MLT.com
January 30, 2014

While the 12th man will be firmly focused on what is happening on the gridiron of MetLife Stadium this Sunday, many young Seahawk fans in Mountlake Terrace will be hoping that the television broadcast of Super Bowl XLVIII include many looks at the action on the sidelines.

Students of Mountlake Terrace Elementary will be looking for the school’s physical education teacher, Carli Brockman, who is a member of the Sea Gals, the Seahawk cheer squad.

“We have Super Bowl fever at Mountlake Terrace Elementary,” exclaimed the school’s office manager Cathy Fiorillo. “We are proud of you, Mrs. Brockman.”

Brockman and the rest of the 33-member Sea Gals cheer team were scheduled to leave Seattle Thursday morning for the New York/New Jersey area, where the squad will make a number of appearances prior to the game on Sunday.

The excitement of having one of their own at the Super Bowl only adds to the celebratory mood at MLT Elementary this week. “Friday, students and staff are welcome to wear their favorite Seahawk gear if they have it, or blue and/or green,” Fiorillo said.

by Steve Hunter
The Kent Reporter
January 30, 2013

“That last play when Richard Sherman tipped the ball, that was the moment when all of the Sea Gals looked at each other and starting tearing and crying, and we were like ‘this is happening, we’re going to the Super Bowl,'” says Jacqueline, a 2012 Kentridge High School graduate and one of 33 members of the Seahawks NFL cheerleading squad.

“I looked in the eyes of our fans and saw their faces all lit up and that just set my heart on fire,” says Geraldine, a 2007 Kentwood graduate about the tip heard around the world.

The Sea Gals, including four women who graduated from Kentridge, Kentwood or Auburn Riverside high schools, flew out Thursday to New York. They will make several promotional appearances before they perform on the sideline Sunday of Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey between the Seahawks and the Denver Broncos.

The Sea Gals are only known in public by their first names for security reasons. But sit down for a short conversation with the cheerleaders and the outgoing personalities makes it easy to know them on a first-name basis.

“Being from Kent it means a lot to me that I get to represent the city of Kent at the Super Bowl,” says Geraldine, in her third year on the team. “A small town girl makes it out to the biggest stage in the world.”

As many as 300 women try out each year for the Sea Gals. A spot on the current squad doesn’t guarantee another season as everyone must audition each year in the spring.

All have dance backgrounds. Some are college students as well as work part-time jobs. Others work full-time jobs. They practice two evenings a week at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton, the training facility for the Seahawks. The Sea Gals perform at every home game at CenturyLink Field and do a variety of promotional appearances.

Zoe, an Auburn Riverside graduate and a Portland State University student, is one of a dozen rookies on the team. She commutes from Oregon for practices and games. She says it’s worth the drive.

“I’ve transformed as a dancer and a person,” Zoe says. “It teaches you more than dance. It teaches you how to model, how to pose, how to speak well and how to represent a community. It makes you a well-rounded super woman.”

Laura, a 2006 Kentridge graduate and 2010 Washington State University graduate, returns as a veteran Sea Gal.

“It’s my fourth season so I’ve kind of watched as (coach) Pete Carroll has come in and made this what it is,” Laura says. “I’m just so happy to be a small part of this organization.”

The Sea Gals aren’t allowed to talk about how much they get paid, but they are paid. Each also receives two season tickets to give to family or friends. They aren’t allowed to fraternize with players.

Thrill of a lifetime

But there’s no doubt these women are having the time of their lives.

“Nothing beats the type of thrill and adrenaline you get on game day especially getting the chance to do it with some of the most amazing women I’ve ever met,” Jacqueline says. “My teammates are very beautiful, very intelligent and kind. We’ve become really close friends so on game days I look at my teammates and it makes the experience that much more exciting because I experience it with them.”

They make their family and friends proud as well.

“I talked to my grandma and she started crying and she’s not an emotional person,” Zoe says about reaction of relatives to her Super Bowl trip. “For her to be, ‘I’m so proud of you,’ just felt really good.”

In addition to beauty and dance skills, it takes a certain kind of woman to make the Sea Gals.

“Everyone’s very humble, has a good sense of humor yet works very, very hard,” Laura says. “We all have that in common.”

They also know which team will win.

“We’re going to win for sure,” Jacqueline says. “I have a very good feeling about this game and this team. It’s kind of been a very magical season. A lot of great things have happened. I feel it’s finally our year to bring home that Lombardi trophy.”

Bob Egelko
SFGate.com
January 30, 2014

The U.S. Department of Labor says it is investigating the Oakland Raiders’ treatment of the Raiderettes, after one of its cheerleaders accused the team in a lawsuit of failing to pay minimum wages and illegally saddling the squad with fines and travel expenses.

