CHEEKTOWAGA, NY — Cheektowaga Central School District told cheerleading team coaches Sierra Gray and Kayla Hutcheson that the teams will no longer be able to cheer for winter sports on Tuesday.
"We had our end of season meeting and I went in thinking I would go in and talk about how this season went and be told what to expect for winter season. But, then I was told it was gone," said Kayla Hutcheson, modified team coach.
Hutcheson said that the Athletic Director of Cheektowaga Central School District did not give her a reason behind the decision, but the discussion was enough for the captains on the team to take to social media.
In 18 hours since the first post over 1,100 people have signed the online petition senior Julianna Steinberg made.
"To have all these comments of support saying 'we are here for you' and 'we cannot believe this happening', it is just insane," said Steinberg.
Steinberg hopes that the online petition will show the administration just how important cheerleading is for high schoolers for a creative outlet and so much more.
"I started this so that my cousins and the community can have a cheer team, I did this because they deserve to have a cheer team and experience the warmth and the experiences that I felt," said Steinberg.
The Cheektowaga Central School District Superintendent gave WKBW a statement:
"It is the district's full intent to have a winter season of cheerleading. The Athletic Director is currently evaluating the program by making sure we will have qualified coaching candidates as well as enough student athletes to participate,"
But Superintendent Scott Zipp says that there is not a precise number of cheerleaders needed to create a full team, but Hutcheson says that the Varsity team has 16 girls and the modified team has 6.
Hutcheson also says that there are 30 girls already signed up for tryouts for next season, and has been a National Title holder for cheerleading and won 2nd place in Nationals last April. Head Coach Sierra Gray has been coaching for years and also a cheerleader from middle school to high school.
