April 4, 2011
Edmonton Eskimos
Kassidy’s Blog – Eskimo Cheer Team
With the new season underway, I have to admit that I totally love the fact that I am no longer a rookie. There is such satisfaction in knowing that the task of learning the cheers, dances, sideline crowd involvement routines and field dances isn’t quite as overwhelming now that I know what to expect. We are not simply a performance team; rather, our coach Dianne Greenough stresses the fitness and athleticism of the members of our team and I am certain the public is not aware of the time we put into choreographing and learning, polishing and perfecting our routines to ensure we are ready to represent our Edmonton Eskimo football team in a professional manner.
On Sunday, March 27, our first photo shoot for the 2011 Cheer Team was completed. We were scheduled to come in three at a time to have photos taken in one of our uniforms, and then in jeans for a more casual look. I went with two other vets, Kylee and Sarah, and we had a great time with our photographer Bill, of Artistic Creations. He really lightens the mood by playing great music and making us laugh as he tries to coax our ‘ inner top models’ out. He is so patient and fun to work with, not to mention discrete because he hears all of our girl talk in betweens shots!
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| Cheer vets Kassidy, Sarah and Kylee at their photo shoot. |
The pictures Artistic Creations took of us will be used on our profiles on the website and also in our Eskimo Cheer Team playing cards which will be available at our unveiling party on June 10th at Union Hall. Bill does such a great job of capturing what we actually look like, in our best possible version.
Although several of us did our own hair and makeup, we have the option of getting our hair styled at our sponsor hair salon prior to the photo shoot which can really add to the whole experience. Before making the team last season, I had never been a part of a professional photo shoot and, as a rookie, it was such a thrill to see those pictures because that was when I truly felt like an authentic Edmonton Eskimo Cheer Team member. Arriving a little bit early to do final hair, makeup, and wardrobe touch-ups, it took about an hour and a half to get all of the pictures taken for the three of us girls there in both of our outfits. Karen of the EE Cheer Team Organization always give us such unique, fun poses that enable our personalities to shine through in the shots Bill takes.
Our next fun challenge will be teaching the Eski-Mini, Junior Eskimo and Eski-Ladies dances which begin really soon. If anyone is still interested in participating in these click here for information.