Q&A with Kyla from the Calgary Outriders
Kyla is a member of three Calgary Dance Teams: CFL Outriders, NLL Drill Crew and NHL Ice Crew. (Photo courtesy of Mark Mennie)
Kyla was born and grew up in Sydney, Nova Scotia, studied Art at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, Newbrunswick and moved to Calgary almost 5 years when I was 21,where she now works as an Executive Assistant for a Buying group.
She’s been dancing now for 22 years. She danced competitively in Nova Scotia, and upon moving to Calgary she joined Outriders, the cheer team for the CFL Calgary Stampeders, and has been taking any opportunity to dance ever since.
This is Kyla’s 4th season with the Outriders. She is in her first seasons with the NLL Calgary Roughnecks Drill Crew and the NHL Calgary Flames Big Country Ice Crew. She also got married this past June, and says her husband is very supportive of her commitment to dancing.
Kyla took some time out of her busy schedule to answer a few of our questions.
(Photo courtesy of Mark Mennie)
UC: How cold does it get at the end of the Canadian Football League season?
K: It can get extremely cold at the end of the season. Come Grey Cup we are in the -20C (-4F) range. For a game in early October we had our winter hats and gloves added to the packing list. The forecast was calling for snow. Sometimes we are lucky and can make it to the end of the year with no snow but it looks like we won’t be so lucky this year. We are tough girls though. We still have fun in snow, rain, or whatever else is thrown at us. The key to keeping warm is to keep on dancing.
UC: I saw that your squad traveled to Edmonton for a game? Did you cheer on the sidelines? Is this What’s the fan reaction like when you are on the road?
K: We travel to Edmonton every year for the Labor Day rematch game. The Edmonton team travels to Calgary for the Labour Day game as well. We both perform on the sidelines and do a performance during one of the time-outs. The fan’s reaction is funny. They think we hate each other when that is not the case at all. We decorate The Edmonton team’s locker room in green and the do the same for us (in red of course). The guys on their team even barbecued us hamburgers before the game. We get along great and get to see them again along with the rest of the CFL cheer teams when we all get together for Grey Cup.
UC: What do fans think of Pro Cheerleading in Canada?
K: We have a great fan base here in Canada. People really respect what we do and take the time to tell us so and thank us. I think the main thing people don’t know about us is this is a volunteer position so when you see us on the sidelines or working at promotional events that is all simply for the love of the sport, dance, and the fans. I think our fans realize all our hard work we put in and appreciate it.
UC: Any hobbies?
K: I love to cook. Being in the kitchen is calming for me.
UC: What do you like to do to relax?
K: Relax is not something I do very often. When I find I have a free day I usually sign up for something else or volunteer and that is the end of that. When I do have free time I like to hang out with my girls, laugh with my sister or cuddle up and watch a movie with my husband. Since I am always on the go, when I do have free time I like it to be low key.
(Photo courtesy of Mark Mennie)
[Calgary Stampeders Outriders]
