It's great to see how the girls at an ice rink support each other. Everyone cheers and claps for everyone else, and the whole group comes together as a happy family supporting the year of hard work, spills and chills, love and camaraderie that got us...
huh? whu? Wake up now?
Oh, sorry.
If you've ever been to a community ice show, you know to bring ear plugs, because the girls don't cheer for each other. They SCREAM.
And it's a contest-- whose friend will get the loudest cheer.
I'm not too proud to admit that the year my daughter graduated she not only got the noticeably biggest cheer, she got a bigger cheer than her arch rival, whose mother I still, 4 years later, cross the street to avoid.
The reason the girls need to scream is because of the cliques.
There's always a coach with a giant roster, so her kids always get high decibels, which means the smaller cliques have to up each individual's power to match it.
There are girls who aren't really part of any clique, you will see their grandmothers drumming the benches in order to raise the volume. (And then loudly complain in the stands how "no one applauded for Suzy. These girls are so selfish." Gee, maybe if Suzy talked to other people every now and then someone would know who she is. It ain't Stars on Ice, folks, no one's applauding because of the amazing skating.)
Now here comes Synchro, really giving Popular Coach a run for her money. Popular coach may have to make sure that extended families are in the stands to increase the sound.
Then there's that girl who doesn't really hang out with the cool kids, and doesn't have a popular coach, but ties all the little guys skates, and talks to parents, and helps out with the Learn to Skate classes, and knows everyone's name. Plus, her mom is nice.
Guess who's getting the biggest cheer.
And just in case you really want to know: http://www.theapplausemeter.com/
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Finally done with all shows, my throat is thoroughly sore from cheering... um, screaming. (Apologies if you sat near me)
ReplyDeleteNot skating enough with the kids to know the cliques, I personally think there is tons of "love and camaraderie" going on regardless. The audience in general also appreciated the great (advanced jumps with height and flow, spirals with speed and extension), the cute (go Chicago Bears), and the drama (Batman numbers). Do some girls cheer more on friends than others? Yeah I do that too, and IMHO it'd be a problem only if I stop cheering for anyone else.
Adults were well received this year. Many thanks to our wonderful Coach for creative choreo!!
I'm an adult screaming girl ;)
ReplyDeleteI cheer for everyone of course (whether it's a competition or a show), but yes, I cheer louder for the skaters I'm friendly with.
The cute kids always get huge cheers, as do the popular kids. But the adults always get a lot of cheers for our group number.
I think it's natural that kids will scream louder for their friends. As long as it doesn't mean they're not cheering for everyone else, or even worse, booing other people, I think it's pretty harmless.
I was sat with some of the teenagers at a comp at my rink a few months ago, and one of the skaters was doing well but obviously didn't have many skaters from his home rink there, so we cheered for him too because no one else was lol! So not just cliquey!