Cardiff Met Archers: to me and many others it means so much more than a team – it means support, friendship and fun.
It is a place where we get together to have a laugh, a retreat away from the stress of uni work – and let’s not forget the socials! I joined cheerleading because I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to meet other people; little did I know this team would become like a little family.
Out on a dress to impress social!
Many Archers teammates end up living together in second and third year, and best friends are found. For those that don’t live in halls it’s a great opportunity to meet other people. It also gives freshers a chance to meet some pretty awesome second and third years that you might not otherwise.
The majority of the team this year were freshers, and hardly any had cheered before. Kaya, our coach, basically gave up any hope of having a social life for 22 weeks to make us the best team possible. He did a phenomenal job, getting 34 (of which 33 are girls) cheerleaders to work together and do what he asked, and for when we competed to be proud of what we did. We believe we made ourselves and him proud, and in his words “I genuinely believe you are all winners – freshers, second and third years – even those weirdos that didn’t join us in freshers!”.
Cheerleading is a great way to make friends at Cardiff Met.
Over the weekend 18th/19th of March we competed in two competitions. Legacy in Birmingham on Saturday 18th March, and ICC on Sunday 19th March. The weekend was crazy, hectic and tiring but so much fun. It made all those training sessions when the stunts didn’t hit and the hundredth millionth time that Kaya made us do pyramid so worth it! We were all so proud of each other, especially when Yusef nailed his tuck on the Sunday!
Going crazy at the end of our routine at Legacy!
We competed in the Coed Level 3 Cheer and University Small Pom Dance events. While we performed pom dance – only 10 of us – the rest of the team sat on the sides cheering us on to the point where their hands were red and sore from clapping! They were definitely loud enough for us to hear, and it drove us on and we ended up performing the best we ever have. There was a real sense of pride among all of us that weekend.
The whole team at ICC day 2
I am proud to call myself an Archer!
Want to read more about our sports teams? Check out Judit’s blog on playing for the Archers basketball team or Julie’s experience of playing hockey at Cardiff Met.
