My weekend was spent at another Cheerleading Competition with our daughter. I will admit, about a year ago I had preconcieved ideas about Cheerleading and I am pleased to say that I couldn’t have been more wrong. Not only that, I have come to recognise how amazing the culture of the sport is, the importance of that culture (something we often take for granted) and how it fosters connection, lifting people up in times of stress/anxiety. Here’s why …. Every squads team-members make “Spirit Pegs” - Wooden pegs, decorated in their team colours with messages of luck and support. The team mates typically break up into small group and (secretly) pin these onto Cheerleaders of opposing teams. They detail messages of encouragement and luck, cost little to make and the receivers always beam when finding a lucky-pin! Competitors are naturally anxious but this small gesture lifts their spirits and you can be pretty sure they will ‘pass it on’ too as they will likely have their own pegs. Competions are incredibly long days and there is lots of waiting around. What do Cheerleaders do to pass the time? They engage with Cheerleaders from other squads. They make up routines together, tumbling and stunting - All of which require a great deal of trust. They do this all the while knowing that they will never be on the same team. In fact, they will likely compete against each other in a few hours time. If anyone is visibly upset, it’s not just their own team mates that comfort them, it’s all of them. They move as one - We could all learn something from competitive cheer 🤸♀️
Adam Hibbs
1mo
Love the approach. It takes me back to when we used to tape a note to someones back in school, but this is much nicer. I would love to do this in the workplace!
Richard Rogers
1mo
I'm much heartened to learn, who'd have thought... I freely admit it can be so very easy to be dismissive & sceptical (or worse) without any actual lived experience, so thank you Clare Elizabeth Altham for sharing & opening my eyes to this little nugget of joy. Namaste.
That’s a brilliant and uplifting story Clare. Thanks for sharing.
Alexina Nicholls
1mo
Love this!!!
Linda Rhys-Jones
1mo
How interesting Clare -and I agree what a lovely culture
I'm part of the Global services organization focused on driving innovation with our customers. Focused on GenAI solutions for the Multi-cloud and Modern Workforce.
1momy daughter (8) started 6 months ago and she LOVES it!