Cheer DC (Photo courtesy Cheer DC)

One of the underlying reasons for the success of the LGBT sports community in Washington is the leadership and structure that has been established by the members of each team and club.

Originally formed in 2010, Cheer D.C. planned to take a temporary hiatus when one of its leaders moved to the West Coast. It took a little longer than expected, but the group is back in full formation.

Its Facebook page was kept alive by head coach Marc Brooks and team member Greg O’Brien with the hope that someone with the right spark would step forward with a vision to relaunch the group.

Enter Nicole Bowns who moved to the D.C. area from Seattle in 2016 with her fiancé, Nayely Yepez. After settling into her job as a coach at Fairfax County Public Schools, she began looking for a local LGBT-based cheer squad to continue with what she loved as a member of Cheer Seattle.

“I found Cheer D.C. on Facebook and reached out to them with the hope of starting the group back up,” says Bowns, who is now president of Cheer D.C. “We subsequently began holding informal open gyms and started the process of setting up a governing board.”

The group is planning to become a member of the Pride Cheerleading Association, a network of LGBT adult cheer teams that support local charities and perform at various Pride events and the Gay Games. The timing of Cheer D.C.’s launch synched perfectly with Team D.C.’s bid for the 2022 Gay Games as they were included as part of the proposal.

The first tryout session was held on Feb. 19 with great success as 40 people appeared in person or via video submissions. The team was narrowed down to 36 members and there will be another tryout session after Capital Pride in July, followed by another session six months later. In the meantime, the team is accepting production assistants and volunteers for those who want to become involved.

“Two-thirds of the selection process was based on the person’s willingness to participate in inclusive volunteerism and their work ethic related to being part of a collaborative community,” Brooks says. “The remaining one-third was scored on competition skills as if they were potential competitors.”

Brooks was raised in Central Illinois and cheered in high school as well as on adult competitive teams. He moved to the area in 1998 and coaches at Langley High School along with coaching an all-star cheer team at Phoenix Elite Cheer. He also serves as president of the Northern Virginia Coaches Association.

The people who make up the 36-member Cheer D.C. team are a mix of members of the LGBT community and straight allies. Most have an athletic background and bring different experiences to the team including a few rock climbers who bring transitional skills.

One member of the team lives 90 minutes away and has been driving back and forth for the training sessions. Luke Jackson grew up in West Virginia and was a varsity cheerleader at West Virginia University for four years. After college, he cheered in international co-ed competitions and did some coaching.

“I got a call from my stunt partner from college who asked if I was interested in joining,” says Jackson, who is serving as director of community relations. “My husband Andy and I will be moving to D.C. soon and I can’t wait to be a part of the community.”

The team will practice on Sunday nights at Phoenix Elite Cheer in Chantilly and they have already begun setting up their choreography. They are hoping to have a soft launch in California at Long Beach Pride with other LGBT-based cheer squads which will lead to their debut in D.C. set for Capital Pride weekend.

“Our biggest performance this year will be at various venues over the course of Capital Pride weekend,” Bowns says. “We are really looking forward to our debut in the LGBT sports community of D.C.”