2. The cheerleading world is a cruel and viscous one; competitors hoping to see you fail;
rivals wishing your stunts would hit the ground. Right in the middle of such a planet is a girl
named Kiara Nowlin. At age two, she had her heart set on gymnastics. At two and a half she
learned how to do a back handspring. Keep in mind that most five and six year olds can’t even
do a cartwheel. Because she couldn’t compete in gymnastics for four and a half more years,
Kiara was encouraged to try cheerleading.
There are roughly 530 elite all-star cheerleading gyms in the country, 239 of which reside on the
east coast (Cheerleading.net). California is the third largest of the United States and only 56 of
these gyms, 10.5%, are in California. The 56 cheerleading gyms in California are spread over
163,695 miles – this averages one gym for about every 2,923 square miles. While the gyms are
not evenly distributed throughout California, 26 take ground in the southern part of the state.
Kiara was born and raised in southern California. She began tumbling at Gold Coast gymnastics
and started all-star cheerleading at club cheer twisters (Geragotelis). As her skills became more
advanced, Kiara moved on to Cheer Force and then to California All Stars (Geragotelis). Being
born in an area with such a high concentration of all-star gyms gave Kiara options. She was able
to move from one gym to another without worrying about travel or relocation.
3. Skaggs 2
With cheerleading comes gymnastics. To be a successful gymnast one must be able to flip and
turn while gracefully maintaining complete control with every move. This ability comes easier
with the right body. In the 2008 Olympics, Nastia Liukin won second place all around in
gymnastics. At 18 years old she was 5’3 and weighed 99 lbs (Sizing). Sean Johnson, age 16 at
4’9 and 90 lbs., won first place all around (Sizing). In the 2004 summer Olympics, Carly
Patterson won first place all around in gymnastics. Carly was 24 years old, 5’0, and 97 lbs
(Sizing). Olympic gymnasts are usually under 5’4 and under 100 lbs. Elite gymnasts have a
compact body frame – they are short and have extremely developed muscle tone. Having a
compact body with a lot of muscle allows for tricks to be more easily executed. At 15 years old,
Kiara Nowlin is 4’11 and 92 pounds (Kiara). Because she started tumbling and training at such
an early age, Kiara was able to gain muscle mass easily and quickly. She trained her body to
perform the basic stunts starting at two years old, making learning advanced skills come easier to
her.
One of the best known restrictions for the Olympics is age – one must be 16 by the end of the
year they plan on competing in. An individual born on December 31st, 1997 would be the
youngest competitor in the 2012 Olympics. Generally speaking, the younger a person is, the
shorter they are. While this person has a smaller body to maneuver, an older person may have
more experience depending on how they trained. Not in Kiara’s case. Most successful gymnasts
begin learning basics around the age of four or five and don’t start training for competition until
about seven years old. Kiara’s mom just happened to see a gymnastics van drive by their house
one day when Kiara was two (Geragotelis). Her mom wrote down the number on the side of the
4. Skaggs 3
van and signed her up for tumbling classes. If you think about the dangers involved, most parents
don’t allow their kids to try such a risky sport so young – parents usually stick with soccer for
starters. Because Kiara got started at such a young age, she has had more than the average elite
gymnast or cheerleader would have by fifteen. It was also to her advantage that she was fortunate
enough to have such parents. Her mother and father not only allowed her to join gymnastics, but
traveled with her, paid for her tuition and training, and did whatever she needed them to do to
succeed. Her family was wealthy enough to pay not only one gym, but five including her school
team.
By seven years old she was doing things that were “pretty elite, even for college levels”, and
“was a major already at the age of seven” (Twisters). Kiara won first place four times in level 10
power tumbling in 2006 and four times in 2007 (Kiara). Her all-star teams placed in the top three
at worlds every year from 2006 through 2011 (Kiara). Forty-five individual awards were given to
Kiara for first place between 2001 and 2009 (Kiara). Kiara Nowlin also won many scholastic and
artistic awards. Kiara’s advantages arise not only from her body style and her convenient
location, but from the opportunities given to her allowing her to gain more experience. She won
four world titles between 2007 and 2010 (Kiara).
5. “Cheerleading.Net – Cheer Gyms.” Cheerleading.Net. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.cheerleading.net/cheerweb-gyms.html>.
Geragotelis, Brittany. “Kicking it with COM Kiara Nowlin : American Cheerleader Magazine.”
American Cheerleader Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.americancheerleader.com/2011/08/kicking-it-with-com-kiara-nowlin/>.
“ kiara Nowlin history – YouTube .” YouTube – Broadcast Yourself. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr.
2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE8D_xHMPKg&feature=relmfu>.
"Kiara Nowlin." Kiara Nowlin. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. <http://www.kiaranowlin.com/>.
“Sizing up the top gymnastics teams – latimes.com.” Los Angeles Times – California, national
and world news – latimes.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2012
<http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-chinesegymnasts-12aug2008-
g,0,7475962.graphic>.
