Cheering for the GYCL Cheerleaders

What do you get when you mix one part drill team, two parts dance team, a heaping helping of gymnastics, and a sprinkling of flyers, bases and spotters? The answer is a recipe for team spirit and tradition among hundreds of Greenwich girls each year.

All set to popular music, the highly-choreographed and carefully synchronized routines of about 20 teams were performed Sunday night at Greenwich High School’s gymnasium in the form of the Greenwich Youth Cheerleading League’s 13th annual exhibition. In addition to the GYCL squads, the Greenwich High School cheerleaders and the Spirit All-Stars performed routines for the enthusiastic crowd.

The GYCL teams, comprised of the North Mianus Bulldogs, Cos Cob Crushers, Riverside Gators, Glenville Mavericks, and BANC Raiders are further divided into age levels of Bantams, Juniors and Seniors, each cheering for their corresponding Greenwich Youth Football League (GYFL) team at weekly games.

The exhibition was a special opportunity for all the teams to come together at one event and, rather than girls cheering for the boys, the players and spectators rooted for the cheerleaders. After each team completed their routine, the players from the corresponding football team each presented the girls with a single flower.

Formed in 2004, the GYCL http://gycl.org/ operates under the auspices of GYFL and is not affiliated with Greenwich Public Schools. The program is open to girls in third- through eighth-grade, and emphasizes safety, fun and teamwork.