It was a lifelong dream for them that came true. The Geneva Wild Eagles cheerleaders, who regularly host Les Aigles games at Les Vernets, participated three weeks ago at Dance World in Orlando. An unforgettable trip for these twelve Genevans who returned from Florida with stars in their eyes. What beautiful memories for this unique Swiss team which competed against the best cheerleaders on the planet.
“It was really intense on all levels with a lot of emotion,” exclaims Deborah Geiser, head of a troop she created in 2000 in collaboration with Chris McSorley, then GSHC coach. It was also a great human experience with all the girls in the same house where we were able to manage the stress of the ordeal all together with the same goal, which was to do the best possible.”
In a competition comprising around fifteen different categories, the captain of the Wild Eagles had no great illusions in the “Open Pom” group, except that she wanted to avoid ridicule. “We knew we weren’t favorites, but we just wanted to be proud of our performance and we were.” With a fifteenth place out of sixteen, the Helvetians finished ahead of the French and 0.2 points behind the Italians. “In our group, it was the Japanese who dominated, taking the first two places while the Americans ranked third and fourth,” explains the Geneva native. The level was so impressive that we had the feeling that we were not practicing the same sport. These are athletes who have to train every day.”
The Swiss will never forget this experience in this immense Disneyland complex where the dancers were able to express themselves on carpet and in packed rooms. This great adventure in the Disney park – where registration was 500 francs per person – was possible thanks to the generosity of the people of Geneva who largely contributed to the price of this trip to the stars, i.e. 25,000 francs. A dream come true in an exceptional setting that they are all ready to relive.
