Male cheerleaders also learn one-on-one stunting, which is very different from how girls learn.

               

“(Men) have to be able to use their legs and use a lot of power to be able to get the girl up there by themselves without assistance from someone else,” Leftley said.

               

All this begs the question: why do men want to cheer in the first place?

               

Rath and Kolojay both said it was an interest in a girl that got their feet in the door.

               

“What kept me doing it, and what's kept me doing it for so long, is the sport itself … what got me in the door was one thing but what's kept me here is completely different,” said Rath.

               

Eastwood and Cannon both had sisters convince them to join, and they enjoyed it enough to keep coming back.

               

Unfortunately, because cheerleading is still a female-dominated sport, at least in Saskatchewan, being a male cheerleader comes with stereotypes.

               

“I think the big thing is people don’t understand what cheerleading actually is as far as what you actually do,” said Cannon.

               

“They tend to get a rap that they're not as macho but that's definitely not true at all. They're some of the most muscular and strong people that I've ever had the pleasure of being around,” Leftley said.

               

The most popular stereotype for men in cheerleading is homosexuality. Kolojay mentioned how if male cheerleaders are being harassed during games, the women will “put those boys in their place.”

Not every male, however, experiences this stereotype.

               

“I haven't experienced that stereotype but I get asked about that stereotype, so it almost seems like a lot more people believe more in the myth than they actually believe that male cheerleaders are gay,” said Rath.

               

Whether or not the stereotype is true, the amount of male cheerleaders joining has different predictions.

               

“One of the guys from high school was asking me about what they should do as far as working towards being able to join the team. That was pretty cool knowing someone was really interested in it,” said Cannon.

               

“I'd like to say that it's growing, but it would be such a small number if it did grow that it's not noticeable,” Rath said.

               

Whether or not more men join, cheerleading is a second family that, no matter what, supports each other.