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Fourteen SCC schools are scheduled to participate in the competition. Sacred Heart-Hamden coach Kim Curbow said her team is excited about the meet. “I’m so glad they’re doing something conference-related, not only for the competition, but so the kids the can meet each other,” Curbow said. “A lot of other conferences have one. It’s been talked about in the SCC for awhile but now it’s finally going to happen.”

Said SCC commissioner Al Carbone: “This is an exciting opportunity for the SCC because it is recognizing a group of student-athletes who put a lot of time and effort and offer a positive atmosphere for competition and teamwork.

“The timing of the event is also great because many of the squads will be competing in the State and New England events over the coming weeks and this offers a valuable competitive opportunity.”

Each team will perform a 2 1/2-minute routine, 1 1/2 minutes are performed to music, the rest is cheering. There will be three different categories, 14 under squad size, 15-over squad size, and co-ed. Among the schools scheduled to compete include Amity, Branford, Cheshire, Hand, Derby, East Haven, Foran, Guilford, Hamden, Law, North Haven, Sacred Heart Academy, Shelton and West Haven.

Sacred Heart will compete in the large group division with a group of 20 girls. They event is judged on stunting, dance, and cheering with degree of difficulty factored in. Curbow expects her team to do well but said she really doesn’t know what to expect from the rest of the squads because she rarely gets a chance to see them perform. She said that Shelton, North Haven and Hamden would be among the favorites but has little idea of what the rest of the field will feature.

“You don’t really get to see many of the cheerleading teams because even at basketball games they really don’t travel with the teams that much anymore,” Curbow said.

Sacred Heart began training for state competitions in September, a week after it returned from a summer cheerleading camp. Curbow said that cheerleading competitions typically draw packed houses and play before standing-room-only crowds.

“It’s really exciting for the fans,” Curbow said. “Cheerleaders work as hard as any of the athletes. It’s starting to become that if a kid doesn’t maintain their conditioning and work on their athleticism they are not going to be competitive in cheerleading.”

The Pacers draw students from all over the region but Curbow said her school sometimes loses potential students to all-star cheerleading programs. Like other sports, Curbow said that cheerleading all-star teams have become like summer AAU softball and basketball teams which lure girls to cheer for their hometown squads.

Curbow has been coaching for 17 years, the last 13 at Sacred Heart. “I can’t believe how much it’s grown,” Curbow said. “We’re all so excited about this event. We just want to do a clean routine and we’ll be happy with that.

“We’ve got a lot of younger kids but this is, hands down, one of the favorite teams I’ve ever coached. They have a lot of heart; they put 100 percent into everything they do and the all get along with each other. They’re a fun group and I really look forward to going to practice.”

The event starts at 10 a.m. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students and children under six will be admitted free. Curbow said the conference is planning to start a cheerleading committee for future events. A native of New Haven, Curbow said she also is planning on helping the city’s schools start a competition team of their own.

Bill Cloutier can be reached at bcloutier@nhregister.com.

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