Argonauts Cheerleader Coming Home for Game
From The Times & Transcript:
Rookie cheerleader from Riverview nervous about performing at Touchdown Atlantic
Everyone else is calling next weekend’s match-up between the Moncton Argonauts and the Edmonton Eskimos the Scotiabank Touchdown Atlantic game, but for Argos’ cheerleader Jennifer B., it’s the Homecoming Game.Jennifer is from Riverview, and though she’s come home often since she left town to study dance and musical theatre at George Brown in 2008, she’s never come home like she will this week.
She’ll be joining 14 other Argos cheerleaders at events around Metro Moncton and of course she’ll be performing on game day, when our home team Moncton Argonauts host the Edmonton Eskimos.
Jennifer, who first studied dance at Moncton’s Danceast, is expecting to see lots of family and friends at the game and around the city in the coming days.
“I’ve been going home to Moncton every two months. I love it there.”
Though Jennifer’s full identity may not be a secret in Metro Moncton, it is confidential in Toronto, so a word of explanation is necessary on why her surname is not being printed in this article.
The Toronto Argonauts have long had a strict policy on protecting the full identities of their cheerleaders from potential stalkers, with good reason.
One of their cheerleaders was followed from a Toronto Transit bus, raped and murdered just steps from her home back in 1982.The killer has never been caught and the scar has never healed. Because the Times & Transcript is available online in Toronto and everywhere else, the Argonauts and Jennifer both asked us to respect their security measure.
But trust us, she’s a proud local woman and absolutely ecstatic at the idea of performing in Moncton.
Not that she doesn’t have butterflies.
As she stood on the field perfectly composed as the thousands filed into Toronto’s famous Rogers Centre Sunday, she said being a rookie cheerleader in the big city with the TV cameras rolling is easier than the thought of performing at home.
“I actually think it’s going to be nerve-wracking,” she said of the Touchdown Atlantic game. “My mom’s there, so I’ve got to make sure it’s perfect.”
Because Argos cheerleaders are paid only basic honoraria that barely cover their commutes and parking, they all have day jobs. (They get paid for some of the public appearances they make but most are unpaid visits in support of charities).
Because of that, roughly half the squad will take time away from other commitments to come to Moncton for the Touchdown Atlantic game and half will go the Nov. 28 Grey Cup in Edmonton.
Paola Cimitan, the Argonauts’ manager of team and cheerleader community relations, explained yesterday all the names were put in a hat and drawn randomly to decide which woman was going where – except for Jennifer’s.
“She’s from Moncton, so she has to go to Moncton,” Paola said with a laugh.
“She’s so excited. She’s already been promoting on the social network sites like Facebook.”
Besides having to pass auditions to be on the squad, cheerleaders have to commit to practices two times a week that are mandatory.
“We also have all our home games that we’re at, as well as some away games,” Paola said. “We just went to Hamilton for the Labour Day Classic. And you have to do a minimum of 20 community appearances.”
It’s a hectic schedule.
“Last Tuesday, for instance, we were at seven different events, so between school and work, it’s demanding.”
Paola had nothing but praise for the team’s sole New Brunswicker.
“We’re lucky to have her. She’s an amazing girl, a great girl. Personality is the number one thing and she has it.”
She also has pluck.
“I tried out last year but actually, I got cut,” Jennifer admitted with a laugh. “So I tried again this year.”
Each cheerleader, rookie or veteran, auditions again every year.
“I haven’t decided if I’m staying in Toronto. If I’m here next year, I’d love to do it again. But I’d dearly love to go back to Moncton,” she said.
And with her eyes twinkling beneath her on-field stage make up and false eyelashes, she added, “I hope Moncton gets its own CFL team, because I’d love to dance there.”
