About Cheerleading

2023 GCKA Cheerleading Registration Information

The Grove City Kids Association Cheer Program is growing! We are so excited about the level of participation from our athletes, and we are growing our program to meet the talent we have. As a result, we are currently offering the following:

 

Recreational Sideline Cheer

Recreational divisions will be based on age. Teams will be created after tryouts, which will be held on the last day of cheer camp, June 23, 2023. There will be 3 squads in this division and these squads will do football sideline cheer only, with the potential to participate in a showcase at a local competition.

· Registration opens May 1, 2023 and closes June 23, 2023. NO EXCEPTIONS.

· The season runs to the end of October, possibly the first week of November.

· All games will be on Sundays.

· Cheer camp will be begin the week of June 19th, 2023, and will take place at Murfin Field, at the following dates and times:

MICRO LEVEL (ages 4 - 5 year 11 mo)

REC CHEER

CAMP DAYS/TIMES

Camp Days: Tuesday and Wednesday

Tryout Day*: Thursday

Camp Times: 6:00pm-8:00 pm

*Tryouts for this squad are not done to “cut” anyone, it is simply to give athletes the tryout experience.

MINI LEVEL  (ages 6 - 7 year 11mo)

REC AND COMPETITIVE

CAMP DAYS/TIMES

Camp Days: Tuesday and Wednesday

Tryout Day*: Thursday

Camp Times: 6:00pm-8:00 pm

*Tryouts at this level will be utilized to assign up to 16 athletes to the competitive sideline cheer squad. Athletes who are not assigned to the competitive sideline cheer squad will be offered a position on our recreational sideline cheer squad that correlates with their age.

**If any athlete wants to do only recreational sideling cheer, we still encourage them to come to camp and tryouts, for the experience.

JUNIOR LEVEL  (ages 8 - 9 year 6 mo)

REC AND COMPETITIVE

CAMP DAYS/TIMES

Camp Days: Tuesday and Wednesday

Tryout Day*: Thursday

Camp Times: 6:00pm-8:00 pm

*Tryouts at this level will be utilized to assign up to 16 athletes to the competitive sideline cheer squad. Athletes who are not assigned to the competitive sideline cheer squad will be offered a position on our recreational sideline cheer squad that best correlates with their age.

**If any athlete wants to do only recreational sideling cheer, we still encourage them to come to camp and tryouts, for the experience.

SENIOR LEVEL  (ages 9 years 7 mo- 15 years)

REC AND COMPETITIVE

CAMP DAYS/TIMES

Camp Days: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday

Tryout Day*: Friday

Camp Times: 6:00pm-8:00pm

*Tryouts at this level will be utilized to assign up to 16 athletes to the competitive sideline cheer squad. Athletes who are not assigned to the competitive sideline cheer squad will be offered a position on our recreational sideline cheer squad that best correlates with their age.

**If any athlete wants to do only recreational sideling cheer, we still encourage them to come to camp and tryouts, for the experience.

o Cheer camp and tryouts are NOT required if you would like your athlete to be on this squad. They would simply be place on the squad that matches their age.

· Practice will begin the week of June 26, 2023

· Uniform fittings will be June 27, 2023 and June 28, 2023. ATHLETES MUST BE PRESENT FOR FITTINGS (If you will not be able to make uniform fittings, please speak to a coach about getting fitted during camp)

Competitive Sideline Cheer

Competitive Sideline Cheer will also be formed by age group. Teams will be created after tryout. There are 16 spots on each of the Mini, Junior, and Senior teams (see ages below). To be on a competitive sideline cheer squad, the athlete must* be at camp and tryouts.

*If your athlete cannot attend camp/tryouts, please contact Melanie Rawlins at Footballmom1029@gmail.com, so that we can work with the coordinating coach to setup a private tryout PRIOR to camp. Your athlete will then receive their determination after all other athletes have tried out.

· Registration opens May 1, 2023 and closes June 23, 2023. NO EXCEPTIONS.

· The season runs to the end of October, possibly the first week of November.

· All games will be on Sundays.

· We will participate in 2-3 competitions. We expect that two of the competitions will be local and one will require travel within Ohio.

· Cheer camp will begin the week of June 19, 2023, and will take place at Murfin Field at the following dates and times:

MICRO LEVEL (ages 4 - 5.5)

REC CHEER

CAMP DAYS/TIMES

Camp Days: Tuesday and Wednesday

Tryout Day*: Thursday

Camp Times: 6:00pm-7:30pm

*Tryouts for this squad are not done to “cut” anyone, it is simply to give athletes the tryout experience.