Jose Carnevali, spokesman for the Labor Department’s regional office in San Francisco, confirmed the investigation Wednesday and said it concerned “the team’s cheerleader squad,” and not merely the individual who filed the suit last week.

“Because this is currently an open case, the department cannot provide further information about the case at this moment,” he said.

The cheerleader, Lacy T., filed her suit in Alameda County Superior Court as a proposed class action on behalf of the 40 Raiderettes and other members of the squad over the past four years. Her lawyer, Sharon Vinick, said Thursday that she was encouraged by the federal government’s prompt action.

“I would hope that the Department of Labor would be looking at teams across the NFL,” Vinick said. Similar allegations of low wages and unpaid expenses have been made against several other National Football League teams, but Lacy T. is the first to file suit.

The Raiders did not respond to a request for comment.

The Labor Department has the authority to assess penalties against employers for violating the federal government’s $7.25-an-hour minimum wage law and other labor laws. It can order an employer to pay its workers twice the amount of wages that were illegally withheld.

In August, the San Francisco Giants paid $544,000 in back wages to 74 employees after a Labor Department investigation found wage violations over a three-year period. The department has also announced an investigation into the use of unpaid interns by the Giants and a second major league baseball team, the Miami Marlins.

Employers facing a Labor Department investigation have a strong incentive to reach a settlement for back-wage payments, particularly an image-conscious employer like a pro sports team, said Ken Jacobs, chairman of the Center for Labor Research and Education at UC Berkeley.

“This doesn’t reflect well,” he said. “I can imagine that this would be something (the Raiders) would want to resolve. … If this practice is common for the other teams, you might very well see other investigations.”

The Raiders pay their cheerleaders $1,250 for a season of 10 home games. Lacy T.’s lawsuit said their wages amount to less than $5 an hour – below the state’s $8 minimum wage – counting the hours of unpaid work they are required to perform at rehearsals, 10 charity events per season and the team’s annual swimsuit calendar photo session.

The suit also accused the Raiders of violating California law by requiring the Raiderettes to pay all costs of travel, team-mandated cosmetics and other items; by fining them for such offenses as bringing the wrong pom-poms to practice; by withholding their pay until the end of the season instead of paying them at least twice a month; and by prohibiting them, in their work contracts, from discussing their pay with each other.

Lacy T., 28, of Alameda said she is a “stay-at-home mom” who joined the Raiderettes in 2013 after two years with the Golden State Warriors’ dance team, which paid its members for all work hours and expenses. The lawsuit withholds her last name in accord with a Raiders’ security policy.

AnneMarie Harper
9News
January 29, 2013

DENVER – For many of the Broncos Cheerleaders, this season has been especially hard. As a whole, the squad has had more injuries than any other season and many of those injuries have been serious.

Toni Gabrielli, who has been on the squad for two seasons, had one of the most painful.

“We were doing our touchdown dance and everyone was so excited. Someone came in from the side and knocked me down. That knocked my knee out of place. My patella actually went out. I was laying on the field and everyone was celebrating, so I pushed it back in and they carted me off,” said Gabrielli.

An x-ray revealed no further damage. The 26-year-old just missed a couple of practices as she healed.

Still, this season hasn’t been easy. Toni, along with several other squad members, suffers from what’s called “over-use injuries.” Basically, more than 20 years of dancing has really taken its toll on her body.

Dr. Jonathan Bravman, a sports medicine doctor with University of Colorado Hospital, says “over-use injuries” are very common in cheerleading. They include your basic sprains and strains and even more severe injuries, like stress fractures.

Dr. Bravman says athletes of all ages can suffer from “over-use injuries.”

“Younger athletes, especially those who specialize in a certain sport, are really upping the amount of time and exposure they are playing, both in practice and in competition,” he said.

Making matters worse, Dr. Bravman says is the fact that these athletes continue to practice and compete. He tells 9News that doesn’t allow their bodies to heal and oftentimes, makes the initial injury even worse.

Dr. Bravman says another common injury among cheerleaders is concussions. He says they can be just as severe as what a player on the field might experience.

This is the time fo year when the biggest names in pro audition wear will be debut their new styles for 2014. Both Dallaswear Uniforms and The Line Up have posted sneak peeks of their new garments. Dallaswear will reveal the full set of new styles on Saturday. TLU hasn’t provided a date yet, but it’s coming very soon. Click here to visit The Line Up store, and click here to visit Dallaswear Uniforms.

Click here for preview photos on THe Line Up’s facebook page.

Click here for more from Dallaswear Uniforms on Facebook.

In 1978, the Denver Broncos took on the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XII at the Louisiana Superdome. During that game, the Denver Broncos Pony Express cheered their hearts out. Among their ranks was a little blonde called George.

