New sport gives girls college opportunities

Tyler Takeda/The Madera Tribune

The Madera Coyotes stunt team after finishing their Competitive Sport Cheer game at Liberty High School on Friday.

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About three years ago, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body of high school sports, introduced a new sport to high schools in the state — Competitive Sport Cheer — or Stunt Cheer. 

Its goal was to give girls a chance to get scholarships in college with more and more colleges also introducing Competitive Sport Cheer. 

“My own daughter cheered in college, and she received a stipend,” said Liberty Hawks stunt cheer head coach and cheer advisor, Lisa Alvey. “She didn’t get a scholarship. If you want to cheer in college, you weren’t getting much. This is a way for girls to get full-ride scholarships in college. The No. 1 school is Cal Baptist, and it’s right down the road.”