By Staff
ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
Going to China is something most people never get to experience. Most never even leave this country. So anyone can imagine the excitement the Niles Elite Cheer Team felt when they found out they were going there this June. The cheer team was invited to go after they won the naitional championship last year in Chicago.
The girls will not be competing when they go. China wants to advance their cheerleading skills, so the girls will be helping them to do that and teaching them how to cheer. The team will also get to work with the Chinese acrobats and Olympic gymnists. The Chinese are very well known for their acrobatic skills, it's their cheerleading they want to improve.
Niles Elite is made up of two teams. In order to be considered for the team, the girls have to try out in front of a board of coaches in Grand Rapids. The red team is determined by the board, The black team is the more advanced team which is hand picked by the coaches. Both teams are an honor to cheer for and require a lot of talent that most girls their age don't have.
All of the girls are from the Niles, Brandywine and Edwardsburg school districts and range from fourth grade to juniors in high school.
The girls have been putting on performances locally to show off their routines and talents and to get some practice for the trip.
Every member of the team is responsible for their own costs, which averages around $2,500 per girl.
The team has raised a lot of money so far, but still have quite a ways to go.
Anyone interested in being a sponsor or helping the team out in anyway may contach Lorna Jweiham at 269-325-3782.