Latest in GK Cheer Uniform News

Here you will find the Latest in GK Cheer Uniform News, part of the official Cheerleading blog for GK Elite Sportswear. Known as the Choice of Champions in the Gymnastics industry, GK brings almost 30 years of athletic apparel experience to Cheerleading uniforms and workout apparel.

GK proudly produces high quality, gorgeous uniforms that can be personalized to fit your team’s unique style. Check here to get the Latest in GK Cheer Uniform News and to see how other teams are benefitting from GK’s services!

I am Alli Jacobs, and I have been involved in All-Star Cheerleading since I was 7 years old. I am currently a member of Maryland Twisters F5, a Large Senior Level 5 team from Glen Burnie, Maryland.

I was first introduced to GK through power tumbling, and because I loved their leotards so much, I was thrilled when GK approached Twisters to ask if F5 would debut GK’s first cheerleading uniform. I am so thankful to have had the privilege to wear the uniform that started the revolution and to have been a part of GK’s introduction into the cheerleading industry!

Can’t decide between shorts or a skirt for your All Star Uniforms? Get both, and wear one for prelims and the other for finals! An emerging trend is Two-Day Uniforms, as displayed by the California All Stars, Maryland Twisters, Matrix All Stars. A few of the advantages of having two separate uniforms as opposed to just one are:

• The ability to put on a fresh, clean cheerleading uniform Day 2
• The opportunity to showcase two completely different looks and styles (F5 chose to do Sporty for Day 1 and Elegant for Day 2)
• The choice of which uniform to wear for single day competitions

Congratulations to Maryland Twisters F5, the 2011 World Champions in the Large Senior All-Girl division! After entering finals in the lead, they gave the performance of a lifetime Day 2 and walked away with the title! Captain Brittany Burkhard said, “Coming into Day 2 in 1st place was a huge morale booster and really got the team hyped up. However, our motto has always been ‘it's not how you start, it's how you finish’ and as a team, we knew we had to come out and give the performance of our lives. Day 2's performance was about staying focused and hitting the routine for ourselves, our coaches, as well as our dedicated fans. We had nothing to lose and everything to gain, so we put our hearts on the floor.” Congrats again, F5, on two amazing performances and the win! You were fantastic and you looked stunning!

The Diva is Back!

As a member of F5, I would like to thank GK Elite for everything they have done for us! The cheer uniforms, practice wear, warm-ups – all absolutely gorgeous! Thank you for your support all of these years, you all have been the best!

Go with the original, the innovator, the brand that started the revolution. Go with GK.

Assess your team carefully and try to pick a style that is flattering to all of the athletes.
Would crop tops or full tops look better? Shorts or skirts? You want your athletes to look good and feel comfortable in their GK Uniforms, which in turn, will help them to perform their best!

Always order a prototype. 
Nothing is as helpful as seeing the uniform in person! Put it on an athlete and have them jump and tumble. Do you like the way it looks? Now is the time to make any adjustments, so that when you’re ready to order for your team, you’ll have your perfect uniform!

And finally, have fun with the design process!
GK designers are the best in the business! Their goal is to make your uniform concept into a reality, so the process is truly collaborative.

Go with the original, the innovator, the brand that started the revolution. Go with GK.

Maryland Twisters Black Ice teammates Josh, Taylor, Julieanne, and Ryan look amazing in their team’s new custom GK All Star uniforms, which perfectly complement the polished yet fun style of their routine! The unique design and elements of the uniforms look fantastic on the floor and close-up. Having received their Full-Paid Worlds Bid from Spirit Unlimited, Black Ice will be making their Worlds debut this season in the International Open Coed division. Good luck, Twisters!

Go with the original, the innovator, the brand that started the revolution. Go with GK.

GK’s specially designed “Appears Backless Bra" is perfect for all cheer uniforms with funky backs and straps! Engineered for concealment while still providing support, it won’t divert attention away from the fabulous design of your uniform. The adjustable clear straps can be worn in various placements to coordinate with any unique cheerleading top style!

Thanks to GK’s Special Order Cheerleading Uniform service, teams are designing their own uniforms to match their unique personalities and styles. This year at NCA, several original cheer uniform concepts from GK Elite made their debut on the competition floor!

Top Gun’s International Open Coed’s new uniforms pushed All-star cheerleading uniforms to its limits in terms of innovation and freshness!  From the arm wraps to the lace-ups, their uniforms are edgy, fun, and original, just like Top Gun!

