Around the grounds - Round 9 & 10

Goodness me it has been a while since i have blogged - did you miss me?? Ive missed you, you big old cutie pies..Squeeeeze!!

Sadly cheerleading & blogging isn't my full time job - sigh - wouldn't that just be wonderful?! ha. I am actually a Website Producer for an iconic Australian brand by day and a lover & daydreamer of all things sparkly and pom pom related by night.... i lead a delicious double life if i do say so myself! ha!.

Im such a closet nerd - and well - right now im going to come barn storming out of that closet and share some A-Grade Nerd-a-licious achievements of mine! So here goes. Over the past month i have been completely snowed under & consumed with a challenging new project at work which has been alot of hard work and crazy late nights. Im so proud of my personal work achievement that i wanted to share with you all that myself & the fabulous team i work with successfully built & launched a brand spanking new website in record time! Hip Hip Hooray!! (insert: tennis claps) (insert: moonwalking) (insert: chandelier swinging) (insert:.... wait how did we get here?)
         
So enough about me - so much has happened in the time that has passed and lots of adorable images have been captured of pom pom pixies across the league during rounds 9 & 10!! So i thought that tonight i would do a quick mish mash of the rounds (including women in league round) and some of the honey's i missed from the Big League competition!!

Enjoy
xx

Finally got my hands on some Dragons images!! Adorable.com

Dragons Cheerleaders

Dragons Cheerleaders

Dragons Cheerleaders

Dragons Cheerleaders

The lovely Michelle - aka - Glam-a-zon!!

Brisbane Broncos Big League Entrant

Brisbane Broncos Cheerleaders

Brisbane Broncos Big League Entrant

Mermaids during the Women in League round - love love love the pink poms!

Such sweet pics from their Pink Day in cronulla

Manly Sea Eagles Cheerleaders

Chloe Seabird

Inside the "Seabird Aviary" at Brookie

This old thing? Oh this is just something i got from - Dream Boats "R" Us

Manly Junior Seabirds at a Field Rehearsal

Manly Junior Seabirds

Chloe's big night singing at Brookvale Oval - so proud of you girlfriend xx

Canberra Raiders Cheerleaders

Penrith Panthers Big League Entrant

woo hoo - the Penrith Cheerleaders celebrating after their huge win!

Penrith Panthers Big League Entrant

Penrith Panthers Cheerleaders

What does it take to be a Raiderette?

Raiders cheerleaders play with power and style
by Jenna Clarke

The bad boys of the Canberra Raiders like disgraced former star Josh Dugan could learn a thing or two about discipline, hard work and personal branding from the 17 scantily clad women who cheer them on at every home game.

The smiling Raiderettes - the women who spend the majority of a freezing Canberra winter accessorising the aforementioned grins with crop tops and fish nets - put the ''leader'' in ''cheerleader''.
While they didn't pick up the pom poms for the NRL's official Women in League round when the Raiders lost to the Cronulla Sharks at Sharks Stadium on the weekend, Raiderettes coach Kait, who has been a part of the official squad for six years, says the Raiders community has more girl power than Beyonce.

''All the canteen mums, the physiotherapists, the receptionists at the club are so highly regarded,'' Kait said. ''I've been involved with the club for around seven years and it's a great, female-friendly environment. I actually say to the girls at every home game, 'Not everyone watches what we do but remember to smile as your mum is out there watching'. It's funny but really nice that all of our mums come to games to cheer us on.''

For Kait, spray tans, hair flicking and thigh slapping is just one, albeit shiny, aspect of her life.
By day, the 23-year-old University of Canberra graduate is climbing the corporate ladder in her classified government job. Fellow Raiderette ''veteran'', 22-year-old Sam, who has also been with the squad for six years, juggles full-time study - she's completing a degree in business informatics - with a full-time job as a legal assistant. Cheerleading is her hobby and dancing her passion.

Kait and Sam are the Raiderettes' version of the friendship between players Sandor Earl and Blake Ferguson, also known as ''#Dorguson''. During rehearsals they laugh, joke and poke fun at each other and finish each other's sentences. Although they admit they would rather drink Red Bull than green tea - the boys' drink of choice. They originally decided to try out for the Raiderettes after being encouraged to do so by their childhood dancing teacher.

