They perform acrobatic jumps, pile their bodies into pyramids and dance for all they're worth - cheerleaders cheer on their team and do competitive sport themselves. The MTV girls recently received new mats so that they can optimally prepare for their competitions. Stadtwerke Gießen donated the cushioning runners as part of its "Play your game" campaign.
Leading applause - that's what cheerleading literally means. On the other side of the Atlantic, cheerleading has been a standard part of American football and basketball for many decades. However, modern cheerleading no longer has much in common with the original, organised cheers. It has developed into a fast-paced mixture of dance, gymnastics and acrobatics elements.
Mats are needed in training, especially for the last two aspects. The cheerleaders from MTV 1846 Gießen e. V. can look forward to these protective surfaces. This attractive sport has been part of the traditional club's programme for almost 20 years. "We were impressed by the exemplary work that the trainers do here," explains Stephanie Orlik, responsible for marketing services at Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG). She presented the donation cheque for 1500 euros. Almost enough for two twelve metre long, two metre wide and more than four centimetre thick runners. The club contributed the rest for the second mat from its own funds. The donation to the Gießen Tornado Cheer, as the MTV cheerleaders are known, is an employee highlight and marks the end of SWG's "Play your game" campaign for 2019. "But of course we'll be continuing with it in January 2020," announces Ina Weller, Head of Marketing & Sales at SWG.
Twelve months, twelve donations
SWG fundamentally revised its sponsorship concept around three years ago. "The idea was no longer to prioritise top-class sport, but to promote as many meaningful exercise opportunities for children and young people as possible," recalls Ina Weller. The result of these considerations was the "Play your game" campaign. In this way, SWG not only supports sports clubs that are committed to children and young people, but also institutions such as kindergartens and schools. Only one thing is important: the donation must be used to set up a new exercise programme or improve an existing one. "We can really make a difference here with manageable amounts," says the company spokeswoman happily.
The "Spiel' Dein Spiel" campaign runs throughout the year. Every month, one application is awarded a prize. One grant - usually the one in December - is a highlight with significantly higher prize money than usual. This highlight also has another special feature: "Only SWG employees apply for it, who then act as sponsors," says Stephanie Orlik, explaining the idea behind it.
In the case of the MTV cheerleaders, it was Carol Jean Piljanovic, who works in business customer sales at SWG, who applied for the club. She is involved in the club as a parents' representative and in the sports organisation. As a result, she and the three Tiny Tornados coaches Yvonne Schließner, Laura Miebach and Lena Fisches talk to each other a lot. The Tiny Tornados are the youngest competition group and as such are already very successful. "When I learnt that new mats were needed, I immediately thought of 'Spiel' Dein Spiel'," says Carol Jean Piljanovic.
The new runners are already being used regularly. The department has around 90 members between the ages of 5 and 30. Divided into four different groups - known as squads - they train two to three times a week to compete in competitions. And, of course, to make it into the strongest squad, which then also travels to German championships and supports the Golden Dragons, the MTV football team, loudly and effectively.
Different disciplines
By definition, cheerleading requires a relatively high level of training. The choreographies of the special dances alone are sometimes complex. Then there are the acrobatics. For example, the human pyramids that the young athletes construct with a great deal of strength and balance. The basket tosses are particularly spectacular: four cheerleaders, the bases, hurl a petite, lightweight team-mate metres into the air. Supported in this way, the cheerleaders, known as flyers, have enough time to perform acrobatic exercises - depending on their age and skill level, from comparatively simple stretch jumps to somersaults with twists at the top. The bases then cushion the flyers' landings or catch them again in a supine position. "Good mats are a must for learning and rehearsing these complex movements," explains Yvonne Schließner, who, in addition to her work as a coach, also heads the cheerleading department and acts as an advisor to the main club.
However, the runners are also indispensable for another sub-discipline: "In tumbling, we do cartwheels and cartwheels, flic flacs or somersaults. So we borrow from classical artistic gymnastics," she continues. This is exactly where another argument in favour of the SWG jury's decision comes into play: not only the Giessen Tornado Cheer benefit from the new mat runners, but also the gymnasts of the MTV.
It goes without saying that the mats fulfil the requirements of both departments. A special needle felt prevents skin abrasions and four-centimetre thick special foam prevents acute injuries if something goes wrong. "But the cushioning properties are at least as important in the long term," says Laura Miebach. After all, the underlays also significantly reduce the forces that act on the young athletes' joints with every properly executed jump. And there are a lot of them. Last but not least, the chosen product is also impressive in practical terms: the mats can be rolled up without a core, which saves a lot of space in the equipment room. What's more, even younger cheerleaders are able to set up and take down the runners under supervision.