Maryland Twisters F5 looked elegant and fierce in their new custom GK uniforms, which incorporate their all-star cheerleading team’s colors with a touch of turquoise to brighten it up. They also decided to have the design be the focal point of the top and chose to have their signature “F5” on the skirt instead. This design completely captures their “diva” style!

Go with the original, the innovator, the brand that started the revolution. Go with GK.

GK Elite wants to give a special “Congratulations” to the amazing Special Needs Team from the Maryland Twisters, Eye of the Storm! This group of 18 remarkable athletes traveled all the way to Atlanta, Georgia in order to perform at Cheersport Nationals and compete against the best of the best in their division. This being their first time at Cheersport, they captured the gold in a division with 10 teams! Coach Sharon Myrick said her favorite part of the experience was "meeting all the other special needs athletes while waiting outside warmups, as well as getting to meet Bill Presson (ACE-Bows and Arrows), USASF committee member, who was with Kentucky Elite Showcats when this whole concept started."  “Eye” looked absolutely stunning in their new GK Cheer Uniforms, which gave them that extra bit of confidence they needed to secure their National Champion title. 





















Check out GK's New 2011 Cheer Catalog!

As Maryland Twisters F5’s point flyer, our new GK Cheer website cover girl Val Rubenstein has been gaining a lot of attention from the cheer world this year. Her amazing showmanship in both stunts and tumbling has really displayed her remarkable cheerleading abilities!

Val discusses cheerleading and NCA All-Star Nationals with GK:

What is your favorite part of being an All-Star Cheerleader?
 “My favorite part of being an All-Star Cheerleader is meeting people! I've met some of my very best friends and amazing coaches through the sport and I don't know what I would do without them!”

So NCA is this weekend! How are you feeling going into it?
“I'm so excited! All I can say is I'm ready! My team is working so hard to prepare for this nationals event and we want to win so badly! I'm ready to show the world what we're made of!”

What have you been doing to prepare yourself?
“I've been eating right and working out to make sure I can endure this routine flawlessly! At practices I make sure to do everything that's asked of me so that when the time comes to perform I'm prepared!”

What is your favorite part of F5's routine this year?
“My favorite part of F5's routine this year is the stunt sequence because when we hit it at competition the thrill of hearing the crowd roar is an indescribable feeling!

Do you have any pre-performance rituals/superstitions?
“I hate splitting poles! Before we take the floor we pray and have a team talk on the floor. I also have handshakes with a few girls on the team that we do right before the music starts!”

What do you think of your GK competition cheer apparel?
“Our custom GK uniforms are amazing! Not only are they gorgeous, they are so comfortable! The crystals make them so unique from any other brand and when the lights hit them on the floor the sparkle is breathtaking!”

Her advice to other cheerleaders:
“There are no excuses for anything! When you think you have reached your absolute limits push harder and you'd be amazed at what you can do! An amazing person once told me to hope for the best and expect the worst because whatever can go wrong will and you need to be prepared to fight for every last bit of it.”

This month, the Competitive Cheer Squad from the University of Maryland hosted Fairmont State at a National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA) meet.   The undefeated Terps, the former NCA All-Girl National Champions, now compete exclusively under NCATA, which sanctions meet-style competitions in which the squads are judged not only on their routine, but also on individual stunt groups, tumbling passes, basket tosses, and separate pyramids.

UMD’s Tricia Fitzgerald gives her take on the Terps and the new type of competition: 

Favorite part of NCATA:

  "I'd say my favorite part of NCATA meets is the back and forth interaction with the other team. It’s great to be able to make a comeback and be able to emphasize each team's strengths. "

Hardest part about NCATA, compared to a traditional college cheerleading competition:

   "I think the hardest part about the meets is that it really levels the playing field because we send our best out against their best. It makes it more exciting and challenging; it keeps us on our toes throughout the whole meet. "

How had you been preparing for the meet against Fairmont?

   "In preparation to compete against Fairmont we spent a lot of time working on all of the events and improving in difficulty and execution from our previous meets. "

Terps’ Biggest Strength:

 "I think our biggest strengths are the tumbling and team routine events. One of the things that’s great about UMD is the depth we have on our team. "

Thoughts on your GK Cheer Apparel:

 "The GK cheerleading outfits are great! We really love our new black and yellow uniforms this year, and enjoy coming out to the song "Black and Yellow" when we wear them!"

In the end, it was a victory for the Terps, who received a final score of 275.846, ahead of Fairmont’s 270.178. Congrats on your win, UMD! You girls looked fierce!!