''All of the girls are so talented and strong - seriously, we are like heavy lifters thanks to all the routines which involve us tossing girls in the air, but we've all been dancing or doing gymnastics since we were all really young. Cheerleading is one way we can continue to keep doing what we enjoy,'' Sam said.
Each dancer must undertake individual weights training, strengthening and cardio fitness and also attend a four-hour training session each week to learn new routines.

The Canberra Times went along to one of the high-intensity sessions where formations for upcoming home games were discussed and learnt. Their professionalism filters down to the squad's fraternisation with the team. ''We do socialise together sometimes but only really after Saturday games, other than that the players do their thing and we do ours,'' Kait said. ''Because Canberra is so small and the club has a real community feel about it, the cheerleaders and players are most likely related to each other rather than in relationships with each other.''

In response to the Raiders scandalous start to the year caused by off-the field dramas of Ferguson and Dugan, she said there were strict rules regarding personal conduct which each member of the squad adheres to when joining the Raiderettes. ''It's not just about being pretty - if you can't hold a conversation, be charming and engage with the crowd, the fans and the general public then doing this and being a Raiderette isn't for you,'' Kait said.

 

Cheerleader Flashback - Bulldog's Belle: Elicia

It's time to take another little walk down memory lane and shine a spotlight on a very beautiful & kind hearted Canterbury Bulldogs Belle of yesteryear - Elicia.

Elicia knew from an early age that she wanted to become a Bulldogs Cheerleader and when the opportunity finally arose she went on to spend 6 NRL seasons on the sidelines supporting the boys in blue and white. Being able to combine her passion for dance and her love of the Canterbury Bulldogs made cheerleading an absolute perfect match for her and many of her fellow team mates. 

To add to the wonderful web of NRL cheerleaders in my Family - I in fact grew up with the lovely Elicia as her Dad's brother, Jon, married my crazy fun Aunty Monique (Jon & Mon - its catchy huh?) You following?! haha. So after watching Elicia go on to take the field and enjoy so many fabulous moments being apart of the Bulldogs club it inspired me to want to create my own memories within the NRL - and the rest is history.

Below Elicia gives us an in sight into her time on the sidelines and some of the special memories she made over the 6 years she spent within the NRL.

xx

I've been a Bulldogs supporter since dancing at half time in the Bulldogs v Manly Grand Final in 1995 when I was 10 years old. When my dance teacher Sandra Fleeton got the contract for the Bulldogs Cheergirls and the opportunity came up to audition, I jumped at the chance.

Id started dancing at 3 years old with Sandra Fleeton Productions (now 'Dance It') and continued performing up until around 6 years ago - I miss it so much!!

Belles with Director Sandra Fleeton

The Bulldogs fans were amazing to perform in front of and are such passionate supporters who always turn up in large numbers to support their team. They made game day such an exciting experience as we always knew  we would be performing in front of thousands of fans each home game!

Kristie, Elicia, Amber

The 2004 season definitely stands out as a memorable year as the Dogs were winning most of their games which gave us so many opportunities to cheer and dance at various functions. The year was topped off with the Grand Final win which was such an amazing night to be apart of!

Filming a Subway Ad with Sonny-Bill Willams

Dancing in the "Cheermania Show"

Performing on the Footy Show

Robyn, Elicia & Amber

I decided to hang up my Pom Poms to focus on my mobile kids party entertainment business and I now also have a children's play centre in Earlwood where I spend most of my time these days. Club Kids is an indoor kids play centre and Cafe that offers both kids and adults a chance to enjoy their time, together! We pride ourselves in offering the best indoor play centre for your kids to engage in fun and learning activities in a specially created environment that is not only warm and safe but also enhances and stimulates creativity and curiosity in a child.

Entertaining the kids at Club Kids

Club Kids Earlwood

I've also been lucky enough to find myself a wonderful husband, we have done a bit of travelling together and now look forward to all the special moments that lay ahead for us.