The Outriders are getting excited and ready for the 2012 Season!

June 15 is coming up quick and we couldn’t be happier about it. As a veteran who took a year off, I am feeling anxious and nervous to get back out there. However, I know once we step out on that beautiful field, I will feel right at home again cheering on our Stamps.

This is an exciting year for all of the Outriders as we have been blessed with a fantastic new head coach. All of the girls are very keen to work with our new head coach and dance coach and hopefully we make them proud.

We have been burning the midnight oil since auditions in April. As the auditions were held later in the year than usual, we’ve been working extra hard to prepare for the pre-season game on June 15.

There is so much for us to learn in such a short period of time. In the last month, we have learned six dances, four cheers, nine sideline dances, a new kickline/touchdown celebration routine and new tunneling.
There are a few cheers and sidelines which are similar to last year but for myself or any of the rookies, there is a lot of material to pick up. We are currently practising twice a week (three-hour sessions) at Gold’s Gym — on Wednesday nights and Sunday afternoons.

Since we have so many new routines to learn and memorize, our two team captains have been meeting up with the girls to help us practise and improve our style and technique. Thank goodness for these two and their amazing availability.

On top of scheduled practices, all of the girls have been working extremely hard on their physical fitness. As a football game is usually about three hours long, all girls need to be at their physical prime to keep their energy and enthusiasm up for the entire game.

The Outriders have been working out at the gym, going for runs and attending various fitness classes such as Zumba or hot yoga. The girls have all been making healthier food choices as well, eliminating fast food from our diets as a challenge from our head coach. 

The Outriders have also started attending different promotions around the city — some walk/runs, charity events and Stampeder events such as the Reebok jersey launch and Fanfest. These events have been awesome and a great way for us to get out in the community and meet some of the fantastic Stampeders fans!

A favourite of the girls was Fanfest, held on Saturday, May 26. It was a beautiful sunny day and thousands of fans came out for a pancake breakfast, player meet-and-greet and a bunch of fun activities for kids and grownups. Everyone had a wonderful time and the great weather was definitely an added bonus!

The next few weeks are going to be very busy as we prepare for the June 15 game. We hope to see you there.

Go Stamps Go!

Ally