John Paul II Crusaders' cheer team placed first in the senior high division at the Winter Knockout Tournament in Warman. (John Paul II Collegiate/Facebook)

By Ryan Lambert

Winter knockout cheer tournament

John Paul II Crusaders and Aerial Athletics Cheer teams see success in Warman

Jan 15, 2026 | 10:27 AM

The Winter Knockout Cheer Tournament was held in Warman on Jan. 10, and the Battlefords had a pair of clubs participate: Aerial Cheer Athletics Club, and John Paul II Crusaders.

With Aerial Cheer Athletics, the U16-Eclipse team placed second in their division, while the U-12 Nova team finished in third. The John Paul II senior high team finished in first place and won the Judge’s Choice award. Aerial Athletics Cheer Owner Rena Fauchon, who also serves as an advisor for John Paul II, spoke about the teams working on their craft since the Battle at the Border tournament in late 2025, where they got their first score sheet.

(Aerial Cheer Athletics/Facebook)

“Just working on the comments from the judges from that scoresheet has enhanced the performance for the next competition and so on and so forth. So, that’s basically what they’ve been doing,” said Fauchon. “We had Christmas break over there so we didn’t have a lot of practices, so very happy with the outcome for all three of the teams. Especially John Paul and getting Judge’s Choice. That’s a really, really big accomplishment.”

It’s the second first-place finish of the season for John Paul, but their first Judge’s Choice award.

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Fauchon talked about the various tweaks that were made in the team’s routines.

“Some of the pyramids changed for all the groups. A little bit of dance changes. There are always changes that have to be made. It’s never repeating the same (thing). It’s the same routine, but with changes and corrections, things like that. So, you’re always learning more before each competition.”

(Aerial Cheer Athletics/Facebook)

Looking ahead, she said there is more work to be done ahead of the Best of the West competition in Moose Jaw.

“Just execution. Getting things to be steady when you’re lifting and doing stunts and things like that. The difficulty is great, but execution is what gets you the most points, like having the base of your feet punched on the ground. The flyers aren’t wobbly. There’s just lots of practice that has to be done before each competition.”

The Aerial Cheer Athletics club will be sending their U8 Stardust team to the Best of the West competition in Moose Jaw, as well as their U16 Eclipse and U12 Nova teams. That will be the only tournament the U8 team participates in.

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Ryan.Lambert@pattisonmedia.com