GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — STUNT is now officially an NCAA DII emerging sport.
“It was an incredible feeling to start with. It’s been a long time goal of Davenport’s just to get this finally passed and be recognized for all of our hard work and dedication,” said Hanah Yaggie.
It was approved at the NCAA Convention two weeks ago.
“That in and of itself is a big deal. It’s been years and years coming, but for the sport as a whole, it means that we are recognized. It means that these athletes are seen as athletes,” said head coach Celia Kiogima.
Because of this approval, STUNT athletes across the country are given the same resources as other varsity teams. Their programs are funded. Practices and competitions are regulated by the NCAA, and full ride scholarships are available to athletes.
For those unfamiliar with the new sport, here’s a quick breakdown.
“There’s a sideline cheer version, where a lot of the community sees, because it’s at football games and basketball games, everything like that. STUNT is completely different. STUNT is cheer, but in game day form. It puts two teams on the same mat, doing the exact same thing at the same time. It creates a level of competitiveness that is just tangible,” said Kiogima.
In a STUNT game, there are four rounds: partner stunts, pyramids and tosses, jumps and tumbling, and team routine. The team that completes the required skills with the most accuracy is named the winner.
“I learned about STUNT my freshman year of high school, and went and visited. I went to a couple games and just absolutely fell in love with the environment and the energy that came from the sideline. And being apart of something that was completely different than what tradition cheer was,” said Peters.
“STUNT is very similar to what I did in high school, so it was very welcoming, very homey. I was very familiar with it,” said Yaggie.
As one of the flagship programs, Davenport has been lucky to be supported by the school for almost 10 years. Now this vote brings that opportunity to female athletes everywhere.
“It opens a lot of opportunities for female athletes. For our division, and hopefully going further beyond this. And for our program it’s just opening those opportunities for more athletes to join us and join other teams, and getting more scholarship opportunities for those athletes that deserve it,” said Peters.
The Panthers are five-time national champions in STUNT. Like other sports, past years have been impacted by COVID-19, but they’re looking to bring home another title in 2023.
“This team is very self motivated and self driven that they can hold themselves accountable for anything. I think we can do it,” said Yaggie.
“That is a life long dream I’ve personally had ad I know a lot of girls on this team have wanted that feeling. We always chase to be out perfect selves. So any day, any game that we get to do that, that’s the success feeling that we want,” said Peters.
“Our goal is to go out there and put on the best darn show and play our best game. It would mean everything too, in the light of this vote ad everything we’ve pushed for to go out there and give it our best,” said Kiogima
Davenport's first home game will be against Michigan State on Saturday February 11th at 7 p.m.