MINI LEVEL  (ages 5.5 - 8)

REC AND COMPETITIVE

CAMP DAYS/TIMES

Camp Days: Tuesday and Wednesday

Tryout Day*: Thursday

Camp Times: 6:00pm-7:30pm

*Tryouts at this level will be utilized to assign up to 16 athletes to the competitive sideline cheer squad. Athletes who are not assigned to the competitive sideline cheer squad will be offered a position on our recreational sideline cheer squad that correlates with their age.

**If any athlete wants to do only recreational sideling cheer, we still encourage them to come to camp and tryouts, for the experience.

JUNIOR LEVEL  (ages 8 -10)

REC AND COMPETITIVE

CAMP DAYS/TIMES

Camp Days: Tuesday and Wednesday

Tryout Day*: Thursday

Camp Times: 6:00pm-7:30pm

*Tryouts at this level will be utilized to assign up to 16 athletes to the competitive sideline cheer squad. Athletes who are not assigned to the competitive sideline cheer squad will be offered a position on our recreational sideline cheer squad that best correlates with their age.

**If any athlete wants to do only recreational sideling cheer, we still encourage them to come to camp and tryouts, for the experience.

SENIOR LEVEL  (ages 10 -15)

REC AND COMPETITIVE

CAMP DAYS/TIMES

Camp Days: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday

Tryout Day*: Friday

Camp Times: 6:00pm-8:00pm

*Tryouts at this level will be utilized to assign up to 16 athletes to the competitive sideline cheer squad. Athletes who are not assigned to the competitive sideline cheer squad will be offered a position on our recreational sideline cheer squad that best correlates with their age.

**If any athlete wants to do only recreational sideling cheer, we still encourage them to come to camp and tryouts, for the experience.

· Practice will begin the week of June 26, 2023

· Uniform fittings will be June 27, 2023 and June 28, 2023. ATHLETES MUST BE PRESENT FOR FITTINGS (If you will not be able to make uniform fittings, please speak to a coach about getting fitted during camp)

· To be on a Competitive Sideline Cheer Program athletes and parents must agree to the attendance policy, which can be found in the parent handbook (which will be provided at the parent meeting, after tryouts). This policy is in place for the safety of our athletes, as well as to ensure that the team as a whole can perform their best at each competition. Please review the practice times below and ensure that this fits your schedule prior to committing to the squad. If this expectation is not feasible, please consider the recreational sideline division.

The fees are as follows:

o Recreational cheer is:

§ $195.00 for the uniform package

§ $30.00 Sleeves
§
$90.00 GCKA fee (this fee goes directly to GCKA for the use of their facilities)

TOTAL FOR RECREATIONAL SEASON: $315.00

o Competition Sideline cheer is:

§ $195.00 for the uniform package

§ $30.00 competition fee (this covers entry into two competitions, if we choose to do additional competitions, we will need to rely on fundraiser funds to pay for entry)

§ $30.00 Sleeves
§
$90.00 GCKA fee (this fee goes directly to GCKA for the use of their facilities)

TOTAL FOR RECREATIONAL SEASON: $345.00

We recognize this is a price increase from prior years. We do hope that athletes will be able to utilize their uniforms for more than one year. In the instance they can use their uniform for a second year, they would then only need to pay the GCKA fees, the competition fees (if they are on that squad), and likely the cost of new shoes (assuming they grow over the off season).

We are asking that everyone please register and arrange a payment (or payment plan) for $315,  prior to tryouts. In the instance that your athlete makes the competition squad, the additional $30 will be due by September 1, 2023, as this is the competition fee.

To lessen the burden of this price increase we are offering families the option to break down the registration fees into 4 different payments. You will see this option when you register your athlete.

Once uniforms orders are placed, we will not be able to offer refunds, as the bulk of the fees are for that uniform purchase.

