The Memorial Cheerleading Team (MUN Cheer) placed third at the Power Cheerleading Athletics’ University and Open National Cheerleading Competition (PCA) which was held earlier this month in Brampton, Ontario. The team competed in the all-girl division and secured their top-three finish out of eight teams, placing just behind Sir Wilfred Laurier University and the University of Western Ontario.

The Memorial competitive cheerleading team, established in 1999, is known for being an active volunteer within the community as well as a huge supporter of Memorial’s Varsity Athletics program. The team has grown since its inception and succeeded at a few national competitions. In addition to the team’s recent third place finish, MUN Cheer has taken first place in the university Level 6 Division while attending Cheer Expo in Halifax from 2011-2013, which included an unprecedented overall Level 6 champion title in 2012.

“The team works hard year-round to go to Ontario with a great routine that can confidently perform, and they definitely proved themselves to be an elite team,” said Dionne King, who is one of three coaches. King says she’s proud of the 35 team members and how far they have come. “The goal of this team isn’t necessarily to win trophies and banners, it’s to be able to help our girls grow as cheerleaders and athletes. PCA is a tough competition, and to come third to fantastic teams like Laurier and Western was a great accomplishment. It definitely feels like first place.”

In addition to cheering at home games for the men’s and women’s Sea-Hawks basketball teams, the MUN Cheer team will be travelling to Atlanta, Georgia in February to compete at CheerSport, going head-to-head against some of the top all-girl teams in North America.

To find out more about MUN Cheer, please visit www.facebook.com/muncheerleading or follow the team on twitter@muncheer.