By Kate Menz and Avary Cronic

After 14 years and seven state titles in the 5A classification, the cheer team is competing in 6A as a result of the OSSAA’s Rule 14.

Rule 14 which is commonly referred to as “the private school rule.” The rule states “a school may be elevated more than one classification above the reported ADM (average daily membership). If it continues to meet the success factor by finishing in the top four teams in an activity in the elevated classification in at least two of the three previous school years.” 

After years of consistently competing in 5A , the OSSAA has now enforced rules that will move cheer up to 6A. Before Rule 14 if you placed in the top eight for three out of five years you moved up. 

“We have been a 4A-sized school, but we’ve been good at cheer,” Coach John Hamilton said. “So that means we’ve been competing up in 5A, but this summer, the OSSAA just made some small changes to rule 14, one of them being that now private schools that are good can continue to bump up if they continue to be good.”

The team will compete against larger schools, which may put them at a disadvantage as they will be competing against teams with a larger pool of people.

“I think it will make it a lot harder for cheer to win,” Hamilton said. “We’re still a really good team, and so, depending on your definition of competition we’re going to be good. We’re going to make it to state. We’re going to be competitive.” 

The 6A classification is made up of the 32 largest schools in the state ranging in size and success.

“We’ve been blessed,” Principal David Morton said. “We’ve had success in a lot of sports, but they don’t look at us. There’s a lot of public schools who have had success and a lot of sports”

Rule 14 also affects public schools. Only so many teams can be in a classification, which means when a private school team moves up the lowest scoring team will move down. This year Southmoore is moving down. Southmoore is a school with around 3000 students moving into a division with schools of seven hundred or less. 

“Now we’re going to compete against Broken Arrow, and Jenks while those schools have four, five, (or) 6000 kids,” Morton said.

With the cheer team being a 5A size, this brings concerns on whether or not it is fair to make them compete against 6A schools 

“I feel like it will be difficult. I mean obviously change is difficult for everybody,”  Coach Mandy Gerzewski said. “Although I do feel that the kids are pushing harder this year.” 

Many of the team members feel it is unfair and don’t know what to expect as they have never competed against schools this large. Even with the change, they remain optimistic, and ready for the season that lies ahead.

“I think it’s unfair, but I also think that this is the best year that we can do it,” senior Katelin McDonald said, “If we were going to switch to 6A it’d be this year. Like this team is so stacked. We’re really good.”

“I think it will be a lot harder, and I think it’s unfair we are moving up, but we can do it,” junior Kyla Reid said. “I believe in us.”