36 years later, George’s daughter Brittany will be on the sidelines, cheering the Broncos on to victory. Brittany’s outfit isn’t as sparkle-tastic as her mom’s, and there’s no cowboy hat, but then again, George didn’t have leather chaps. And maybe Brittany’s experience will one-up her mom’s with a victory for the Broncos.

Like mother, like daughter. You gotta love this. I am so happy to add Brittany and George to our “Keeping it in the Family” page. These mother/daughter duos are few and far between!

Click here to see who else has dance in the family. (And as always, if you know of anyone we should add to this page, let us know!)

The Bruins website has been updated with profiles for this year’s group of Ice Girls. Click here to check it out!

By Charlie Bermant
Peninsula Daily News
January 25, 2014

PORT TOWNSEND — Although no Port Townsend High School graduates will play in the Super Bowl, the school and the town will be represented on the field at next week’s championship game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos.

Brita Guthrie, who graduated in 2008, is a member of the Sea Gals, a 33-member squad that performs dances and cheers in between plays.

She and the other Sea Gals will travel with the Seahawks to New Jersey on Thursday to cheer on the team as it fights to win Super Bowl XLVIII next Sunday, Feb. 2.

“I am superexcited,” said Guthrie, 24. “This is an amazing opportunity.

“This is the most televised event in the world and is something that I can tell my grandchildren.”

Since she performs only between plays, she gets to watch the games from a vantage point that few share.

“That last play, the touchback, that happened 10 feet in front of me,” Guthrie said of the final-seconds intercepted pass that won the game for the Seahawks against the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday and sent the Seattle team to the Super Bowl.

Guthrie’s screen time is limited because the camera action necessarily centers on the game, but she has appeared fleetingly on TV and on the Jumbotron.

“I have to go to the games to see my daughter cheer because she’s not on TV,” said Brita’s father, Jim Guthrie, who has taught industrial arts at Port Townsend High School for 27 years .

He said he goes to every home game courtesy of his daughter, who passes on complimentary tickets to her father and mother, Carol.

His daughter will be involved in several official functions before the game.

“It’s not like she’ll get to do any sightseeing,” he said.

“It’s a lot of work.”

Jan Boutilier, who works in the Port Townsend High School administrative office, said she had known Brita Guthrie for years.

“She’s a fabulous, talented young lady who is kind, smart and helpful, and an absolute joy to have around,” Boutilier said.

The Sea Gals member attended the University of Washington and earned a degree in marketing communications with a minor in Norwegian language in 2012.

She works for www.Zulily.com, an online supplier of children’s clothing, which has worked with her to allow her to perform as a Sea Gal.

“It’s a huge commitment,” she said. “I only have two weeks off from April through the football season.

“It essentially takes up all my free time.”

While she is a dedicated Seahawks fan, the payoff is that she gets to dance in public.

“Once I left Port Townsend, I found there weren’t a lot of places I could dance, and I really missed it,” she said.

This is a continuation of a lifelong interest. She spent several years learning how to dance at the O’Meara Dance Studio in Port Townsend.

While attending UW, Guthrie decided to audition for the school’s cheerleading squad.

That led to a successful audition for the Sea Gals, “although at the time, it seemed like a stretch for me,” she said.

She earned a place on the squad for the 2012-13 season and had to audition again for this season, although past members of the squad don’t have to go through the first stage of the elimination.

While she had a head start, she still had to compete with 90 other women for a place on the squad.

“I can tell you, it was a whole lot more nerve-wracking to dance in front of 10 people at the audition than in front of 70,000 people at the game,” she said.

Guthrie said she doesn’t have a lot of personal contact with the players but has met quarterback Russell Wilson, who “is one of the most sincere, genuine people I’ve ever met.”

She hasn’t met controversial cornerback Richard Sherman but noted that the two have some things in common: their age and that they both have degrees in marketing communication — his from Stanford — and earned a 3.9 grade-point average.

Guthrie is dating a man she met before she became involved with the Seahawks. He sits in a special “spouse’s section” at the games.

“He’s gotten close to all the girls and their husbands and boyfriends,” she said.

“We all go out together all the time.”

Guthrie has a 22-year-old sister, Kirsten, who works as a nanny.

“I made a good choice raising them in Port Townsend,” Jim Guthrie said of his children.

“It’s a very supportive place for children to develop.

“It was a great village that raised them.”

He said his daughter is excited to be part of the Seahawks because it is a “classy organization with high standards.”

“It’s really cool to have her paycheck signed by [team owner] Paul Allen,” Jim Guthrie said.

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The Brooklyn Nets website has finally been updated for this year’s dance team. Click here to check it out!