The Toronto Argonauts chose their 2013 cheer team yesterday. Click here to check out photos from finals.
Click here to check out the gallery on the Rams website.
Peter Mucha
Philly.com
March 27, 2013
More than 400 young women flocked to Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday with hopes of making the new Eagles cheerleading squad.
That squad will have even more interaction with fans this summer, now that some free practices will be held at the Linc, since the team is no longer using Lehigh University.
“The cheerleaders will be appearing at all of those practices and fans will have the opportunity to meet the cheerleaders, and get a photo as well as autographs,” said Barbara Zaun, director of cheerleading.
Expect new outfits to be unveiled for the coming season as well, she said.
After watching group dance routines Saturday, a panel of judges cut the field to 150, then, after further observations and conversations, chose 94 semifinalists.
**See gallery, “Eagles Cheerleading Auditions 2013.”**
[Note: only the first 15 or so photos are from this year’s auditions]
They’ll attend rehearsals tonight, to get ready for a private April 3 showdown at the NovaCare complex against 32 members of last season’s squad. Sixty finalists will be selected that evening with the help of season ticket holders whose names were drawn in a sweepstakes.
The public, however, will once again be invited to the final audition show, scheduled this year for Monday, April 22, at the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater. Tickets, $24 each, are available through the Kimmel Center’s website.
Three days later, most of the 38 winners will be at the Eagles Draft Party, a free annual event at the Linc, though a few squad members will be at the NFL’s draft ceremonies at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, Zaun said.
Details about Eagles Draft Party tickets have yet to be announced by the team.
Kelly Tilley
Mar. 26, 2013
New Indianapolis Colts cheerleading manager Kelly Tilley, 29, is on a whirlwind audition for the next Colts Cheer Squad.
Since arriving here March 18, she has jumped right into three weeks of workshops for 49 hopefuls. Cheerleading hopefuls are being compared in the areas of football knowledge, dance technique and fitness.
Auditions conclude when the best of the applicants appear at 6:30 p.m. April 17 at the Hilbert Circle Theater in Downtown Indianapolis. Admission is $10 and fans at home can vote for their favorite cheerleaders via live video stream. The squad members will be announced at the end of the show.
Tilley won’t reveal yet how many women will make the cut.
“We’ll chose anywhere from 26 to 32. I’m looking for the entire package, so it will depend on who ends up with that,” she said.
We caught up with Tilley to learn more about this former Denver Broncos cheerleader, who grew up in Apple Valley, Minn. :
Question: What are your goals for the squad?
Answer: To create one of the most highly respected NFL cheerleading teams in the league. I want little girls to dream about becoming a Colts cheerleader, because we have developed a reputation of an elite group of women who are talented, educated, beautiful inside and out, and are committed to the community.
Q: What’s the biggest mistake a cheerleader (hopeful) can make when she gets in front of the judges?
A: To not be prepared. Applicants should be at the top of their game at auditions, especially when it comes to fitness, dance ability and creating a look that will make them stand out to the judges. Preparation is more important than talent.
Q: What does the Colts cheerleader of the future “look” like — different uniforms, guys and gals? What is your vision?
A: My vision is to look at each area — dance, fitness, uniforms, junior cheerleaders, calendar, community service, etc., and find a way to make it even better. My vision is to strengthen the Indianapolis Colts cheerleader brand. I’m not ready to make any drastic changes until I see what we have and what resonates well with our fans.
Q: You spent the last 10 years with the Denver Broncos — four as a cheerleader and six in the cheer department. Were you a high school/college cheerleader? What was the biggest thing you personally had to overcome? What was your greatest accomplishment?
Kelly was a Broncos Cheerleader from 2003 thru 2007
A: I was part of the Eastview Lightning State Champion High School Dance Team. I was also on the University of Colorado’s dance team, before I was an NFL cheerleader. I was trained as a dancer, not a cheerleader. I always struggled with flexibility because I was more athletic (I also played high school volleyball), therefore I needed to stretch daily to stay at the same ability level as the fellow dancers on the squad. My greatest accomplishment was developing a youth special needs cheerleading team and organizing their halftime performance at an NFL game.
Q: What’s one thing most people would be surprised to know about you?
A: I love sports — I watch ESPN on a daily basis.
Q: You grew up in Minneapolis and lived in Denver — Your preference: Beach or Snow?
A: A beach sounds fantastic right now.
Q: What’s one of the craziest things that you experienced from the sidelines?
A: A blizzard. (The Denver Broncos’ home field is outdoors.)
Q: What’s the last good book you read or movie you saw?
A: “Wreck-It-Ralph.” With my busy schedule, I seem to only find time for kids movies with my son.
Q: Favorite Indy Restaurant (or one that you look forward to trying)?
A: A good sushi restaurant.
Q: What’s your favorite weekend ritual?
A: Watching my 5-year-old-son play hockey and watching football with my husband.
Wicked Local – Tri Town Transcript
March 25, 2013
Middleton —
A Middleton resident and school teacher has been chosen to compete as a finalist for the 2013 Patriots Cheerleading Squad.