All uniforms will be provided/ordered through Victory Cheer. You can see all they offer by going to https://www.victorycheeruniforms.com/

https://zohosecurepay.com/invoice/victorycheeruniforms/api/v3/clientsettings/templates/invoicelogo/2-00dae458997ba28ebf50a8a28fd2031a8c7637aad366e4272c3d51bbba4060b43c63cea3144b3102850151ec404b0caa

 

 

Practice Schedule for Recreational and Competitive Sideline Cheer

RECREATIONAL:

Squad

Ages

Coach

Practice Days/Times

Micro

4-5.5

Tialiyah Lathon

Tuesday

6:00pm-7:00pm

Mini

5.5-8

Jameson Lawhun

Monday and Wednesday

6:00pm-7:30pm

Junior/Senior

10-15

Jennifer Rinehart

Monday and Wednesday

6:00pm-7:30pm

                               

Competition Sideline Cheer:

Squad

Ages

Coach

Practice Days/Times

Mini

5.5-8 (as of June 1, 2023)

Nikki Leo and

Tuesday and Thursday

6:00pm-7:30pm

Junior

8 (as of June 2, 2023)-10

Heather Legg

Deena White

Peyton Black

Monday and Wednesday

6:00pm-7:30pm

Senior

10-15

Glenda Jimenez and Tialiyah Lathon

Monday thru Thursday

6:00pm-8:00pm*

*Practice for the Senior Competition Sideline squad will be reduced to three days per week when school resumes.

Fees and Uniforms

GCKA Football is changing their colors this year, and as a result, so are we! We looked at many options for how to make this change, and decided on the following:

· All athletes will be fitted for uniforms on June 27 and June 28, 2023.

· The big change this year will be that athletes will be keeping their uniforms.

o The uniform package includes the following:

§ Skirt with built in spanx

§ Sleeveless shell

§ Shoes

§ Socks

§ Pom Poms

§ A bag

§ Sleeves are not included in the uniform and will be required for the cold days at the end of the season.

 

OTHER IMPORTANT DATES

§ All squads will be asked to participate in the Arts in the Alley Parade on Saturday, September 16. We ask that athletes arrive by 8:15am. The parade generally concludes no later than 12:00pm. Families are encouraged to stand along the route and cheer athletes on, and will meet them at Park Street Intermediate for pick-up.

§ We will be hosting two car washes on the same date, as a fundraising competition between the squads. Dates and time TBD.

§ We will have a homecoming game (date TBD). We will have professional photos with the athletes families at this game.

§ Picture Day will be held just prior to the season (end of August/beginning September-pending uniform delivery).

§ MANDATORY PARENT MEETING:

o Monday, July 10th at 6:30pm all Recreational Sideline Cheer parents will meet in the GCKA office

o Tuesday, July 11th at 6:30pm all Competition Sideline Cheer parents will meet in the GCKA office

Fundraising

We will do several fundraisers throughout the season. These fundraisers are CRITICAL to keeping the program going and allowing us to host homecoming and end of season events. It also allows us to keep registration costs at a rate that only covers what is needed for your athlete. As we roll these fundraisers out, please participate as much as you are able. Fundraisers will be discussed further at the mandatory parent meeting at the beginning of the season.  

 

Winter Cheer 2022:

After a very successful and exciting comp weekend, we are excited to share some more details about our winter comp program!

Tryouts for our winter comp squad will take place on Monday, November 7, 2022, from 6pm-8pm at 4600 W. Broad St. (the GCKA Bingo Hall, behind W. Broad Roosters-attached to Joann Fabrics). Coaches will make phone calls the following few days to share squad assignments and info. If you plan to bring an athlete or athletes to tryout, please fill out the requested information at this link:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E45A4AA23A6F9C25-gcka

This does not require any payment up front. This is just a way for us to gauge how many athletes in each age group to expect. Payment for the season will be due the first day of practice.

The cost for this season is $285.00, which covers the GCKA administration fee and comp entry to three competitions (two comps and nationals). This fee will include shell, skirt, warmup jacket, and warmup pants, (to be returned after the season). Athletes will be responsible for the purchase of sleeves, spanx, shoes, and comp bow(if they have not cheered for GCKA and do not own these items already). They will keep these items after the season ends. We recognize comp cheer can be crazy expensive and this allows us to keep the program as affordable as possible.

Tentatively (pending our turnout and how many squads we have), our older squads plan to practice on Mondays and offer tumbling class on Wednesday, and our younger squads will practice on Wednesdays. All practices will be at the Bingo Hall, as well.

Please feel free to share and pass this information along. We are super excited to be adding this awesome adventure to our GCKA Programs! I look forward to seeing you on November 7, 2022! Go Knights!

Respectfully,

Melanie Rawlins

Facebook page: Grove City Knights Cheer


If you have questions please contact via the Facebook page above or footballmom1029@gmail.com.