THE HARBOUR VIEW CHEERLEADERS

It was the penultimate game in the 2002-03 season as the duty announcer spoke on the microphone informing those ever loyal fans that a newly formed set of young ladies from within the community had formed a cheerleading group to perform at all the home games in the upcoming season. It was met with the usual skepticism particularly from some young ladies who have always been present at games but never thought this would be materialised anytime soon. It did.

Through the endless phone calls, failed meetings and persistence of the little lady from Alpha Academy Marsha Grant the Harbour View Cheerleaders have become a reality.

She just would not give up. School, work or lack of a ready phone card never stopped her. Kamar as always and Anna met us at the Compound as we waited once more without success before deciding to drive around Harbour View to the girls we were waiting on to talk to them. Girls came from Harbour View east and west as well as Bayshore Park, Caribbean Terrace, Melbrook Farm and outside of Harbour View. She would try and try and try again, as meetings would fall through friends changed their minds, less committed changed their words and disbelievers changed their actions but she wouldn’t stop. She waited until everyone was on holidays and tried again. This time success smiled on her as the pressures of exams, school and an idea whose time had come forged an alliance of 18 girls that met once more on an August night at the Harbour View Club Office, finally ready to go.

The professional choreographer never showed up but instead the positive energies of Fitzroy ‘Fitzy’ Lewis was the community coordinater that volunteered to organise the dancing, discussion and whatever else had to be done, We spoke once more about practice, music, car wash, fun raising, uniforms design, parents and discipline but most of all we spoke of exactly when the rehearsals would begin to get ready for the first homegame in September. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays each week they trained from 7pm to 9pm at the Plumtree Gardens area of the Harbour View Stadium and as they learned the new moves so too the curious unlookers came by every night to criticise, compliment and wonder if it was all coming together. Soon identical twins Jermaine and Jerome added the acrobatics to the act and balanced the girls (most of them former Miss Harbour View beauty queens) with their masculine presence.

Oswald ‘Ossie D’ Douglas was recruited earlier by Marsha and when he added his professional know-how to the group we were good-to-go all for uniforms to come. Peter Callen put the weight of his company Heffes Sales Ltd. to the mix and the rest is history as they say. They provided cloth to make the uniforms and after the willing Peter Prendergast offered his company Sportsgear to sew them because of pressure of work Art & Fabric through Derrick Lysieght finalised them just in time for our opening game against Constant Spring in the new season on Sunday, September 14th 2003 as their proud parents and guardians applauded from the stands as they were specially invited to attend. We had offered to perform at the Live televised away game against Waterhouse at Emmet Park but were not accommodated and decided to just keep it at home.

All left proudly smiling and the group continues to grow from strength to strength as they cheer, dance and entertain crowds at each home game.