Previously a member of the Patriots Cheerleaders in 2007, 2008 and 2010, Angela Lavoie of Middleton seeks to return in 2013. During a month-long tryout process, Lavoie has succeeded in making it to the last phase, and was invited to be a finalist in the Patriots Cheerleading Boot Camp.
A graduate of University of Massachusetts Amherst with a BS in psychology, Lavoie was a recipient of the NOYCE scholarship for excellence in mathematics and was a member of the UMass dance team. Lavoie currently teaches 6th grade math and is the afterschool dance program coordinator in Lynn, MA.
The cheerleading selection process began early this month when approximately 320 applications were submitted at open auditions, among the highest turnouts in team history. Fifty-seven candidates were invited back for final auditions last week. Now, entering its final stages, 36 contestants including Lavoie, will compete in the annual boot camp portion, which consists of four sessions. At the end of the fourth session on March 30, two dozen of the most talented, fit and qualified women will be selected for the 2013 Patriots Cheerleaders.
The finalists will run through intensive training sessions consisting of elements of standard Patriots Cheerleader practices. The sessions will involve rigorous fitness and physical training, choreography, public speaking exercises and promotional appearance training drills.
Veteran members of the 2012-13 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders squad are in the midst of fittings for the team’s annual swimsuit calendar shoot. The DCC have been tweeting and posting photos @DCCheerleaders.
Jackie, Collin, and Holly
Erica Cadigan, 21, a nursing student at Boston College, is a finalist for the 2013 New England Patriots Cheerleading squad.
By Theresa Knapp
Medfield Patch
March 25, 2013
Medfield’s Erica Cadigan, 21, is a finalist for the 2013 New England Patriots Cheerleaders squad.
Cadigan is currently a junior, studying medicine in the Connell School of Nursing at Boston College. She works in the Oncology-Hematology Units at Children’s Hospital in Boston as well as on the General medicine unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is an active volunteer in the Kreative Kids program at Boston College, which is a music program for children with special needs.
Cadigan has had many years of dance training at both Sheri Gold’s and Jeanette Neil’s, and has also had about 15 years of gymnastics and cheerleading experience. Erica has cheered at the collegiate level at Boston College. This past season was Erica’s rookie year on the Patriots Cheerleaders squad.
The annual Patriots Cheerleaders Boot Camp, the final step in the month-long process to select the 2013 squad, kicked off on Wednesday night. The interview process began earlier this month when approximately 320 applications were submitted at open auditions, among the highest turnout in team history. Fifty-seven candidates were invited back for final auditions on March 16.
Now, entering its final stages, 36 contestants will compete in the annual boot camp portion, which consists of four sessions. At the end of the fourth session on March 30, twenty-four of the most talented, fit and qualified women will be selected for the 2013 Patriots Cheerleaders.
The finalists will run through intensive training sessions consisting of elements of standard Patriots Cheerleader practices. The sessions will involve rigorous fitness and physical training, choreography, public speaking exercises and promotional appearance training drills.
The 2013 Patriots Cheerleading Squad rehearses twice each week and performs at all Patriots home games. In addition to performing in front of nearly 70,000 fans, a spot on the squad provides many exciting and unique opportunities. The cheerleaders travel to an exotic location in the spring for the Patriots Cheerleaders Swimsuit Calendar shoot, with this year’s trip set to take place in June at Coconut Bay Resort in St. Lucia.
The New England Patriots Cheerleaders serve as goodwill ambassadors for the team year-round, making hundreds of appearances throughout New England.
Additionally, the Patriots Cheerleaders have visited deployed military troops in more than 25 countries. In 2012, they were ranked as the number one cheerleading squad in the NFL by CNBC. Patriots Cheerleaders have also appeared on local and national television, including Entertainment Tonight, E!, Inside Edition, Fox News, Late Show with David Letterman, On-Air with Ryan Seacrest, Good Morning America and the CBS Early Show, and in magazines including Sports Illustrated, Maxim and Muscle and Fitness.
Photos from This year’s callbacks. Click here to see the slideshow! (And click here for the full set of photos.)
Is it me, or is this young lady like, seriously adorable? I hope she made the team.
Lots of good stuff from the weekend on the Colts website:
Click here for individual photos of all of the ladies who auditioned
Click here to watch a video of the finalists. (I couldn’t get it to play, but maybe it will work for you.)
Click here to go right to the voting page to select your favorites
Click here for video from rounds 1 and 2.
Crystal Anne is one of two Colts Cheerleaders who had her head shaved in front of 60,000 cheering fans as a show of support for Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, who is battling leukemia. Veteran Cheerleader Megan made a deal with Colts Mascot Blue to shave her head if he could raise $10,000 for cancer research by Nov. 25. Blue raised more than twice that, and Crystal Anne agreed to sit down with Megan for The Big Snip. (Hey, twice the money, twice the cheerleaders.) So at the beginning of the 4th quarter on Nov 25, two cheerleaders walked onto the field, and two petite versions of Yul Brenner walked off.
Megan didn’t audition this year, but Crystal Anne did. As you can see, her hair has passed the peach fuzz stage and she’s working a late 80s spiky ‘do.
With hair. Without hair. It’s all good.
