Cheerleaders compete in Cheer Tournament

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) - It's now widely recognized that cheerleaders are often as athletic as the athletes they cheer for.

Parents, coaches and the cheerleaders themselves agreed during Saturday's 50th annual Cheer Invitational Tournament at Chicopee High School. Parents who came to cheer on the cheerleaders told 22News, their daughters are athletes and there's no question about it.

“It's a very athletic sport,” said Dan White, a parent from Athol. “The girls practice just as hard as any athlete who plays the actual game. The girls are injured, they have sore ankles, sore fingers, sore elbows and they just go out and they perform and they smile through it.“

Becky Lussier, a cheerleader from Chicopee High School, said, “Competition is the best, it gets you so pumped. You feel so accomplished with what you wait for all season and it just gets you so excited.”

During this 50th anniversary milestone event, 28 teams competed. Organizers noted that Chicopee cheerleader coaches Katie and Kylie LaPlante are among the school's alumni cheerleaders who celebrated this 50th anniversary competition.